Bleu shook his head. “Not this. Never this. Vail is volatile and I won’t let him near you. It is safer that I deal with him alone when he is like this.”
She smiled and he frowned at her, confused as to why she was looking at him as if he was wonderful.
“You knew he would not hurt you,” she said and his frown deepened as he supposed that he did. He had placed himself between Vail and Loren on instinct, but that instinct had said that Vail wouldn’t hurt him, that out of everyone present he was the one who could reach his prince, just as he had that day on the battlefield forty-two centuries ago. “You have forgiven him.”
Bleu considered that and slowly nodded as it dawned on him that he had forgiven Vail in a way. He hadn’t absolved Vail of his sins, because that was something only Vail could do by making amends for his actions, but he had forgiven him for the pain he had caused him and the years they had come to blows.
“I want you to remain in the garrison with Rosalind,” Loren said and a low growl erupted behind Bleu.
He stepped to one side, allowing Taryn to claim her place beside him again, and looked across at Vail where he still rested against the wall with Rosalind clutching his arm.
“No,” Vail snapped, flashing fangs. “I will not leave your side, Brother. Not again.”
The look in Loren’s eyes said that he wanted that more than anything. It wasn’t possible. Loren had fought hard to convince the elf council that they needed Rosalind’s assistance in this battle, and that meant allowing Vail to enter the kingdom. The elders had agreed to Vail’s presence in their realm, but Bleu had the feeling that welcome had a time limit attached to it. As soon as the battle was done, they would want Vail gone.
Bleu found himself hoping again that Vail could do something that would help his cause, at least enough that he could visit Loren without the castle going on red alert and hunting him down.
Loren placed his hand on Vail’s shoulder, sighed and nodded. “Remain close to me.”
Vail nodded.
In the silence that fell, the elf prince dropped a bombshell that Bleu was going to make damn sure reached the elders on his behalf, because it was perfect for gaining him a reprieve.
“I know the exact location of the sword.”
CHAPTER 36
Fucking Valestrum.
Bleu shuddered as he fought his way through the enemy horde, cutting down demons and fae with his double-ended spear.
Of all the places Tenak could have chosen as his base of operations, he had chosen the ghostly settlement near the border of the free realm.
A town that had been abandoned since Vail had slaughtered hundreds of elves in his own legion here four thousand years ago. No wonder Vail had lost himself to the darkness when he had pinpointed the location of the sword through Rosalind’s spell.
Valestrum had been a bustling settlement then, a place where people of the free realm and elves had traded goods, acting as a market that had drawn hundreds to it each day.
The stone buildings lay in ruin now, the clock tower still rising above the roofless squat houses that lined the main crossroad and circled the market square at its centre.
Bleu flicked a glance back at Vail, checking on him as they fought close to each other, in the rear half of the attack. Loren’s gaze lit on him and then his brother, and Bleu could almost feel his relief as he saw that Vail was still holding it together, somehow retaining control.
He had tried to convince Vail to take Loren’s advice and remain at the garrison with Rosalind, but Vail had insisted on coming with them, stating over and over that he was strong enough to fight the darkness and the memories that would provoke it. He had told them the same thing so many times that he had sounded as if he had been trying to convince himself more than everyone else.
The only thing Bleu was convinced of was that it was only a matter of time before the memories of this place, the horror Vail had inflicted here at the start of Kordula’s reign over him, took over and the darkness seized hold of him.
He knew it because the memories of that terrible night were pushing at him too, goading his darkness, and it was growing difficult to hold it back as he tried to harness the strength of it at the same time in order to fight to the best of his abilities.
The tip of his black spear sliced upwards across the bare chest of a demon from the Seventh Realm and the huge male staggered back, snarled as he looked down at his chest and touched the crimson gash, and then kicked off, launching himself at Bleu. Bleu teleported as the male reached him, reappearing behind the demon in time to see him stumbling through the shimmering ghostly form he had left behind. He slashed again, cutting deeply up the demon’s back.
The male grunted and staggered a few steps before he collapsed to his knees and then kissed the churned earth. Blood pooled swiftly in his lower back and ran to the ground, staining the crushed blades of grass red.
Before this battle was done, the whole of the valley would be crimson.
The snarls and cries of the warriors around him as they clashed filled his ears, but he paid them no heed as he checked on Vail again.
His gaze caught on a large elf male sprinting across the uneven terrain, a black blade held point down in his fist.
Running in the opposite direction to the battle.
Bleu slowly turned his head, following the male’s trajectory, and his eyes widened and tracked back.
Loren fought two demon males, his twin blades a blur as he ducked and dodged, lashed out to deal blows that would weaken his opponents.
Bleu’s violet gaze leaped back to the elf male charging towards him.
His eyes were black.
A cold judder wracked Bleu, realisation that hit him so hard he rocked back on his heels before he kicked off, sprinting hard towards his prince.
The male wasn’t running to help Loren.
Darkness embraced Bleu as he leaped over a fallen fae female and cold swirled around him, and he willed the fates to listen to him as he jumped into his portal and get him to his destination before the male reached Loren.
He dropped out of the air just as the elf launched his blade at Loren and thrust his spear forwards, ramming it deep into the male’s side. The sudden jerk to the right the male made as Bleu drove him to the ground wasn’t enough to throw his aim off and Bleu could only shout as the black knife flew at Loren’s back.
He pulled his spear free as the blade connected, striking Loren in the right shoulder and slicing straight through his black armour. Loren toppled forwards as he bellowed in agony and hastily swept his obsidian sword out to block the silver blade the nearest demon aimed at his neck.
Bleu raced across the battlefield and snarled as he reached Loren just as the demon struck again, more force behind the blow of his broadsword this time. Bleu swept his spear up, grimaced and grunted through clenched teeth as it clashed hard with the male’s blade and vibrations rang along its length, numbing his hands. He shoved upwards with his double-ended spear, knocking the demon back, and spun on his heel, bringing the second blade of his spear around in a deadly arc. It sliced through the demon’s exposed stomach and Bleu didn’t bother to watch him fall as he gargled, the scent of his blood flooding the air around him.
He rushed to Loren and caught him as he dropped to his knees.
“Loren,” Bleu barked and growled at the blade protruding from his back, his fangs lengthening as rage threatened to consume him.
“Tenak… he must have…” Loren breathed hard and snarled through his own fangs, his face contorting as he tried to sit back, with more than pain this time. He was angry. Bleu could feel it and he wanted to tell Loren not to beat himself up about the fact this had happened. It wasn’t his fault. Loren hunched forwards again, clutched his shoulder with his left hand and grunted.
An unholy roar shook the battlefield and the air swirled around them, darkness rushing over Bleu like an oily tide, pulling his even closer to the surface. Bleu fought it back and looked up at Vail where he towered over L
oren, his near-black eyes wild with fury that rolled off him.
Bleu bit out, “Tenak has turned the tainted in our ranks against us.”
Tainted were weak, vulnerable to control by witches. The way Vail’s gaze narrowed, his irises turning completely black, and he lifted his head to scent the air said that he knew what Bleu had been trying to say without mentioning the W word or bringing up magic.
Vail spared Loren a glance, and the moment Loren looked up at his younger brother with fury mingled with regret written in every line of his face, Vail nodded and teleported, leaving an icy chill in his wake.
Screams erupted on the battlefield around them and Bleu looked over his shoulder, barely able to keep up with Vail as he went to town on their own ranks, hunting out any tainted like a bloodhound, as if he could recognise the disease in other elves because he was so dangerously acquainted with it.
“Gods,” Loren muttered and lowered his head, his eyes falling shut. The muscle in his jaw popped and he ground out, “It will be too much for him.”
Bleu felt Loren’s fear because it beat in his heart too. Vail had undertaken an unsavoury task, one most elves would have refused. Not every tainted on the battlefield had been turned against them. For all they knew, only that one male had been corrupted by magic. The effect hunting his own kind would have on most elves was nothing compared with the effect it would have on Vail, a male who was still coming to terms with the sheer number of elves he had murdered under Kordula’s control.
If this nightmare Vail had thrown himself into didn’t gain him favour with the elders, Bleu was going to see that their heads rolled. Vail deserved a damned medal for leaping into action as he had.
“Rosalind needs to be here,” Loren muttered and tried to stand. His knees gave out and Bleu steadied him as he breathed hard, fighting the pain.
“I have to remove this.” Bleu eyed the dagger protruding from Loren’s shoulder and his prince nodded. “It will hurt.”
Loren shot him a black look, one that said he damned well knew that, and gritted his teeth before nodding stiffly.
Bleu gripped the handle of the blade and yanked it hard, pulling it free as quickly as he could manage. Loren’s bellow drowned out the din of the battle around them as he lurched forwards in Bleu’s arms. When he had run out of air, his cry fading as he exhausted it, he sank against Bleu and breathed hard. The strong scent of Loren’s blood filled Bleu’s senses and he frowned as he eased Loren away enough to check the wound. It was deep. He wouldn’t be able to fight with both hands, and that made him vulnerable.
“Gods damn it!” Loren growled and then flashed his fangs on a snarl as he threw his left hand forwards.
Two demon males and a fae who had been fighting their way towards them flew through the air as the blast of telekinesis hit them.
Bleu kept his mouth shut, aware that he didn’t need to tell his prince what he was about to do. Loren was royally pissed, angry enough that Bleu could see he already knew what was about to go down.
He closed his eyes, held Loren against him and willed his portal.
Green-purple light chased over both him and Loren, and then darkness swallowed them. When it parted, they were on the hill outside the garrison, more than two leagues from the battle.
“Damn it,” Loren bit out again and tried to shove onto his feet.
Bleu rose onto his and helped Loren stand. Blood pumped down his back, turning the black scales of his armour shiny.
Making Bleu feel sick to the pit of his stomach.
Gods. What if he hadn’t reached Loren? What if he had been too distant from his friend to notice the elf male?
Loren could have been killed.
His blood chilled, but then warmed as Loren’s left arm wrapped around him and tugged him hard against him, causing his chin to hit his prince’s shoulder.
His friend’s shoulder.
He had been wrong.
Olivia hadn’t replaced him. It echoed around his numb mind as Loren held him and he felt how close he had been to losing him.
“Thank you,” Loren said.
Bleu’s eyes slipped shut, warmth curling through him at the familiarity of that voice, at the reassurance that his friend was safe and would be healed soon.
He pulled back and cleared his throat, rolled his shoulders in a shrug that felt anything but casual. “It was nothing. I was just doing my job.”
Loren’s eyes searched his. “As my second in command?”
Gods, Bleu was about to sound like a sappy prick, but he couldn’t stop himself from saying, “As a friend.”
Loren dragged him back into an embrace that only made him feel more awkward. He patted his prince’s back. Clumsily.
“We’re not that close,” Bleu muttered and Loren chuckled and released him.
The smile on Loren’s lips died as his violet gaze drifted away from Bleu, settling on a point in the distance behind him. Bleu looked there, aware of the battle taking place just a few miles from them, feeling an urgent need to return to it and ensure that Vail was safe too, and the others. Three demon kings, a mortal huntress and three idiotic elf warriors fought there, battling an army of demons, fae, witches and other species.
The dragons were yet to make an appearance, but it was only a matter of time before they joined the war.
“Tenak might anticipate our attack if he is using the same tactics.” Loren’s voice was a low whisper, concern thickening it.
Bleu nodded. “It’s still the best plan we have… and we must give it a shot. The time is drawing near. According to Taryn, her brother prefers to have his army weaken the enemy before he enters the battlefield to claim victory. I haven’t scented a dragon there yet, and our numbers are falling. Our time to act is coming.”
He looked towards the squat garrison below him, his senses reaching out to his mate. She had been annoyed when he had ordered her to remain with the others in the safety of the stone bastion, until he had explained that he would return when it was time for them to head out and put their plan into action.
Every instinct he possessed as a warrior said that time was now.
Bleu helped Loren down the hill, his arm slung around his prince’s waist to support him. Loren muttered dark things in the elf tongue beneath his breath, his rage still simmering in his violet eyes. He had no doubt that as soon as he was patched up and healing, he would be back on the battlefield. He wanted to tell him to remain in the garrison, but he couldn’t bring himself to say those words when he thought about Vail alone out there. If it was Iolanthe in his place, and Bleu the one forced to retreat, he would be just as anxious to return to the fight and to her.
The elves milling around outside the garrison, assigned to protecting those within it should the enemy reach them, all jerked their heads in his direction as he approached. Several pairs of eyes widened as they landed on Loren, and then they were rushing towards them. Loren waved them away as they all tried to help him.
Bleu led his friend through the main arched doors of the garrison and into the courtyard.
“Shit!” A female voice rang through the silence and feet pounded the stone flags.
Loren lifted his head, his expression softened and he straightened, tipped his chin up and stood tall despite the pain Bleu could feel in him.
Olivia’s hands fluttered as she reached them and she checked her mate over, her dark eyes wide and brimming with tears. “What the fuck happened?”
It wasn’t like Loren’s princess to swear, and it caused half of the elves in the courtyard to stop and stare. Loren growled at them all, flashing his fangs, and they hurried away, leaving the courtyard quiet and empty save him, Bleu and Olivia.
And Taryn.
She rushed out of the building in the centre of it and raced over to him, her striking eyes filled with the fear that he could feel flowing through their link. He smiled, hoping to show her that the blood all over him wasn’t his and that he was fine.
Olivia took Loren from him, and Loren threw him
a pained and pleading look as she led him away, chastising him and talking about administering elf medicine. Loren had little love for the medicine she spoke of, just like Bleu, but he knew his prince would stomach it this once so he could quickly return to the battle.
If Olivia would let him go.
Bleu had the feeling he was going to have to break Loren out of the infirmary in order to get him back to the battlefield. Olivia was already talking about days’ worth of bedrest, despite her mate’s protest that it was just a knife in the back and he would be fine with a little fluids, his hungry gaze hovering on her neck.
Taryn collided with him, knocking the air from Bleu’s lungs, and he didn’t have a chance to speak. Her lips clashed with his, arms holding him so tightly that it bordered on painful. He wrapped his around her, pulled her close and kissed her back, letting her know that he had missed her too and soaking up the comforting feel of her in his arms.
“Gods, I was worried about you,” she whispered against his lips in the dragon tongue and pressed her forehead to his. “I can hear the battle… I have been watching from the walls but cannot see what is happening. The reports coming back with the wounded say that we have heavy losses… I need to be out there. I have to stop this madness.”
Bleu gathered her closer and pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose, and then claimed her mouth again, savouring the kiss as she instantly responded, a sweet desperate edge to her kiss. She really had been worried.
“It is time,” he murmured and drew back, his eyes leaping between hers as he reached for their bond, strengthening it so he could feel whether she was ready, truly prepared for what they were about to do.
Her resolve came through loud and clear, but there was pain and fear there with it.
He lifted his hands and framed her face, kept her eyes locked on his as he brushed his thumbs across her cheeks, absorbing her beauty. His mate.
His ki’ara.
“Are you sure about this?” he whispered, unable to stop himself from posing that question, needing to give her a chance to go back on their plan. He would go alone if she did, would fight her brother for her.
Possessed by a Dark Warrior Page 41
