by Lorna George
A quiet growl of annoyance escaped him at her disgust of his touch, and even as she opened her mouth to speak further, he had yanked her small body to himself and crushed his lips against her own in a forceful kiss. Naomi struggled against him, but he ignored her, holding her tightly and knowing that she was unable to escape. Using the intimacy of their bodies as an anchor, he smashed her now unsteady defence against his magic into nothing, and felt a rush of heat flood his heart as the pain he had been experiencing since their separation earlier that morning finally subsided. The Bond was strengthening once again, becoming as it should be had she accepted him as her mate when she was first told.
Even as he delighted in the feeling of her lips against his, and her emotions flowing beautifully back into himself, the cold shock of her terror slapped him hard across the face. It was so strong that he ripped himself away from her, and all but threw her to the ground. She fell heavily and skidded across the dirt, landing in a heap at Rayan’s feet. He instantly regretted his harsh reaction, and from the look of horror on his cousin’s face, it had looked just as bad as he feared. He watched with wide eyes as she curled up and shook violently, feeling a strong sense of disgust from within himself that he hadn't experienced since the night he had lost his temper with her in the tent.
He could feel her betrayal and hatred for him rolling off of her in painful droves, immediately banishing the dragon to the very deepest recesses of his mind and leaving only the man to stand numbly and watch as Rayan tried to help her. She pushed his cousin’s concerned hands back silently, turning her face away as she pulled herself into a slumped sitting position. Rayan looked up at him with such anger, he feared the man might forget himself and punch him for his ill-treatment of the woman. Arun only stared back, almost hoping he would do it, when Naomi began to stand shakily, head still bowed. She didn’t look up, but dragged the back of her arm across her mouth, fist clenched and brows knit furiously.
‘Firefly, I…’ he began, his voice hoarse with self-hatred for allowing the bestial nature of the spell to harm her in such a way. ‘Forgive me, the magic, I… I couldn’t stop it.’
He knew it was pathetic, knew he had betrayed her trust, but he had to make her understand. Looking to his cousin, he saw some kind of realisation of what had happened, but Naomi’s face was shadowed by darkness, and she had stopped moving.
‘Please,’ he begged, taking a step towards her. She flinched and he immediately held himself still. She had to understand!
‘I had no control, the dragon only saw you as… as…’ he stopped, knowing to continue would only make things worse. ‘The Bond needed to be replenished, and this was the easiest way.’
‘The easiest way.’ she repeated, her voice heavy with revulsion. He had completely obliterated her defences against him, leaving their Bond wide open to the anger buzzing about her mind like a swarm of hornets.
‘Firefly, please,’ he repeated, feeling how cold her thoughts to him were turning, icing over like a Tsumetese winter. ‘I had no choice!’
‘But I do.’ She looked up at him at last, eyes glittering with malice. A sick guilt churned in his gut at the redness of her mouth where he had violated her, and she sneered. ‘And I would rather die than ever consider being wed to you.’
‘You don’t mean that,’ he said immediately, causing her eyes to turn yet another degree colder.
‘You think so?’
‘Lady Naomi,’ Rayan suddenly interjected. ‘I know you’re angry, I understand, but this isn’t the time or place. The soldiers have obviously been scared off by the display of power, but they will be back. We need to leave.’
‘No one is stopping you,’ she responded. ‘You can both leave whenever you like.’
Arun immediately understood her meaning. ‘I’m not going anywhere without you, you know that.’
She said nothing, but he knew she wouldn’t come without a fight. He didn’t know what to do. He had no wish to force her as he had before, but he knew she had absolutely no intention of giving in and he couldn’t leave her here. Whatever she thought or said, she was his wife. She had to come back to Koren with him.
If only he had been in better control of the dragon. He had made a terrible mistake, and he knew that whatever happened next, it had cost him dearly. Cost them both. She had finally begun to trust him, and now it was gone. Shame filled him at his behaviour, and he knew from watching the way she had shrunk back in on herself, hiding behind her mask of cold withdrawal, that he had burnt any attempt at a bridge between them in just those few short moments.
He was about to try and plead with her one last time, to ask her to at least hear him out, wait until they were safe and then make a decision, when an ominous, high whistling sound caught his attention.
All three of them immediately looked up, the sound growing louder, like a siege arrow being fired through the air at great speed. Arun searched the sky and glinting in the distance, sure enough was some kind of metal projectile heading right for them.
'Get down!' Naomi shouted, grabbing him and yanking him backwards none too gently. It shot over their heads, the piercing whistle almost deafening her. Unfortunately, there was no sound of impact, and turning, he saw the great metal thing spread its wings expertly and loop upwards back into the sky.
'What is that?' Rayan yelled over the noise, the creature shrieking horribly. The sound was all too familiar, but this was no normal harpy. This was something far worse.
Chapter Twenty-Five
'It's a harpy of some kind.' Naomi frowned up the creature circling over their heads in the vast, smoky sky. 'But I’ve never seen one like that before. It looks like it's made of metal. Like armour, but not quite... This is Genevieve, if I don’t miss my guess.'
‘Genevieve?’ Arun questioned from beside her, but she ignored him. She couldn’t look at him, couldn’t even think about what had just passed. She was angry, and it looked like she was about to be given an opportunity to use it for something more worthwhile than teaching the Dragon King of Koren how it felt to be beaten within an inch of your life.
‘I suggest you both get out of here,’ she said lightly, leaning down to pick up a discarded longbow and quiver from the floor that was only smouldering slightly from the fire damage. The smell of burning flesh made her want to vomit, reminding her all too strongly of the death Adrienne had left in her wake, only fuelling her anger further. Thrusting the sword she had been using up until now blade first into the ground, she loaded the longbow in readiness.
‘Firefly, wait.’ Arun reached out and grabbed her arm. Out of patience, seething with rage, she snatched up his wrist and twisted it swiftly and viciously up behind his back. She stopped just short of breaking his arm, ignoring the sharp cry of pain and throwing him back down to the floor. Lord Rayan took a step towards her then and she immediately raised the bow.
‘I suggest,’ she repeated slowly through clenched teeth, ‘that you both get out of here.’
There was an ear splitting shriek and turning to take aim, her sharp eyes focused as it wheeled in the sky and made another dive. She was waiting for it to get closer, her demeanour completely calm as her gaze was fixed along the arrow to her target. The creature tore down towards them, screaming, talons outstretched to the small, still woman that waited below.
It came into her range at last, and with only seconds to spare, she fired. The beast shrieked angrily, her arrow protruding from its eye. The Harpy hit the ground, screaming as it ploughed into the dusty courtyard.
Thrashing about, it howled furiously, 'You will die, Small Warrior! I will kill you as my master has ordered me!'
Naomi just stood there, her expression cold as the monster tried to right itself. ‘Come and get me.’
She pulled another arrow from the quiver and swiftly shot it into the creature's other eye. It screamed again and fell back to the ground, now fully blinded. She nocked another arrow and shot it at the neck of the harpy, only for it to rebound off the metal, leaving it unharmed. Except for her eyes, there
was nowhere exposed enough to cause damage.
'I can smell you, Small Warrior,' it howled, clawing at the dirt. 'I can smell your fear of me!'
She knew she didn't look it, but she truly was afraid of this thing, only her long-suppressed fury holding it at bay. She felt a grasping unease in her gut. There was something not right with this creature, something dark and evil seeped from its form. Somehow she knew some dark magic was manipulating it, driving it forwards to attack.
Naomi picked the sword back up and fell into a guard position. She had very strategically placed herself between the men and the creature, meaning fully to protect them despite everything. Whatever her personal feelings of disgust, Arun needed to live and to get back to Koren in one piece. She had set out to make sure of it, and she was cussing well going to follow through. He certainly wasn’t the first man to force a kiss from her, and he probably wouldn’t be the last, but she had a duty and that was all that was saving him right now.
She charged, blade raised and face twisted in a snarl, and only registered the two men flanking her at the last moment, far too late for her to stop them. They hit the harpy at the same time, avoiding its sharp teeth and talons as they struck the hard metal exterior in turn. It was quick, much quicker than Odette had been, but she, Rayan, and Arun were quick, too. Fighting as a tag team, they kept its attention diverted, each trying to find a weak point while distracting it long enough for the other to find an opening.
Blood oozed from the blinded eye sockets of the monster, but it was thick and black like tar. It stank of death and decay, and Naomi knew instinctively that there was something not right. If she didn't know any better, she would say from the smell that this thing was already dead.
Rayan shot a ball of fire from his hand into the harpy's face, apparently hoping magic would work where force had not. Unfortunately, while it shrieked angrily, it swung around to attack as though the blazing fire was little more than an annoyance. It snapped its sharp jaws at him and Naomi countered by skidding between its legs and hacking viciously at its ankles. The harpy threw back its head and screamed again, turning its attention from Rayan as he fired another fire ball and Naomi rolled out from under it.
Arun was there, drawing the attention of the beast away from them as they regrouped. She was silently relieved that he seemed an able-bodied swordsman, glad that he was able to take care of himself.
His voice assailed her mind and she was hard pressed not to flinch in shock. 'I can't see a weak point. It's as though it's made entirely of metal.'
Naomi agreed, but made no response. The harpy snapped its jaws at her and swiped a sharp set of talons, but she countered with her sword and jumped backwards. Rayan hissed another incantation and immediately his sword caught on fire. He hacked at the beast with the flaming blade, but it still had little effect. They needed to find a weak point.
The harpy screamed again, enraged at Rayan's attack, and perhaps perceiving him as the greatest threat, turned its full attention to him. Still recovering from his appalling injuries and very recent and extensive healing, Rayan was too slow to dodge the ferocious attack, and with a shout, was thrown like a rag doll through the air, hitting the wall with a sickening crunch. Arun, blind with panic for his cousin, turned his back on the monster, leaving Naomi to dive between them and fend the hideous thing off.
Shoving Arun bodily out of her way, Naomi looked desperately for a way through the monster's impenetrable metal body. Glancing back at the gooey, black sockets of the monster, her arrows still sticking out at odd angles, she was struck by an idea.
‘Genevieve!’ Taking a few steps back to give herself more momentum, Naomi shouted at the harpy to get its attention. ‘Your master is a coward, and when I see him next I’m going to rip his lying tongue from his face and feed it to the dogs!’
Arun looked horrified at her sudden change in tactic, the harpy screaming its outrage and focused entirely on her. As the harpy charged, Naomi did the same, its jagged mouth opening to tear at her flesh, wings spread intimidatingly. Moving as fast as she could, Naomi jumped, one foot hitting the metal beast in the chest, using its own body for purchase as her second foot moved to its shoulder. Holding her sword in both hands, she raised it up as she launched herself into the air, coming down onto the beast and driving the blade through its eye socket.
It screeched in agony, its jaws grabbing her leg and tearing into her flesh. Naomi yelled her own pain but refused to let go of her blade and heaved with all her might. The sword was dislodged, and as it screamed, Naomi was released from its jaws, but caught a blow to her face from a metal wing. She knew her nose had shattered before she landed heavily on the ground. It went to dive down at her, sharp teeth bared, but Arun skidded in and slashed viciously at its face. The monster reared back and she was being dragged forcibly out from under it.
Once free, he all but picked her up and pulled back to where Rayan was lying unconscious. She watched slightly dazed as Arun checked his cousin’s pulse, and felt faintly pleased as he puffed a sigh of relief. Naomi forced herself to sit up, something unpleasant trickling down her throat, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Regaining her senses, she became aware of the bellowing harpy behind them at last and was horrified to see it still alive. Thick, black slime was pouring from the wound in its eye, curling smoke rising poisonously from wherever it touched.
Her plan had been reckless, but it should have worked. The beast was writhing and screaming, but it was still very much alive. It was like it was fighting something deep inside of itself, its body burning and warping. Black, stinking pus seeped out from between its metal feathers and crawled over it like a living shadow.
The harpy seemed to be in pain, writhing as it tore itself open, its screams tormented and harrowing. As it twisted unnaturally, Naomi was sure it must be dead. The silence that followed was almost deafening, when a deep, cruel laughter rang out from its wide, locked maw, its empty eyes bleeding filth and rot like black tears.
‘Leave us, poppet,’ it hissed, no longer the shrieking of the harpy, but deeper and more menacing. ‘I am not finished with the dragon just yet, but I will not pursue you.’
She knew that pet name. Only one person had ever called her that, and it didn’t surprise her in the least to know he would sink to necromancy.
'Who are you?' Arun demanded, and she could hear the growl of the dragon in his voice as he spoke. She knew his magic had been depleted, but after he had broken her trust, he said something about the Bond being replenished. She could only hope now that he had some way left to flee if he had to, and that he would have the sense to do it.
'I am the servant, but I am the master,' the voice whispered menacingly, the creature taking a step forward, spreading its poison further. 'I am nothing, and I am everything. I am the puppet and the puppeteer. I am the organ-grinder and the dancing monkey. I am the dream and I am the nightmare.'
Naomi scoffed at that, and its damaged, oozing eyes turned immediately back to her. She smirked. ‘You always had such a grand opinion of yourself, Cygnus.’
‘You are not a factor in this, dearest Naomi,’ he replied, looking slowly back to Arun. ‘You should make use of the freedom you have earned and allow me to make you a widow.’
She had no intention of doing so, even if she could. The fact was, however, her leg was badly bleeding and she couldn’t run or fight. Even if she could, she had no idea how to proceed. Nothing had worked so far.
‘I have an idea,’ Arun’s voice was less intrusive than usual, but whether that was down to care or lack of energy, she just didn’t know. ‘Please, Firefly…’
She felt their Bond open then. It was painful for her, her emotions so raw from the night that had passed, and felt him bypass what was left of her battered defences. It would take magic to defeat magic, and they would have to utilise what little was left to them.
He stood then, the only one left that was capable, and raised his sword to attack. Naomi could feel him silently beckoning her with
his mind. He was pulling her out of her body somehow, and into his. She felt a moment of uncertainty as she lost conscious feeling of her form, but Arun was somehow there, silently showing her how to stay attached enough that she could keep her body at her fingertips whilst entering his own mind.
There was something so intimate about the way he had opened his mind to her, as though he was trusting her fully with everything he felt. She instantly knew him as she had never known another person in all her life. She saw the trauma of his parents’ deaths, the stress of his position, the love he shared with Rayan and Esta. She knew his impulsiveness as both his greatest weakness and strongest ally, his proclivity for romantic ideas, and felt his duty to his country that matched her own. It was so unnatural, it took all of her concentration not to retreat as quickly as possible and take her chances with the reanimated harpy.
Naomi knew that right now she could wring every single secret he had, but she simply wasn’t interested, too hateful of him now to even care. Something bright in his mind beckoned her forwards and she focused on it. As she came closer, she could hear herself laughing. She knew it wasn't from her own thoughts that the sound came, but from his memories. She wondered briefly at the sound and his interest in it, but stayed focused on the golden light she was heading for.
She felt him nudging at her, but didn't understand exactly what he wanted. She was becoming quickly annoyed by her own uselessness, and the many golden threads that wrapped around her, binding her and Arun together. As she glared at the glimmering strands, she noticed that the harpy was tied up, too.
It wasn't tied to them, but the more she looked at it and concentrated, the more she saw the thick rope that bound and choked it. It was eerily similar to the Bond spell she and Arun shared, but it was harsher. Crueller. It was as though the harpy was nothing more than a puppet being controlled by the tight ropes that chafed and strangled it.
A surge of pity for the creature and its predicament touched her. She somehow knew that it should be dead, but Cygnus’ hold on the leash wouldn't allow it. She wanted to cut the ropes that bound it, and reached out.
