Before that could happen, Dacia redirected and materialized in time to pull Preston to the ground. He landed on her with a thud. She watched the dragon shrink down as he shot her a look. “Dacia, love, make sure your father dies and you can fly free of me. You’re too much trouble, little bird, not enough payoff.”
“Oh, he won’t survive the day,” Dacia answered coldly as the black vortex shrank and winked out.
A flash of light flew past her as Preston rolled to his feet. She cried out, thinking another blade had torn into Preston.
“Shh,” he whispered, pulling her to her feet. “Just my mana-blade coming back to me, Minx.”
She pressed her lips to his and pulled back. “Get your mother out. I’ll help Robert.”
* * * *
Remus watched his traitorous daughter turn toward the blond mage before dispersing. Preston started for Gebiet.
Smiling coldly, Remus turned toward Toryn. He’d take pleasure in dismantling his old foe.
Toryn shouted an old incantation and a wall of silver fire encircled Remus.
The bastard strode through the flames with a cruel smile. “You’ve got nowhere to go, and no one to save your ass. You have two choices. The Elder Guard, or die.”
Remus laughed coldly. “And how do you think you’ll call the Elder Guard?”
“Your sister procured the means to summon them. They’ll be here.”
“Yet you haven’t called them, missing the opportunity to take me and the dragon.”
“They had no reason to take the dragon, and I plan to make you suffer before calling the Guard.”
Remus rushed forward, pulling his energy into a spear. Direct magic wouldn’t work against Toryn, he’d learned that long ago. However, Remus could still use it to make weapons that would tear Toryn apart.
Toryn flicked his wrist and a whip of flame flowed from his hand, snapping out to wrap around Remus’ legs, yanking him to the ground. The constructed spear rolled out of his grasp. Flames burned through his pants, searing his flesh in an instant.
“You aren’t the only one capable of manipulating your element, Remus.”
He rolled over, reaching for the spear.
A stripe of pain opened his back, blazing the flesh. Toryn sneered, “I don’t have time to make you pay for all the women you destroyed, or tried to break, over the centuries, but you’ll never be in the position to do so again.”
“Isadora is promised to me. I will have her.” The words were filled with pain while fire tore through his system.
“You’re wrong. Henroyld didn’t have the means to enforce that contract. Isadora is mine, and the queen agrees. Isa will never let you take her, and I wouldn’t allow it either.”
Remus shouted, “Oh, she’ll have no choice once I bind her to me.”
Toryn’s whip lashed out, striking his face, snapping his head back as his cheek sizzled. Remus fell as the flame slashed across his chest, setting his shirt on of fire. Blood spilled down his stomach as his vision started to gray.
* * * *
Preston ran to the cage holding his mother, pulling a short mana-blade. He sliced through the locking mechanism and threw the door open.
“Mom!” he yelled, then reached out to shake her but the illusion vanished.
“Fuck,” he muttered spinning to see her running toward Robert and Dacia.
A pained grunt from Toryn whipped Preston’s head toward the wall of flame. Dazzling silver made Preston pause for a second.
He wasn’t totally sure he could withstand Toryn’s fire, but hearing Remus chant a curse wiped out his concern.
With a rush of adrenaline, Preston burst into action. He barreled through the silver flame. As he stepped through, the heat flared around him, but nothing more than the caress of warmth he would have felt from his own flames.
Toryn lay on his back, trying to shove off a chunk of the ceiling covering his legs. Remus funneled energy at the ceiling. Cracks spread out toward the walls.
Praying Robert could hear him, he screamed, “Robert, get them out!”
He fell to his knees beside his father and heaved the stone slab up. Toryn rolled from underneath.
Hearing the creaking and crumbling of stone breaking apart, Preston closed his eyes and focused on a shield to surround them in a protective dome. Toryn whispered his own spell to fortify the barrier as the ceiling collapsed around Remus, in a cascade spreading out toward the walls.
His heart slammed in his chest while he reached out with his senses to find the three people he cared most about in the world. Relief flooded him when he felt Dacia, his mother, and Robert far enough away they should be safe.
The rest of the roof collapsed. The only light was the shield crackling under the weight of the stones.
“You got a plan?” Toryn asked gruffly.
“Oh yeah, I got this.”
* * * *
Dacia knelt beside Robert. His chest moved with his breath, but he was passed out. Blood smeared the wall behind his head. Praying she wouldn’t do worse damage, she pulled his shoulders forward and placed a hand over a huge knot and gash on the back of his skull. She focused her energy to fix the injury.
A second later, his eyes fluttered open and his hand came up to touch his head. “Preston?” he asked.
“He’s fine. Gebiet’s gone. Can’t see past whatever Toryn did.” She nodded over her shoulder at the silver flames.
Preston shouted, “Robert, get them out!”
Someone shoved her on top of Robert, then there was a cry of pain with the crash of rock on rock behind her.
Dacia tried to move off Robert, but he grabbed her shoulder and reached out to the hand peeking from under the rock. Next thing she knew, the cold wind whipped around her making the trees bend.
She looked back to where the mound had stood but the ground was caving in.
“Preston!” she screamed, pulling free from Robert.
He caught her around the waist and erected a shield that made her hair stand on end. “He’ll be fine,” Robert assured her.
“He’s probably crushed,” she cried.
“He’s fine. Priscilla isn’t.”
“What?” Dacia whispered.
He nodded beside them. She found a petite woman with brown hair on the ground. Bones were obviously crushed, there was blood, but she was breathing, though it was labored.
“I-I can-can’t h-h-heal that.” Her chest heaved as she fell beside Preston’s mother. “Too much damage. Can’t fix. I wouldn’t know how to put her back together.”
Robert touched her back as he crouched beside her. “She’s tough. She’s going to pull through. And don’t worry about Preston, he’s fine.”
Her eyes flashed to Robert. “How can you be sure?”
“Oh, he’s about to blow the rubble out of the place. You need to stay here. I’ll be right back, but I’m leaving the shield in place to keep you out of danger.”
“I have no qualms about killing that fucking bastard!” she screamed.
“Damn it, Dacia. Right now, you need to trust me. We’ve been in cave-ins before, and his method for getting out is likely to have you as crushed as Priscilla. So you’re staying put for the five or so minutes I’m gone.”
Her hands clenched into fists as she tried to catch her breath.
He let her go and she stood her ground as he reached out to Priscilla. They disappeared, leaving the damned shield intact. She was about to try phasing out when the center of the collapsed mound blew up into the sky with a reverberating explosion that nearly knocked her off her feet.
A startled hiss whipped her around to find a jaguar. She remembered Preston talking about his friend.
Then she did phase out and appeared beside the giant cat as she threw her own shield around them. Earth and rocks fell, pelting the magical barrier.
“I’m guessing you’re Leon?” she asked breathlessly, then jumped when a large boulder smacked the shield above them and slid to the side.
The big cat shif
ted to a man who happened to be completely nude. “Yeah. What’s going on down there?” She heard the tremble in his voice.
“Not totally sure at the moment. Toryn and Preston are in there with Remus. The ceiling came down.”
“Priscilla?”
“Not good. Crushed, but alive.”
“And where is she?”
“Robert took her somewhere. I’m guessing the Council’s healers.”
“He coming back?”
“Yeah, and may be pissed when he finds me not in his shield, but now I get why he locked me in.”
Leon chuckled, looking over her shoulder. She glanced back to find both shields surrounded with rocks and dirt that slid off the top to the sides. “Looks like you weren’t contained.”
“I didn’t want to see you crushed.”
“How did you know I wasn’t a jaguar?”
“Preston told me about you. I didn’t think any natural cat would run to danger on purpose, so you had to be him.”
She dropped the shield, and the man shifted back to cat, before she started picking her way back to the crater. Robert appeared before her with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Thought I told you to stay put?”
The giant black cat brushed up against her thigh before sitting his butt down and growling at Robert.
Dacia couldn’t help laughing. “I kept him from being crushed. Now, I want to see how Preston is doing. By the way, Leon asked about Priscilla. I told him I thought you took her to healers.”
He nodded to Leon. “I did. Don’t worry. She’s safe, and will pull through.”
Leon made a mewling sound and Dacia returned to carefully making her way through the rubble.
* * * *
“Let’s do this.” Toryn grinned.
Preston took a breath, dropped the shields, and pushed all his power up as the cave started to come down. Everything blew up and out.
A gust of wind knocked Preston down, but Toryn turned to smoke and rushed at Remus who was on his knees with one arm thrown out, directing the wind.
Preston hit his head and the world spun, his vision graying around the edges. He took a moment to breathe.
There was a meaty thunk and Remus groaned. Preston sat up slowly.
Toryn brought a flaming fist down on Remus’ face. “Times up, asshole. No more choice. You’re gonna die today.” He brought his arm back but a cyclone swept Toryn away.
Remus rolled to his hand and knees, coughing up blood. Black smoke swirled out from the top of the whirlwind. Preston climbed to his feet.
“You stupid bitch.” Remus coughed and stood, flinging his hand and stump out. Lightning flowed toward Dacia whose eyes were locked on Preston.
Preston shifted into smoke, rushing to Dacia, and brought her to the ground as he reformed and shielded both of them.
“You’re okay?” she whimpered.
He nodded. “Yeah, you?”
Tears filled her eyes. “Yes. But Toryn?”
A frustrated scream whipped their heads back. Remus was stumbling toward Preston’s shield.
Bursting from the shadows, the sleek jaguar tackled Remus to the ground. Toryn appeared, and grabbed a stone the size of a typewriter. He swung it at Remus and broke his head open, splattering blood and brain everywhere.
Dacia buried her face against Preston’s chest. She let out a strangled cry with each following wet crunch.
“I’m sorry,” Preston whispered against her hair, holding her as she sobbed.
Shaking her head, she sniffled. “He needed to die. Seeing the brutality is hard.” She sucked in a breath. “For the best.”
“Do you still want him dead?” He’d understand if she didn’t.
“Yes, but watching—”
“Oh, Minx, I’ll spend every day replacing this memory with something better.”
Sniffing, she smiled at him. “Already are.” She fell against his chest, kissing him hard.
Threading his fingers into her hair, he gently pushed her back. “We aren’t done yet. We need to make sure everyone is okay.”
She nodded in understanding as he dropped his shields.
He felt with his senses but couldn’t locate his mom. The words left his mouth on an exhale, “What happened to my mother?”
“Robert took your mother to the healers. She’s in bad shape.” Blinking back tears, her lips trembled. “She s-saved me.”
“Come here,” he told her fiercely. “She’ll be all right.”
Robert touched his shoulder. “Dacia was in the middle of healing me. There was no way for her to know about the ceiling. Priscilla pushed her on top of me at the same time you screamed. Ceiling came down, pinned her. I took her to Emily. While I was gone, Dacia protected Leon.”
“She did,” Leon’s deep voice rumbled.
Preston grinned at Dacia. “And you kept me from being sucked into where ever Gebiet went.”
She turned to Robert. “Tell me it’s okay my father is dead instead of with the Elder Guard.”
Robert’s brow arched. “I don’t believe that will be an issue. At least, not on our side of things.”
Toryn brushed his fingers across Dacia’s cheek. “He can’t hurt anyone again. Not you. Not Isa. And I’ve found my son and gained a daughter.” Amusement danced through his eyes as he looked to Preston. “If there’s anything you need, call me. I’ll be there,” Toryn promised.
“Thank you. For everything.”
“I’ll take you all home,” Robert offered.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll ride with Leon. I’m guessing his car is somewhere nearby,” Toryn countered.
Leon nodded. “Not too far. We’ll stop somewhere so you can clean up. Isa will freak if she sees you like that.”
Toryn chuckled. “Maybe, maybe not.” He squeezed Dacia’s shoulder. “Take care of my boy.”
“You have my word.”
He tipped his head and followed Leon through the woods.
Robert touched Preston and Dacia and then they were in Dacia’s living room.
“You okay, old friend?” Preston asked.
He nodded. “I am. I can take you to your mother if you’d like.”
Preston sighed. “I think I’d rather drive. I need to get cleaned up first.”
“Then I’ll be in touch later.” Robert disappeared.
Chapter 32
Preston stood in the living room after Robert left. He stared at the wall without moving. Dacia’s heart twisted as she stepped into his line of sight.
“Talk to me, Ember. You’re scaring me.”
His eyes locked on hers. “I’m not ready to see how bad she is.”
“I have an idea. Let’s take a shower. We’ll get cleaned up, eat something, then make the drive. The healers will have her all fixed up by the time we get there.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed. “Good call.”
She clung to the words they’d reassured her with when she wanted to feel guilty, refusing to let that emotion take hold as she led him upstairs. He never took his eyes off her, and she managed to slowly back up the stairs, holding onto his hand the whole way.
“I’ll wash you this time.” She pulled his shirt over his head and then his mouth was on hers. He backed her against the counter as she opened his pants, not breaking the kiss.
Preston kicked his shoes off, then the rest of his clothes. He yanked her shirt over her head and pushed her jeans down before setting her on the counter. He placed his head over her heart and wound his arms around her.
Tears slid down her breast. She held him to her, rocking gently. “She’ll be okay.”
“I know. I just… your dad… he would have taken you from me. Your own father.”
She let out a bitter laugh. “I was a tool. One he viewed as broken.”
He stood up and took her face in his hands. “I’ll never use you. Always cherish you. I love you, Dacia.”
“Shh. I believe you. You put me first. He never did. You fill the void, make me w
hole. You’re part of me, Ember. Now let me help you feel that.”
“I do.”
She smiled sadly. “I want to make sure your mother’s okay too. I’d like to meet the woman who brought you into my life, even if she hates me.”
Preston shook his head. “She wouldn’t have pushed you out of the way if she hated you. If she had any thought you might hurt me, she would have pushed you under the collapse instead of out of the way.”
“That protective?” She almost laughed.
He nodded. “Yeah. She’s going to love you. Come on.” Taking a step back, he pulled her boots off, then he finished removing her jeans before picking her up to carry her into the shower.
* * * *
Preston stood at the side of his mother’s bed. She was whole, but not waking up. Dacia held his hand, her head on his shoulder. He felt the tear inch down his face, but made no move to wipe it away.
“Other than the coma, she’s in perfect health,” Emily explained from across the bed. “I was able to set the bones and mend the breaks. The internal bleeding is resolved. There’s no explanation for why she won’t wake. I’ve tried everything. She’s simply not responding.”
He nodded, unsure what to say. Mom could have disappeared instead of letting Remus take her. She could have escaped. Hell, she could have killed him. Instead, she was lying in a bed, completely unconscious. He felt her essence, but part of her was distant.
“We’ll figure this out, Preston. Sooner or later we’ll have answers,” Emily assured.
“Thank you.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I need a little time with her.”
Dacia moved to leave but his arm shot out to wind around her waist, hauling her to his side. “Please stay.”
She nodded against his shoulder. “Anything for you.”
“And don’t you dare say what I bet you’re thinking.”
She turned and pulled his gaze to hers. “Don’t blame yourself either.”
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