by Maia Dylan
“Fuck me!” she heard Ryan mutter from behind her. “Did she just turn that damn mirror into some kind of teleporter? Because that is so fucking cool!”
Olwen turned with a slight grin at the sound of Ryan’s enthusiasm. “Yes, I did, and yes, it is pretty cool. I’ll step through first and give you all a moment to say your good-byes. Regardless of what happens in the Otherworld, the portal will reopen in three days hence and you will be returned to this realm and your mates. I–I don’t know how to thank you for all that you have done for me. Know that you have my eternal gratitude and thanks for the sacrifice you were all willing to make.”
With one last smile that quivered slightly with the emotion of the moment at the group that stood around her, she stepped through the mirror and onto the ground beside the Pagan Stone. She only had to wait a few moments before Neve and Liam joined her. She figured that they would be the first to step through as they would be together as they passed from this realm into the next.
“Boy, that sure sucked a whole lot,” Neve said, tears clear in her voice.
Liam sighed as he pulled her into his arms. “Yeah, baby, it did. I can only imagine how damn hard it will be for the rest of them to say good-bye to their mates, knowing that they will be facing danger when they go through that portal.”
Olwen stepped toward the portal, reached for her gemstone staff that she had secured beneath it after the final battle yesterday. She had no easy way of knowing if enough power remained within the stone to do what must be done, but she had to hope that there was. She turned to watch and wait for the rest of her Elementals. Her heart was heavy at the thought of what was to come and the dangers that they would all be facing. Argon had been in the Otherworld realm for many centuries, and during all that time, she had undoubtedly built an army of supporters, all of whom would be willing to die to do her bidding. Add to the fact that Aeron had basically given her free reign over his own armies, and the odds were definitely not stacked in her favor.
Could she, in all good conscience, take her Elementals through that portal with her? All of them had lived with the pressure of the prophecy over them for so long it seemed unfair to make them continue to put themselves in danger because of the actions of her family, and in that moment, Olwen came to the conclusion that she couldn’t do it.
Oh, she would go through the portal today, and use every skill and ability, magical or otherwise to save Rohan and bring him back to this realm for the life they should have had together, but she would do it alone.
She moved backward around the Pagan Stone, watching as Ariana, Casey, and Fiona stepped through the portal with their hands clasped, tears still falling freely and their faces ravaged with grief at leaving their mates. Stepping up to the Portal, she caught Ariana’s eye. In that split second of connection, her brave and extremely intelligent Air Elemental easily determined Olwen’s intention, and her face swiftly changed from shock to a look that clearly said don’t you dare.
Olwen gave her a small smile, mouthed the words forgive me, and, clasping the gemstone staff to her chest as tight as she could, she stepped back into the maelstrom of the portal. Her last sight before the portal closed in around her was all of her Elementals looking toward the portal, holding their hands out to her. It was a fantastic feeling to know that they cared.
* * * *
Argon dropped to her knees beneath a sensation she had never felt before but knew immediately what it meant. It had felt like the air pressure in the Otherworld had changed and created a moment where the gravity in this place increased tenfold. It had become hard to breathe and impossible to stand, and she now found herself kneeling on the stone floor of her bedroom.
Olwen had come back to the Otherworld, just as she had promised, and Argon knew exactly what she was here for. She had come for Rohan.
When the air pressure abated enough to allow her to regain her feet, she pushed to a standing position and placed a hand against her chest, gasping for much-needed air. Over the years, she had become used to the strange, sulfuric smell of this place, but every now and then it would burn within her nose and cause her eyes to water. Now was one of those times, as she breathed deep and fought to control her racing heart. Tears slid down her cheeks and she let them fall unheeded.
“Mistress.” Argon forced herself to stand straight, never wanting to appear weak in front of her staff. “The prisoner is calling for you. This is the first time he has ever done so, and I thought it would be best to make you aware.” The voice belonged to one of her guards, an Uruheim man who had pledged his allegiance to her many years ago.
There were many creatures of this realm, and most were merely animals. Some, like the hordes who stood with Aeron before he fell, were mindless, soulless ghosts that he conjured to do his bidding, but there were some that resembled the form of man, except larger, uglier, hairier and a whole lot meaner. They were also not the brightest creatures known to ever have walked this realm, and they were susceptible to a craftily worded prophecy that saw her as the powerful and rightful queen of their kind. The fact that Aeron had bestowed upon her the ability to wield powers in this realm that the Uruheim saw as godlike certainly helped.
She turned, using her powers to place a magical glamor over her face that belied her anguish and tears, and made her appear beautiful and without a care in the world “Thank you, Henrick. I have no wish to speak with him tonight. Make him aware of the fact that your queen does not wish to speak with him this night and that she has retired early. If I am feeling merciful in the morning, I may venture to the dungeons to speak with him.”
Henrick dropped forward in a bow before he turned to leave the room. Just as he placed his large, meaty hand on the door to push it open, he paused and looked back. “And if he continues to call for you, Mistress? His shouts are riling the other prisoners.”
Argon smiled a smile that held nothing but bloodthirsty glee. “Then have him beaten until he shuts up.”
* * * *
Olwen fought against nausea that threatened to drop her to the floor of the dungeon she had called home for many centuries. Leaning heavily on the gemstone staff, she drew in great gulps of air, gagging on the familiar sulfur smell in the air at first. Then, taking a hold of her initial feelings and pushing them down, she forced herself to focus on the room around her.
It was just as she had left it. The doors to the cage she had been held in were still wrenched open from the lightning Neve had directed into the charmed lock in order to secure her freedom from the cell. There was a huge hole in the side wall of the room, where the lightning that Neve had called down had broken through into the room.
Walking over to the damaged wall, she placed her back against it and slid as quietly as she could until she could see out the hole. The room beside to the dungeon was the great hall, where Aeron would hold court for his army. There was no one in the room, and Olwen sneered with disgust at the portraits of Aeron that lined the walls. He really had been one hell of a narcissistic son of a bitch. Word of his death must have spread through this realm quickly, as his army had already fled.
She knew that within days, his entire army would be dead. Not only was Aeron a narcissistic bastard, but he was also extremely paranoid. When he had built his army, he made it so that their life force was entwined with his. If he died, then they would soon follow. Olwen wished she knew a little more about that ability, as it would appear Argon had done the same damn thing with Rohan. If she had any hope of saving her beloved and getting him the hell out of here, then she needed to break that connection.
But first things first. She was going to have to even the playing field a little. Argon now had the ability to shift into a bear, and that was something Olwen could do very little about, but she could definitely strip her sister of some of the powers she had managed to siphon from the gemstone in her staff before Olwen was able to hide it. As soon as she did this, Argon would know that she had traveled into the Otherworld with the gemstone staff, but that was an acceptable risk.
Besides, there wasn’t much she could do about it.
Swinging the gemstone staff above her head, she wove the patterns to call the power back to the stone, then hefted it high above her head. A brilliant white bolt of lightning streaked through the sky and connected with the gemstone in the staff. Olwen couldn’t help but smile at the knowledge that it must have hurt like a bitch when those powers were stripped from her sister. With the return of the powers Argon stripped from it, Olwen was certain that there was enough power within it to help her on her quest to free Rohan.
She stepped out into the great hall and followed the hole the lightning had left in the exterior wall of Aeron’s castle. The closer she got to it, the windier and cooler it became. Just like the Earth realm, the Otherworld had seasons, too, and this was the end of the harshest season. The nights were shortening and the days lengthening, and soon the temperatures would rise, but for now, it was cooler at night and Olwen shivered at the feeling of the cool air sweeping over her.
Standing at the opening that had been ripped into the side of Aeron’s fortress, Olwen stared out into the darkness. The two moons of the Otherworld were still high in the sky, and the dark shadows of the forest that stretched out below her were ominous and filled her with dread. She would have to cross this forest as quickly as she could and head for the eastern portions of this land. The Uruheim lands were there and Olwen had no doubt that that was where Argon had to be. It was the only place within the Otherworld that Aeron had never taken her to. She had initially thought that perhaps he was afraid of the Uruheim people, but now she knew that it was because that was where he had secured Rohan for Argon.
She had just under a week to get to Rohan, rescue him, and get him back to the portal in the dungeons below. Otherwise, they would both be stuck here. In the Earth realm that would only be three days, but it would be the end of winter and when the prophecy would finally come to an end. Strengthening her resolve, she swung her staff above her head and conjured a long black jacket for herself. It was light and made no sound when she moved in it, but it was water-resistant and kept out the cold. She tucked her blonde hair into the hood of the jacket, then pulled the face shield built into the hood up over the bottom part of her face so that only her eyes were visible.
Placing her staff across her back in the invisible sheath the jacket held for it, she dropped into a crouch. The sheath held her staff safe, but also magically altered it so that it molded itself to her, moved as she did, and was completely undetectable.
Steeling her resolve, Olwen stepped out into the night and dropped through the frigidly cold air, free-falling the three or four hundred feet straight to the base of the stone wall of the fortress. As she neared the ground, she called to the element of air and felt a huge updraft of air that slowed her descent and cushioned her contact with the ground.
Despite the assistance, she still rolled as she landed, before moving swiftly to a crouching position. She held there for a few moments, listening to the sounds of the forest around her, trying to ascertain if she was alone. When nothing but silence met her, she rose to a stand. Turning away from the fortress and facing east, she mentally calculated how much time it would take her to traverse the distance required to reach Uruheim lands. Not liking the answer, she figured she’d better move as fast as possible.
Striking out at a silent run, she headed into the unknown to go rescue her Captain. A noble cause if ever she heard one. She only hoped that the gods saw it that way, too!
Chapter 3
Rohan struggled against the dark curtain of unconsciousness and forced himself to the surface. He ensured that he remained completely still, slumped in the chains that held him to the magically reinforced stand in the dungeon he had been held captive in for so long he had struggled to give it a number. Keeping his breathing as even as he could, he cracked his eyes open. The fact that he was hanging in the chains with his head down meant that he was unable to see much around him, but it helped him to orient himself a little more.
He fought to remember what had brought on his latest beating. He could see fresh blood on the cobblestones below him, and he found himself wondering how much of the stuff he had managed to lose over the years. More than any one human man could afford, that was for sure. But you are no longer a mere human man now, are you?
The thought came from nowhere and Rohan had to fight against the urge to shudder. No, he was no longer merely human. He was…more. He didn’t have the words to describe it, and the feel of the presence within him had driven him to the brink of insanity when Argon first forced this change upon him. Now, he mostly managed to control the beast within him, but he knew the beast longed for freedom. The chains that held him to this place were magically strengthened, but also held within them the power to keep the beast within him.
“He’s still out cold,” Henrick, the head of Argon’s army, said from somewhere behind him, and Rohan clenched his jaw and fought his internal need to flay the skin from this asshole as Henrick had done to Rohan many times over the years. “Tell the Mistress that the prisoner is calm and can receive her if she so desires.”
He so didn’t desire to have that woman anywhere near him. Christ, when he thought about the pain and suffering he and his beloved Olwen had endured because of that crazy witch, his vision turned red and his skin felt too tight as the beast within him roared to be let free. At least that was one thing about the uninvited guest who now shared his skin. They were both on the same page when it came to Argon and her followers.
Rohan threw his head back and yelled as what felt like acid was poured over him.
“Ah, so nice of you to join us.” Henrick’s voice practically dripped with sarcasm. Rohan took a few deep breaths to bring the pain in his back under control. He had been whipped repeatedly until his blood poured freely and he was fairly certain the skin had been stripped from him. “I thought the alcohol bath would be a fitting way to rouse you this morning. It also has the added bonus of masking your stench if the Mistress chooses to grace you with her divine presence.”
Henrick moved around the cell so that Rohan could see the big bastard. He stood at least a foot taller than Rohan, which would put him up around seven and a half feet, and he carried a shit-load of muscle on his frame. His wild red hair fell to below his shoulders, and his beard reached his chest, but it was his black eyes that would often take on a red tinge when he was beating the shit out of him that Rohan sincerely hoped like hell wasn’t a sign of arousal.
“I’m what you would call a purist when it comes to alcohol.” Rohan was pleased that his voice held nothing but disinterest. “I much prefer to drink it.”
Henrick gave what must have constituted a smile in this realm, but looked more like a grimace to Rohan. “And there we have something in common between us, human. We, too, like to drink for all types of occasions, and I believe this evening it will be our queen who will be toasting the new arrival.”
Everything within Rohan suddenly came to a halt. The new arrival. And just like that, the reason for the beating he’d had to endure the night before came slamming back to him. He had been contemplating the conversation he’d had with Argon a few days ago, the day Aeron was killed by Olwen’s Elementals. Argon had promised him in that conversation that as soon as Olwen stepped back into the Otherworld, Argon would send her army after her.
At first, Rohan had been adamant that Olwen would not return, but after putting himself in her position, he knew she would be coming back for him. Last night, he had felt a shockwave roll through him and felt the force of it almost like a physical blow. He knew immediately what it meant.
Olwen had just stepped through the portal and back into the Otherworld.
In that moment, he had been hit with a barrage of different emotions. He was overjoyed that she was back, and yet scared for her at the same time. He was so damn glad that she still loved him enough to put her own life at risk by crossing into the realm, and angry with her for thinking that he was worth the risk. He wanted to kiss
her, shake her, love her, and spank her all at the same time.
Rohan felt the beast within him start to stir. Despite never having met Olwen, it was as besotted with her as he was. “This new arrival, are they here at the castle? Or has Argon sent out guards to bring them back?”
Henrick barked an incredulous laugh that had Rohan’s anger spiking into the red. “What, in all the years you and I have been playing the roles of tortured and torturer, led you to believe that I would be in any way inclined to give you any information? The Mistress has mentioned she might come and speak with you, and you may ask your questions of her. I doubt she’ll be so inclined to answer any of your questions, but feel free to ask. I’ll look forward to opening the lacerations I left on your back yesterday.”
With that, Henrick spun on his heel and strode out of Rohan’s line of sight and through the door that led out into the corridor. Rohan heard a low grumbling coming from somewhere deep in his chest. He immediately knew it came from his beast. He felt his body swell until his skin felt too tight for him. It was not a pleasant feeling and Rohan had to fight to keep the panic at bay.
His beast had never pushed so close to the surface before. Rohan flinched when his senses seemed to all heighten at once. Immediately, he could see the individual cracks in the stones that formed the wall across from him, something that he had never before noticed in all the years he had been there. He could smell…everything, and given that he was in a dungeon, not having bathed in a long time—and from the smell of it, there were many others who hadn’t bathed in a long time either in the cells around him—that was not a good thing.
