I turned back to Marcus. “What the hell are we going to do if you can’t fly them back to the city?”
“We’ll take them somewhere else safe,” he said quietly. “Somewhere closer. Somewhere the fae won’t find them.”
I arched an eyebrow. “And where the hell are we going to find a place like that?”
“There’s another castle nearby. It has been owned for decades by a vampire-warlock hybrid, but he’s not living there at the moment, so we don’t have to worry about disturbing anyone.”
I snorted at the word. “A vampire-warlock hybrid? That sounds like the total opposite of where we need to be going right now. We can’t run from the fae and straight into a vampire lair. With blood mages? They despise vampires, and vampires despise them.”
“Dorian Kostas is not like that,” Marcus insisted. “I know him well, and he gave me access to his home years ago. He is a good man. A good warlock, one who was unlucky enough to be cursed with vampirism. Anyway, last I heard, he somehow got his curse reversed. So, we would not be walking into a vampire lair.”
“Okay.” I loosed a breath. “If you think this is the right call, then let’s do it.”
“Thank you. It will save their lives.” Marcus lifted my hand to his lips, and he kissed my palm. “I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you. I hope you realize that. You risked your life to help me, to help the blood mages my family has protected for centuries. I’ll never forget what you did for me tonight, Rowena.”
Goddess, I wanted him again. And I would have slid into his lap, weaving my arms around his neck, if we weren’t sitting a mere few meters away from bone weary witches and warlocks who needed safe passage, food, and drink far more than they needed to watch me climb a gargoyle shifter.
Memories of my recent nightmare flittered through my mind. “Listen, Marcus. How long will this trip to Dorian’s castle take?”
“Once we start walking, just a couple of hours max.” He frowned. “Why?”
“I…” How did I explain this? “We need to get back to the city as soon as possible. I’m pretty sure that one of the shifters has turned to stone. Or will turn to stone. It’s hard to say when it’ll happen.”
His eyes flickered. “You’ve had one of your vision things, haven’t you?”
I nodded, swallowing.
He ran a hand down his face and sighed. “Shit. Okay. Who is it?”
“I don’t know, Marcus. That I didn’t see.” And I was glad for it. I didn’t know how I’d react to seeing the anguished face of Silas, Jasper, or Eli.
Marcus sighed and weaved his fingers through mine. “You know there’s nothing we can do to stop it, even if we get there before it happens.”
“I know.” I squeezed my hands together. “But I also know I need to be there.”
He nodded, falling silent. Pain was written all over his face as he glanced from me to the mages and back to me again. I knew what he was thinking because I was thinking it, too. There was no way we were going to save everyone. But we were sure as hell going to try.
With the shifters firmly on my mind…it was now or never. I didn’t know how Marcus would react, but it was better he heard it from me than from anyone else. And I had no idea how Jasper would react when we returned. As amazing as things were between Marcus and I, I was very much aware that it might cause tensions to run high.
I took a deep breath and barrelled forward before I could talk myself out of it. “Marcus, there’s something I need to tell you before we head back to the city.”
His eyes had gone distant, fuzzy, but he blinked that away and focused his eyes on my face. “What’s that, love?”
I flicked my gaze away. “One of the other shifters and I…well, we kissed. Back when I first got to the city. Nothing else came of it after it happened, but…well, I just thought you should know.”
I couldn’t bear to look at his face. What if this meant he would never again want to touch me?
“Let me guess,” he said in a voice that didn’t speak of anger or pain. “Silas?”
“Silas?” My cheeks flamed, and I shook my head. “No, not Silas. Jasper.”
Marcus was silent for a long brutal moment before he said, “Interesting. I’m surprised he would do that considering…”
I looked up. “Considering what?”
“If he didn’t tell you, then it’s not for me to say.” He squeezed my hands, leaned forward, and pressed his lips to mine. “Thank you for telling me.”
“You don’t seem upset,” I said, more of a question than a statement.
“That’s because I’m not. What you do with Jasper has nothing to do with you and me.” He curled his lips into a smile. “And what we have together is exceedingly good.”
My face warmed, and I smiled right back. But it was an expression that didn’t remain, not when I caught sight of one of the mages pressing a fistful of grass to her lips.
“Should we get them some food? Water?” I asked, jerking my chin toward the mages.
“We’ll find plenty of supplies in Dorian’s castle,” Marcus said before pressing his lips to my forehead. “We made a short stop to wait for you to wake up. And now that you have…it’s time to move on before the fae track us down.”
Chapter 25
We doused the fire and set off through the woods. Marcus carried the wounded witch in his arms. The others shuffled around us with the last remnants of their strength. No one said a word. They didn’t need to. I could practically smell the fear rippling off them. The moon had begun to sink, and a hazy light was taking its place. Soon, day would arrive, along with the edge of the tree line.
We’d been walking for an hour across rolling hills when a deep melodic horn sounded from behind us. I slid to a stop and twisted toward the noise. It had come from somewhere far in the distance, but that fact did little to calm my nerves.
Marcus met my gaze. His eyes flashed, followed by a solemn nod.
I pressed my hands against my heart and turned toward the blood mages, who were watching me with eyes wide and fearful.
“That is a fae horn,” a younger warlock, Edward, said. He was likely around eighteen or twenty. It was difficult to tell under the film of dirt and the gaunt cheekbones. Either way, he deserved a long life, far beyond these years. All of them did.
“Do you think you can run?” Marcus asked, addressing Edward. “The castle isn’t much further away. If you book it, you could make it there in fifteen minutes. We’re far enough ahead of them that you’d reach the castle before they catch up with us.”
“And you?” Edward asked. “How will you run without jolting Charlotte so much that the wound reopens?”
Marcus didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. The warlock knew the answer to that question before he even asked.
“We will not leave Charlotte behind,” Edward said with the kind of conviction most people only dreamed of.
The horn echoed across the hills again. Marcus turned his ear toward the sound, cocking his head to listen. No doubt he was doing some sort of calculation to determine just how far the fae were behind us.
“They’re not that close,” he said with a nod. “We keep moving, but let’s pick up the pace as much as we can. There’s still a possibility that we might beat them.”
We carried on, our footsteps heavy on the muddy earth. The horn haunted us, a constant reminder of exactly what we were running from...only there was very little running. The blood mages stumbled along, like mindless zombies. In fact, they curved inward the further into the fields we got, as if the sun itself was too great a burden to bear.
Heavy wings beat against the sky. I turned toward the sound, my gut clenching when I saw just how close they were. Their dark feathered wings flashed against the white clouds, their bodies glimmering with golden light.
“Run.” I reached out to grab Edward’s hand, but he tipped forward, falling face-first into the dirt.
Whirling toward Marcus, I shook my head in silent question. What the hell do w
e do?
He lowered Charlotte to the ground and pointed at the only adult among us. “Watch her. Keep them safe.” And then he unsheathed his weapon and stalked toward the approaching fae.
“Shit.” My veins spiked with adrenaline as I wrapped my hands around the hilt of the sword, sucking in sharp breaths through my nose.
The fae dropped to the earth in a run, their wings tucking into their backs. Roars shook the field beneath my feet, along with the thunder of their heavy footsteps. I took my place beside Marcus with my trembling weapon held before me.
Five steps away. Now two. When they were close enough for me to feel their power rushing over the hair on my skin, I swung my sword at the storm of golden bodies. I braced myself for impact, for a clash of steel on steel. But instead, they continued to rush past, their gazes focused on the blood mages who were cowering in the dirt.
It all moved too fast for me to process. The fae were here, then there, their swords whirling like the blades of a blender. Blood slashed through the air, falling in crimson puddles. I made a move toward the carnage, but they ceased their fighting before I’d even taken two steps. The warriors turned, blood drenching their swords. Behind them…I couldn’t look. My gut squeezed tight.
A golden-haired fae warrior broke from the others and bore down on Marcus, whipping a gun from his waist. My heart lurched; the world whorled around me.
“Shift!” I cried out, remembering what Jasper had told me about gargoyles. My hand clutched at the dress that was now ripped to shreds. “Please, Marcus. Shift. They can’t kill me with a gun, but they can kill you unless you shift.”
He met my eyes across the battlefield, his jaw clenched tight, his eyes hollow. For a moment, I thought he would resist, too hell-bent on being the hero. But then he nodded, a flat steel gray rippling over his skin until he was nothing but stone.
The fae slowed to a stop before me, and the warrior lowered his gun.
“This needs to stop.” I stood before the fae and their king and spread my arms wide, dropping the sword onto the rain-drenched earth. “Hasn’t enough blood been spilled?”
King Oberon sneered, bright green eyes gleaming in the light of the day. “No. It won’t be enough until your shadow witches are dead.”
I laughed, dropping my hands to my sides. “Well, you’re out of luck on that one. They’ll be long gone by the time you make it to the city. In fact, they’re probably gone already.”
The king’s wicked smile faltered. “What are you talking about?”
For once, I had the edge. A thrill went through me as I chose my next words. I wanted him to understand just how horribly he’d lost. “We sent a raven to warn them of your attack. They know you’re coming, and trust me when I say the Queen won’t stick around to risk the lives of her coven. She’s gone. You’ve failed. Just go back to your realm.”
A low murmur rippled through the gathered fae. They cast furtive glances at each other. Only the rare whispered word drifted from the crowd and into my ears. Powerful. Goddess. Weak king.
But if I could hear them, so could Oberon.
“Silence!” His voice was loud and heard by all, even though he didn’t shout. The fae fell silent, but not a single one glanced his way. And, I couldn’t help but wonder, had he compelled them into silence? Into obedience? Or were they truly choosing to follow his command? I had a feeling it was the former, at least for many of them.
What kind of army did you really have if the soldiers were not loyal in their hearts?
“I’ll admit, you have impressed me, goddess.” The King’s sneer reappeared as he strode to stand before me, his height and width dwarfing my own. “I didn’t expect for you to stand a chance against me, but here you are. Weak in strength but strong in cunning.”
I frowned. “That’s not—”
“Hush.” He held up a hand. “What you refuse to understand is that every drop of blood spilled has been for you. To protect you, to keep you safe, to prevent magic from being destroyed. And yet you insist on fighting against me. Taking the side of these blood mages? Did you know that they are halfway to vampires themselves?”
“If you’ve been trying to keep me safe, you’ve done a terrible job of it.” I started ticking off my fingers. “First, one of your guards threatened to eat my flesh. Second, another one of your guards said he wanted to gut me like a pig. And third, I got slammed senseless by the blunt of a sword. You have no control over your Court. When they’re in your presence, they obey you. Because they have to. But when you’re not around…”
The king’s face transformed into pure, unadulterated rage. He tipped back his head and began to laugh, a chilling sound that echoed across the rolling hills. The laugh chilled me to my bones, and I took an instinctive step back. Poking and prodding and pissing him off had seemed like such a good idea when the words were falling off my tongue, like knocking down a dam so the pent-up water could burst forth.
But now I could see that it had been a very, very bad idea.
“Look at you.” His voice was pure ice. “So smug. So ungrateful. So ridiculously naive. You think you’ve outsmarted me. That you’ve won? Well, then it’s time for you and me to make a deal, goddess.”
A shiver shot through me. King Oberon wanted to offer me a deal. Something told me I would both hate and love his terms. The fae were notorious for it.
“You want us to stop spilling innocent witch blood? You want to be free from my protection?” He strode forward, power radiating off his body. “You can have all of that. On one condition.”
One condition. Of course I’d known he would say that. The fae never gave anything away without getting something else in return. But inside, my heart was racing, and he could probably hear it thrumming against my chest. He was offering the two things we’d just been fighting for, and now he was willing to give it all up…but at what price?
“Stop drawing it out,” I said in a biting tone. “Just tell me what you want in return.”
“I’ll offer you a similar deal to the one I offered the Queen. We’ll ward the island, casting it invisible to anyone who does not call the place home. The magic hunters will not be able to attack because they will no longer be able to see it. You must remain in the city for the illusion to remain in place.”
I swallowed hard. It was a deal and it was a trap, all in one. If I accepted this and returned to the city, I’d essentially be walking straight into a cage. I wouldn’t be able to leave, not until the magic hunters gave up.
But, I was immortal, I reminded myself. I had centuries to live on this planet. The witches didn’t. And, one day, the magic hunters would stop. They would forget. They would die, one by one, until there was no one left. On that day, I would finally be free.
I could wait.
“Ah, ah.” Oberon’s smile widened. “There’s just one more catch.”
“Another catch?” I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest. “Isn’t keeping me captive in a city for a lifetime enough for you?”
“No. After what you’ve done to me, that would never be enough.” His voice turned harsh and full of nails. He narrowed his eyes, his dark pupils twisting and turning as if they had a life of their own. “You must stay there for the rest of your immortal life. Because if you leave, not only will the illusion fall, but your precious gargoyle guardians will lose their magic and become permanent stone. One by one, slowly and brutally. Until they are all gone.”
Blood rushed in my ears and a pit of sorrow opened up beneath me. The king was cruel. No, he was more than cruel. He would trap me there for eternity with four invisible barred walls that rose high from the sea. If I agreed to this, I would spend the rest of my very long life in a cold stone city that wasn’t truly my home. I would never unlock my powers because I would never get my sword. I’d never be the goddess I was deep down inside. I’d never see the world. I’d never get to live my life on my own terms.
But if I didn’t agree, this war would rage on. The fae would kill any other blood mages who ha
d survived, and then they’d move on to the shadow witches, to the bone mages, and to the sun witches and warlocks across the ocean. They would take each and every single life they could find. I knew that as much as I knew anything else. That combined with renewed attacks by the magic hunters…there was no hope of survival.
Out of the corner of my eye, Marcus’s stone form began to ripple and shake. He yelled out, “Don’t do it!”
But it was already too late. I’d made my decision.
“I agree to the deal.”
Chapter 26
The fae thundered off after I shook hands with King Oberon, a strange and twisting magic curling around our fingers and squeezing tight. There was one last catch he’d whispered to me as I confirmed my deal with the devil. I had a mere four hours to get my feet on city ground, or the deal would be forfeit.
The king was certainly fond of time limits.
That meant we didn’t have long to get the surviving blood mages to someone who could tend to their wounds.
Marcus grasped my hands in his and pulled me to his chest. He hugged me tight, so tight that he lifted my feet from the ground. When he spoke, his voice was full of raw emotion. “What have you done? Oh, Rowena. What have you done?”
I didn’t know how to answer. I was still coming to terms with it myself.
“A deal with the fae.” He cupped my face in his hands, his eyes piercing into my soul. “You shouldn’t have done that. You know it means you’ll never be able to leave without…the others will not allow it. They won’t let you sacrifice your eternal happiness just to keep them from turning to stone.”
“It’s not up to them. Or you,” I said. “I made my decision, and I’m okay with it, Marcus. I really am. The City of Wings is not a terrible place, and it’s not like I’ll be alone. It has you, Jasper, Silas, and Eli. Kipling. Tess will want to stay, too. I can learn to be happy there.”
Carved in Stone: Protectors of Magic - Book Two Page 12
