From Spirit and Binding

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  I wanted to snap at something, wanted to throw my hand out and slice Fire along his body. I didn’t. Though I only barely stopped myself. Someone had told him about my curse, was it Garrik? The Whisperer? Or was it the many spies that I knew he had in my court. I had done the same with the spies within their court. Every noble did. It was how I tried to keep abreast of the situations within the court. Just like I looked for his weakness, he’d found mine. He killed my spies more often than not when I tried to show mercy.

  Well, hell, this wasn’t going to be pretty.

  Lyric didn’t falter, didn’t do anything. Instead, she just tilted her head before shaking it.

  “I see we’re too late. I can see into your soul, into the darkness that creeps. I’m sorry that we’re going to lose you. I’m sorry you were on the wrong side of fate. The Gray is coming, and we can’t hold back any longer.”

  She sounded like Rosamond just then, and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

  There was no time to do anything. Instead, Brokk threw up his hands.

  And then, the battle was on. There would be no more talking.

  “Lyric, at my side. Always.” She looked over at me, her eyes full of flame, and her Air Wielding ready to go at her fingertips. “Okay. Just don’t get hurt.”

  I smirked at her, feeling like we were right back to the first time I’d met her, when we were at the border between Fire and Earth. When we were at the red peaks, and I first touched her Air with my Fire.

  “You can’t get hurt either.”

  “Deal.” Then, the fighting began.

  Swords clashed as those who used them hit first. Wyn was already in the fray, a sword in each hand as she twirled them around, flipping into the air and using them as though she had been born with them in her hands. Luken was at her side, his sword at the ready as he slid his Air Wielding down the blade, blowing a group of Air Wielders back twenty feet. Braelynn flapped her bat wings and spewed fire at those who dared to come too close to him.

  And…was it my imagination? Or was she twice the size she had been the day before? She was growing into her new self. Soon, we would know exactly what type of Familiar she was.

  Teagan and his parents fought as a trio, looking as they had when we were younger, and his parents had first taught him how to use his newly discovered Fire Wielding. Griffin had his arms out, flames on either side. Then, without even moving his hands, the Fire licked at the others coming for his wife and child. They shouted and screamed as they burned, using their Air and Water Wielding to stop most of it. However, he got a few. Teagan fought like a blunt instrument, one round of Fire after another, not even sweating from the intense heat or exertion. He was angry, that much I knew. Angry about Wyn, at the fact that we had to deal with this now.

  Wyn refused to fight next to him. Instead, she fought near Luken because of her swords.

  Teagan fought alongside heartache, just like Wyn had been forced to.

  Shimmer spun in circles, her flames dancing as if on air currents before they bounced into her husband’s and her son’s Fire, intensifying the flames and turning them blue.

  They were so hot, they burned violet and blue and white. No crimson or orange in the mix. So hot, they seared through the Water Wielding of those coming after them, and Shimmer shouted in power.

  Rhodes and Lanya and Rosamond fought together, as well, each of them using their Wielding in turn. Lanya once again looked like a goddess, Air flowing around her as she formed tornadoes to pull up the Wielders who came at her grandchildren.

  Rosamond danced, just like Shimmer did—as if she hadn’t a care in the world. And that’s when I knew she Saw the others’ moves before they made them. She darted out of the way, and pulled her brother out of the way, as well. Rhodes fought like a king, and one day, I hoped he would be the one to rule the Lumière Kingdom before we figured out the next phase.

  Because the power within him had always made me a little jealous, even though I never cared to admit it. Rhodes lifted one hand, and twelve Lumière soldiers—ones he might have fought with and trained—levitated up before slamming to the ground. And then my other Wielders came, fighting hand-to-hand, power-to-power.

  We were outnumbered four to one. Not great odds, but not the worst we’d faced either. We would make this happen. We were stronger. We were battling for a purpose. A reason. To protect both kingdoms and the realm as a whole, not just our homes.

  This had never been about talking, never about simply finding peace. And though I had known the others had wanted that, the King of Lumière would never let that happen.

  The Lord and Lady of Earth stood off to the side, fighting. They didn’t really seem into it. They were only protecting themselves and some people around them. They weren’t battling to their full abilities. I would have to deal with that later. I needed to make sure I survived this first. The King’s League and Creed surrounded him, and nobody could get to him. That was what Lyric and I would do. My uncles were both fighting at our sides as our personal guard, at least according to Justise. We would make it to the king. That was our goal.

  “Lyric, get down,” I called out as a blade of Air came at her.

  Instead of dropping, she levitated up, flying into the air and flipping before landing on her feet, her arms outstretched. Water flew from the pools on either side of us and slammed into the man who had tossed the deadly weapon directly at her chest.

  I had never seen her do that before. In fact, I had only really seen Rhodes do something similar.

  I had to remind myself that this was not the time to find it sexy as hell.

  Oil slick again in my chest. I ignored it.

  The Creed came at my uncles, their hands outstretched and in a formation of a dozen. They tried to throw their Wielding at Justise, and I screamed, knowing I would be too late. And not because it was just the Creed. No, the League had joined in. They had it out for Justise, and I didn’t know why, other than the fact that he was my uncle and a trusted weapons maker and advisor. Maybe that was enough.

  I wasn’t close enough. I lashed out with my Fire, trying to flick at the edges of them with my flame. They shot it off, flipped it away as if it were a gnat. Lyric was at my side, her feet pounding on the ground as we ran toward my uncles.

  I couldn’t lose Justise. Not now. Not ever.

  “We need to get closer,” Lyric called, throwing out her arms and letting a wave of Water smash into the man who tried to get at me.

  I hadn’t even seen him, my gaze so focused on my uncle. I cursed at myself. I shook my head and kept running, grabbing Lyric’s arm so we could move even faster.

  The Creed and the League clung together, the Air Wielders puffing up the Water Wielders so they could surround my uncle.

  That’s when Ridley did the one thing I had hoped he wouldn’t do.

  He held out his arms, and using the Wielding everyone thought he didn’t have, he shouted.

  “Stay away from my husband!”

  Ridley was not just a healer, wasn’t a Dane.

  No, Ridley was a Water Wielder.

  As Water crept up from the ground below, from the reservoir that was the drinking water for this area, it slid up the legs of the Water and Air Wielders who had come after his husband. Like spindly fingers, it crawled and crept around their legs and tightened, sending screams out from the League and the Creed members who’d dared to come for Justise. It pulled them into the mud, and the Creed and the League clawed at the ground, trying to get up. It was no use. They were stuck, halfway in the earth, halfway in the air.

  Either they would die there, or they would find a way out. I didn’t have time to think about that. I had seen the way the king watched Ridley move, and I knew our secret was out. We’d had a secret Lumière this whole time.

  The original spy for the Lumière, a once-trusted advisor for Brokk, and then the husband of the brother of Cameo.

  The spy who had turned, switched sides to become one of us.

  It was so long ago
, that no one actually remembered. They’d all thought my uncle was a Dane.

  He was not. Ridley was one of us, and yet not.

  Justise cursed under his breath, slammed his mouth against his husband’s lips, shouted at him, and then went back to fighting.

  We were winning, each of us using our powers, one blow after another. Fire against Water, Earth against Air.

  Lyric moved like a sprite, blending her elements as if she’d been born to do this. In a way, she had been.

  I pushed out my Fire Wielding, and she merged her Air with it, creating a firestorm, flames that rained upon those who came after our friends.

  As the first scream entered my ears, I knew I had been too confident.

  Shimmer shrieked and looked down at her chest, blood seeping into her battle leathers. Griffin roared as Teagan burst into flames, Fire licking at his body as he burned alive the Air Wielder who had plunged that Air dagger into his mother’s chest.

  Blue Fire erupted all around them. I knew it was too late.

  Shimmer fell into her husband’s arms, and the Lady of Fire gasped her last strained breath.

  She wasn’t our first casualty. Wouldn’t be our last.

  One by one, my people fell as the sheer numbers overwhelmed us. Sweat covered my body, and Lyric tripped over her feet as her power cascaded over her body and the others began to fall back.

  “We have to retreat,” she whispered. “We won’t be enough. We have to save our people.”

  I nodded, cupping her face for just an instant before turning around to pull the earth around the Water Wielder that had tried to sneak up from behind.

  “We’re so close,” I whispered.

  “Not close enough.”

  I nodded. Before I could shout out to retreat, gray smoke slithered around us, and my breath froze in my lungs.

  This time, it wasn’t the smoky ropes coming to pull me back. This smoke allowed a person to step out of it.

  But it wasn’t The Gray.

  Instead, the King of Lumière slipped right behind Lyric. Before I could shout, before I could pull out my Wielding, before she could even turn, Lyric screamed.

  I looked down at the tip of the metal dagger peeking out from her leathers. The king pulled the dagger back out from her where it had pierced her heart, and the shadow took him away again.

  I coughed up blood and looked down at myself, at the cut on my chest as blood poured out of it.

  Fated mates had mirrored wounds that would bleed just the same as the mortal wound on the original individual.

  Lyric was dying, and the blood on my chest and pumping out of my body proved it. She fell into my arms, and I went to my knees as the Lumière’s people began pulling back, and mine surrounded us.

  I tried to cover her chest, to put pressure on the wound, except as I watched, blood seeped through my fingers. She looked at me, her wide eyes full of fear, blood dribbling from her lips. I knew this wasn’t going to be enough.

  And then I screamed.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Lyric

  * * *

  I knew if I lived past this, I would never forget the sound of Easton’s scream. It was guttural, as if it had been ripped from his throat, and if I hadn’t known the blood on his lips had already been there from before, I would’ve thought he’d hurt himself with that shout.

  All of this had happened in an instant, and all I could do was try to clutch at his hand on my chest and attempt to stop the bleeding. To try and stop anything. It hurt. Everything hurt so much, and I couldn’t breathe.

  The king had stabbed me, and I only knew it was him because Easton has said his name.

  I hadn’t seen his face. Hadn’t seen or heard him come up. I saw the smoke out of the corner of my eye, and then, suddenly, there was a blade in my chest. It didn’t hurt at first, and then it burned and forged a fiery path through my flesh and into my organs.

  I was dying.

  Was this supposed to be what brought everybody together? My death?

  What type of prophecy was that? One that called for my death and my end?

  Maybe it was what needed to happen. Perhaps it was the only thing that would help.

  “Don’t you die, Lyric. You’re not allowed to die,” Easton said, blood dripping from his lips as he spoke. He coughed again, matching mine, and I could feel the warm blood pumping from the wound, draining from my body.

  I looked down at his chest and tried to reach up, attempted to staunch the bleeding. I didn’t have any energy. No strength.

  He was dying. Just like I was.

  His mortal wound matched mine, and I didn’t know what to do. He was my soulmate. And we had everything but the bond of love that was supposed to bring us together. He was dying because I was. I knew if I faded into the darkness just like my parents had, like I had watched when the Spirit Wielders had held me back, Easton would die, as well. And I’d never forgive myself.

  He wasn’t supposed to die.

  Others gathered around me, and I could feel Brae’s fur on my cheek. And then she was gone, and I knew someone had likely moved her away. I didn’t want her to see this. I didn’t want anyone to see this. Ridley’s hands were on my body, trying to heal me. I could only look into Easton’s dark eyes.

  “Don’t die. Don’t, I need you.”

  No words fell from my lips. I didn’t have the strength to speak. I prayed he understood the words in my eyes, the ones I wanted to say.

  My limbs were heavy as my lifeblood poured out of me.

  I didn’t want to die.

  My death would bring others together. Shimmer had died, I’d heard her scream. She was gone. And I couldn’t find Teagan, couldn’t move my gaze away from Easton to make sure he was okay. I didn’t know about Wyn or Rhodes or anyone else. Was this what the prophecy had wrought?

  Had Rosamond Seen this?

  Was this what had brought me here, all the way from that mountaintop in Colorado when I fell because the Neg had pulled me down?

  And when Rosamond healed me because it hadn’t been a mortal blow, and I had been able to see what lay on the other side, was that all for this moment?

  Easton had one hand on my chest, and then pulled my arm up so my hand rested on his wound.

  “You can’t die. Fight, Lyric. Fight.”

  I wanted to tell him that I was trying. It was all too much.

  Yet wasn’t enough.

  The king was gone, as were the rest of the Lumière. Everyone was leaving, and I guessed I was going with them.

  He was my soulmate, the one who held me, but The Gray had stolen him from me.

  It seemed fitting that The Gray’s puppet would be the one to steal me from him.

  I wanted to fight, except metaphorical ice covered me. I felt so cold. Nothing even hurt anymore. I could no longer feel my blood leaking from my body.

  Easton shouted at me, and I could hear the others moving around. I couldn’t really process it, though, like I was three steps behind.

  This was my end. My destiny.

  I was going to die today, but maybe this meant a new beginning for others. I hoped so.

  I didn’t want to say goodbye.

  However, in the end, I didn’t even have the strength to try.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Easton

  * * *

  “No!”

  I held my hand to her chest, the blood sliding through my fingers slowing.

  “You must heal her, King,” Ridley said, and my gaze shot to his. Ridley never called me King. I was always Easton or son. I was family. He looked so pale, so scared, that he reverted to being the healer to his king.

  “I don’t know what I’m doing. How the hell am I supposed to heal her? You’re the healer. You do it.”

  Blood spurted from between my lips, and I used my free hand to wipe it from my face. There was still fighting going on around us, though the Lumière soldiers were retreating, going back to start on whatever else their king had planned.

 
; What more could he do? He and The Gray had come together, and they were killing Lyric. My Lyric.

  My heart pulsed, once, twice, and I tried to push out The Gray’s ice.

  She was dying in my hands. The hope for our world and so much more, fading.

  She was Lyric. And she was mine. I would be damned if she died in my arms.

  If she did, I would go right along with her. Because I might not be her soulmate, not in the ways that mattered, but I still had the wound on my chest.

  I would pass with her. To the end. There would be no more living without her. No more hope. No more anything.

  She was it. She was everything.

  “I can’t fix this. Why can’t I fix this?”

  I knew. Because I couldn’t fix anything. My people were fading, my realm was faltering, and the woman I should love was dying in my arms. And I was perishing right along with her.

  “You are her soulmate, damn it,” Rhodes roared, pushing Teagan from my side. I hadn’t even realized my best friend was kneeling next to me before I heard him cursing at Rhodes for daring to touch him. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered.

  “I can’t. I’m cursed.” I tried to reach into my heart. Attempted to find something to tug on, to make this whole soulmate thing work. It wasn’t happening. She wasn’t mine in truth. She could never be.

  “I watched her die before. I will not do it again.”

  I looked at Rhodes, gazed into those silver eyes, and I wanted to hate him. I wanted to make him pay for making me think any of this could be real. For letting me have hope.

  “You couldn’t feel it either. You aren’t hers.”

  I snapped out the words, and Rhodes flinched as if I had struck him. Good. He should hurt like I did.

  I knew my body was fading along with Lyric’s. I knew I should be in pain, but I couldn’t feel anything. I was numb, and I would be forever emotionless unless I could save her.