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I cracked my neck, then blew out a long, slow breath. “Do you remember my first promise to you?”
Her brows furrowed as she stared up at me. “That you’d spend the rest of your life making up for the pain I’d endured?”
I nodded. “This is one of those ways I am making it up to you.” I snatched her arm and continued leading her toward the building. “But I need you to trust me. I know this isn't going to be easy for you.”
That thread that tied us together hummed at our proximity, but I wanted her closer. I wanted her to know I would burn this fucking world down for her, and that she was the light in my life. But before the night was over, she was going to descend into the dark with me. Our inner demons would be let out to play, and Izidora would reclaim some of that power that had been stripped from her at the hands of those males.
The arm I was holding onto drifted from beneath her cloak to wrap around my waist, and I released it, pulling her closer instead as we neared the building. “I love you, sprite.”
“I love you, Ruslan.” Her voice was as soft and silky as the open sky above us.
The heavy iron doors were unlocked, and I pushed one open a crack, just enough to allow Izidora and myself to slip through them into the darkness beyond. Izidora threw bubble lights into the air, and they scattered, illuminating the space around us.
The entrance to the tunnels beneath the Iron Realm looked like any other warehouse in the city, save for one key difference – an intricate metal box in the center of the space holding a wheeled contraption on rails.
“What is that?” Izidora breathed, circling the box, her curiosity piqued.
“It’s a cart like the miners use to enter the mountains in the Iron Realm, but this one has been modified to carry people instead of gems. It has straps so you won’t fall out when we move with magic,” I explained, joining her beside the cart and placing my hands on her shoulders. She leaned into my touch, and my heart leaped at her affection.
She was so close to accepting our mating bond.
“And where does it go?”
“To Vasvain.”
The air around us dropped a dozen degrees, and Izidora went deathly still and utterly silent. My keen Dragon sense picked up on her racing heart, and the scent of her fear filled my nostrils. I spun her to face me, then crouched down so we were at eye level. Her beautiful jewel-like eyes were wet and filled with trepidation, and the shallow rise and fall of her chest showed me exactly how close she was to falling apart.
“Vasvain?” Her voice was barely a whisper, and her pink pout began to tremble.
My hands massaged her shoulders as I tried to soothe her. “When we face our fears, they no longer have power over us. That is where true freedom lies, in the space after fear.” A lone tear fell from her eye and trailed down her cheek before I caught it with my thumb. “The first time I saw that spark of fire in you, I wanted to grow it into a wildfire that consumed everything in its wake. Day after day, I’ve watched you step into that inferno and stoke it even higher until you’ve become a force to be reckoned with.”
She drew a serrated breath. “So we’re going there so I can face my fears?”
“Izidora, we are going to return to Vasvain so you can reclaim all the power you lost at the hands of the males who abused you. I tracked down every last one of them, and they await us in the cave where you were chained, ready for you to kill them.”
Her mouth popped open, and she blinked at me for a few moments before regaining her composure. “You really did that?”
“I would do anything for you, sprite. I’d burn this whole fucking world down to avenge you and enjoy every moment of suffering I inflicted. You areeverythingto me, Izidora, and I fucked up by not checking on you all those years you were kept there. But now, I get the pleasure of helping you become powerful on your own, so you never have to suffer at the hands of another male again.”
The words poured out of me with such conviction that Izidora threw herself into me as they dried up, her mouth more desperate for mine than I’d ever felt before. I welcomed her touch, her tongue, her nails scratching my scalp as she arched into me, needing to be closer. I unclasped the cloak from her neck and let it fall to the floor alongside mine, keeping her warm with my body heat as I crushed her against me. The scent of her, the feel of her, the taste of her, was enough to drive any male mad, but I would gladly lose my mind if it meant her being mine.
Izidora pulled away, breathless, pupils blown out as she stared up at me. “I don’t have any weapons.”
“I have everything you need already there.” I nipped her bottom lip as I kissed her one last time, then directed her to the cart. She hopped onto one of the front seats, then looked at me expectantly. The wood was smooth beneath my fingers as I climbed in beside her, pulling a fur over our laps. I strapped both of us in, ensuring the blanket was secured too, before tapping into the well of black fire that slumbered in my chest.
“It’s a long journey, and we need to move quickly. I know you don’t like going fast, but I promise I’ve got you.” Draping an arm over her, I pulled her into my chest. Her arms circled my waist, and she leaned into me a moment before I lowered us onto the track beneath the city.
The metal rails lined up with a loud clack, and all that was in front of us was darkness. “If you want to throw up your bubble lights, you can. It might give you something to focus on as we go. Ready?”
“Ready,” she breathed, her petite body tense against mine. A halo of little white lights surrounded us, brightening the space and revealing two parallel lines that seemed endless as they disappeared into the distance.
“Hang on,” I warned, then pushed my magic out, sending us flying down the tracks at a breakneck pace. Izidora released a small scream, but as the moments passed and we did not crash, she quieted. My thumb stroked her shoulder as I held her, and I did not object to how tightly she clung to me, her small hands fisting my clothes and gripping me like I was her lifeline.
The pace was too fast for us to speak, wind whipping in our eyes and ears as we rushed beneath the earth. After a few minutes, other tunnels began to flash by on our left and right, leading to other parts of the Agrenak Mountains. The Iron Realm had been preparing for a continent-wide war since the last one, digging this massive network of tunnels that only those gifted with earth magic could use.
And the other realms had no clue.
Within a few days, tens of thousands of soldiers could travel from the Iron Realm to the outskirts of the Crystal Realm, Night Realm, and Day Realm, with dozens of caves dug into the deepest parts of the mountain range filled with supplies and places to rest and recover. The cave in Vasvain where Izidora was kept was one example of this entire hidden network.
