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47
Liliana, Zuriel, and I were training when Drazen and Ruslan burst through the door, both half-dressed with crazed looks in their eyes. Zuriel halted his advance and spun to defend me before the bang of the door against the wall had ceased echoing around the room. He relaxed when he realized that our intruders were only Ruslan and Drazen. But the agitated energy that surrounded them nipped at my shoulders, especially as my mate rushed over and swept me into his arms. My twin swords clattered against the ground as I dropped them so as not to injure Ruslan. The ferocity with which he squeezed me stole my breath, like he couldn’t hold me close enough.
“What’s wrong? You’re scaring me,” I whimpered, my voice muffled by his strong chest. Through our bond, I sensed his terror and rage, mixing together in a deadly cocktail.
“The Night Fae approach our border,” he gritted out, fingers flexing at my backside.
Liliana sucked in a breath, a sharp and poignant contrast to the one that was lodged in my throat.
Kazimir dared attack my home?
Rage blossomed in my chest, banishing the knot of panic, and I welcomed the burning bloom, allowing it to fill me completely. The darkness inside me whipped through the crystal in time with the fire that surrounded it. I was more than ready to end Kazimir’s pathetic life and exact my vengeance.
It was time for me to show the continent who would rule them after the rivers ran ruby and the Night Fae surrendered to us.
“How far?” I asked, my voice threaded with steel.
“They’re in the foothills now. With their new magic, they could easily move into the Iron Realm at any time.” Ruslan released me, his smoky gray eyes holding me steady as a million unspoken words passed between us.
“Then we’d better dress for war,” I stated, squaring my shoulders and lifting my chin.
A wicked smirk spread across my mate’s face. “There’s my sprite.”
The five of us raced up to our apartments, Drazen and Ruslan shouting orders as we wove through the halls of Ryza Citadel. The buzz of activity was akin to that of a beehive, with anxious energy filling the air immediately. I threw up a mental shield, not wanting to absorb the emotion when I needed –wanted– to allow the blackness to swallow me whole and fuel the rage that would lead to my twin blades dripping blood.
As we reached the top of the spire that held our rooms, Liliana skidded to a stop. “What about Endre?” she asked, glancing from Drazen, to Ruslan, to Zuriel, and back. Already, she was braiding back her hair, readying to fight.
“Bring him with us,” Drazen said decisively. “Let him fight alongside us, and if he doesn’t, we’ll roast him alive.”
My brows arched at the vehemence in his words, but I said nothing. After all, these males screamed violence, and the tension building around us left no time for niceties. She dippedher chin once, then hurried down the hall, Zuriel hot on her heels.
“Where is your armor?” I asked the two Dragon Félvér.
There were no sentries at our door, and Ruslan pushed inside. “On the couch. I moved us here, thinking that’s where you’d be. We left it behind to find you.”
“We need to move quickly and plan our attack,” Drazen reminded me, hurriedly donning his armor.
Ruslan followed me into our bedroom, where the iron gray suit he’d gifted me was arranged neatly over a mannequin. I was already mostly dressed for battle, but the few plates that covered my shoulders and chest were difficult to put on by myself. Quickly, I strapped metal cuffs over my wrists and forearms, then slid on the lightweight, scaled metal armor over my legs and torso, the links bending and flexing with me. Finally, Ruslan fastened the thicker metal plates, still light enough for me to fly, but with more protection than what was underneath.
Ruslan handed me a pair of leather gloves, too. “It will be cold where we are going and I don’t want your hands to freeze when you need them the most.”
Iachedfor him, his thoughtfulness, his love. “Thank you,” I whispered, accepting them. Flexing my fingers, I prepared to pull them on, only for my attention to snag on the large ruby ring I still wore – the one Ruslan had gifted me as a replacement for the one he’d enchanted more than a year ago. I pulled on the right glove, slipping the ring onto a finger there, before securing the left and returning the ring to its rightful place. Let the Night Fae see it as a reminder of who my fucking mate was, should they decide to challenge me.
Fuck, so much had happened in the time since I’d left the cave, the prison of the first twenty-one years of my existence.
Dragging in a serrated breath, I walked to the mirror. A spark of shock swept through me as I beheld thewarriorreflectedback at me. Her long, chestnut hair was plaited tight against her scalp, the braids sitting on top and woven intricately down her back. The dark gray armor gleamed in the light, hugging her curves and rippling down her body as she shifted from side to side. In her aquamarine eyes, there was a fierceness that was breathtaking, made all the more so by the hint of anxiety that lingered.
But she – I – was so fucking strong, and I would not let my fear rule me. I wasn’t a victim, and I wouldneverlet anyone make me a victim again. If we lost this war, I’d ensure that I went down with a fight and took as many motherfuckers with me as I could.
The insidious bloom would reveal herself before the battle was over.
Ruslan stepped up behind me, his massive frame dwarfing mine as we locked eyes in the mirror. He too wore dark gray armor in a similar style to mine, though where roses were hammered into the finer parts of my armor, Dragons were hammered into his. Metal gloves covered his hands, and he ran them back through his dark hair, his eyes hungry as he perused my form.
“You are so fucking sexy, sprite. I can’t wait to slaughter the Night Fae with you.”
I grinned back at him. “So you’ll prove you’re worthy of marrying me?”
“When it’s all over, I’m going to fuck you covered in their blood. And then, you will marryme,” he growled, then kissed the top of my head in a tender move that contrasted the violence in his tone. He wrapped his arms around me from behind, inhaling deeply as we stole one last moment together.
