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“What the fuck is happ–” Viktor’s voice was torn away as the world blurred around us, and my stomach lurched uncontrollably. The babe did not even wake as we came to a screeching halt before an enormous waterfall just inside the Crystal Realm’s border.
I whipped my head around to glare at the Mage. “This is not Vaenor.”
Desmond panted behind me, looking paler than the moonlight. “I can only go so far in one day. We’ll have to stay here for the night, then tomorrow, after my magic has had time to recharge, we can go again,” he countered, slipping from Fek’s back.
Weak fucking human Mage.
With a growl, I thudded to the ground beside him, still grasping the child. A moment later, Viktor and Endre dismounted, and Endre immediately reached for the little princess. I let him take her, not wanting to be bothered with the child any more than necessary. He clutched her protectively to his chest, then stabbed a finger into mine. “This is wrong, Kazimir. Of all the stupid shit you could do, you had to do this? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
His messy hair fell in his face, obscuring his peridot eyes, but the hardness in them was unmistakable. He shoved it back anyway, revealing his ticking jaw. The sound that tore from mythroat was feral, and black ropes ripped free of their own accord and wrapped around Endre’s neck, cutting off his words and air.
My own subject felt as though he had a right to lay a hand on me.
“How dare he…”those three voices twisted and twined in my head.
“Stop, Kazimir! He’s just upset.” Viktor shoved me hard, breaking the grip of the binding magic and silencing whatever else those voices wanted to say. Blinking, awareness crept back in, first filling my ears with the roaring of the falls, then revealing Endre, bent over and gasping for breath. He backed away from me, draped protectively over the Day Realm’s princess. Desmond only watched the scene unfold before him.
“We’ll make camp tonight and figure the rest out tomorrow, yeah?” Viktor raised his hands in supplication, and I sighed, raking a hand over my face.
“Fine. Let’s find a more hidden spot.” I shot Desmond a look that said he was going to help us with camp, and he trudged along behind us until we were hidden in a copse of tall trees. Thankfully, brush clung to the bases, providing us with a bit more shelter and concealment from the nearby road.
Endre wouldn’t look at me as he unsaddled the horses with one arm, and I ignored him, not wanting to reward his disrespect. I was his king, and he had to do as I said – even if we had been friends our entire lives.
They would all see soon enough exactly how powerful I was, and they’d bow to me regardless.
22
The woods blurred by as I raced on horseback toward my destination. My heart pounded harder than the hooves beating beneath me, barely touching the ground as I egged her on. A black cape billowed behind me, snapping in the wind and occasionally snagging on a branch. From what I raced away, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was the all consuming need to fly fast and far. My horse stumbled, nearly pitching me from its back, and I instinctively clutched the package I carried against my chest. We recovered, and I breathed a sigh of relief as the trees broke apart ahead, revealing the night sky and a thousand stars glittering down on me. The new moon graced the sky, and as I slowed my mount to a walk, I looked up at her, wondering why the Goddess and the Fates felt the need to war through the Fae rather than taking up their issues with each other. Behind me, other horses slowed, their riders as breathless as me. All wore deep hoods that shielded their faces, and as I glanced down at my arms, I only saw black fabric, except for–
“Ruslan, Izidora, you need to come to the citadel immediately,” Liliana shouted, her voice laced with panic. Bothof us bolted upright in bed immediately, whipping toward the open bedroom door where Liliana stood, her hair a mess and wings still out. They fluffed themselves nervously as her seafoam green eyes tightened with worry. A singular glove graced her wringing hands – the iron-proof one that allowed her to open the hatch to Roc Palace.
“What’s going on?” Ruslan was the first to speak, clearing his throat around his sleep-thickened voice.
Not a speck of light broke through the heavy window coverings, and the hearths in the rooms crackled ominously as we waited for an explanation. It was either very late or very early, which meant that whatever news my best friend carried was not good.
“Princess Gizela has been kidnapped.”
All the air fled my lungs as those five words hit me like a punch to the gut. I clutched my chest, my heart nearly beating out of it to meet my hand as I tried to draw a breath. My lungs would not inflate, and panic clawed its way up my throat as my own trauma was triggered.
Not her, too…
“Sprite,” Ruslan cried as our bond flooded with fear. His strong, bare arms wrapped around me instantly, cradling me against his chest as I tried to stem the tears that threatened to overflow.
“We’ll be there in a moment,” he growled at Liliana, who disappeared into the sitting area.
“You are safe, here with me in our bed. Tell me five things you can see,” he encouraged, using a soothing tone as he tried to break through the panic.
“Your… tattoos,” I gasped. “Fire, clothes, books, my hair.”
“Good, how about what you can feel?”
“Warmth… skin… fur… bed. I smell wood and smoke and roses. I hear your heartbeat.”
Ruslan smoothed my hair down my back, rubbing circles there as he encouraged me to breathe. Finally, I was able to draw a deep, serrated breath, and I swiped at the tears that had fallen down my cheeks.
“We need to deal with this. Are you up for it?” Ruslan asked, attention raking over my face, searching for any sign that I might need more from him.
Steeling myself against my trauma, I nodded. “We take care of our people.”
