AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Which could only mean the situation was bad. Really bad.
The trees thinned as they neared the edge of the woods and all three of them jumped over that invisible line that divided the mountain range from the normal world.
And not one of them stopped.
The warriors in Rion’s camp had come to rely on her. A people she’d once considered her enemy, but no more. A queen didn’t get to pick favorites. She’d save every single Fae that crossed her path, no matter how seemingly violent or foul.
The afternoon sun hung low in the sky before they arrived. Blood coated the air even from here, which had Rion picking up the pace to run slightly ahead.
He’d gladly put himself in the path of danger for her sake. Gladly risk his life if it meant keeping her in one piece. As would Eoghan.
She prepared herself for what she would face. Warriors fresh off the battlefield, broken and bloody. Screaming bodies with comrades fighting to keep their friends alive. And the fact that it was Móirín who’d put them there.
A shiver of dread pulsed through her. Did she need to worry about who led those troops? Had Talon finally caught up to her and if he had, what then? Would fate force her to stand between Talon and Rion?
Rion must have scented her apprehension because he grabbed her hand, spun her around, and scanned her face. She tried to pull away, but he rested both hands on her shoulders and forced her to meet his gaze. “Breathe.”
Arianna stared into that loving gaze and obeyed. She closed her eyes, using the scent of him to center herself. Rion had seen things like this a thousand times. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but she knew she could face anything with him by her side.
The trio entered the throng of tents and marched straight toward the infirmary corner. Shouting and screams turned deafening the closer they approached, and she sucked in a breath when they rounded a corner.
Crowds of Fae and half-breeds alike ran back and forth, hauling bloody bodies, stiff corpses, and screaming warriors. Most of them were laid in a row along the front of the tents.
Arianna’s eyes shot toward the nearest screaming male, and she ran to him, placing her hands on his bloodied leg. It’d been torn to shreds, likely from an explosion. Even with her magic, Arianna wasn’t sure she could save his limb. She worked anyway, piecing together the bits of flesh through his cries of pain.
And he wasn’t the only one. There were so many warriors she wouldn’t make it to in time, so many—
“It’s a trap,” Rion said. Her eyes tried to follow his but before she could ask questions, Rion roared. “Get down!”
Rion tackled her so hard he knocked the breath from her body. His magic flew up, cocooning them in solid earth as a mass of explosions vibrated through her chest. Arianna clutched his shirt, gritting her teeth against the sound and tremors, fighting to keep her senses.
Rion’s earth dispersed, and he yanked her up by the elbow. Her ears rang. Everything sounded distant, but Rion tugged her along, his magic dancing in all directions, deflecting raining shrapnel and deliberate attacks.
He spun her body behind him and knocked a male away with a flick of his wrist before grabbing her arm again. She couldn’t look back to see who it was, her mind was still reeling, spinning.
Fire erupted on all sides and the smoke choked her lungs. Her eyes watered, but Rion didn’t stop moving. He gripped her wrist tighter than any shackle had and zigzagged around the camp. She struggled to keep up, tripping over debris and bodies as they sprinted through the screaming chaos.
Arianna’s gaze locked on a female momentarily, her hair aflame, skin scorched, and eyes distant. She looked like a walking wraith, something from the Dark Fae, perhaps. Arianna tried to go to her, but Rion spun her away.
“Don’t stop,” he pushed. “Not here.”
Another explosion knocked them both from their feet and Rion wrapped his body around hers, using his magic to soften their fall. The force of the explosion reverberated through her chest, and she panted, trying to catch her breath as they lay on the ground. Rion was speaking, but she couldn’t hear him.
War. She’d been so blind to the true chaos of it. She’d been sheltered, pampered really, compared to what she saw now. Fae collapsed in bloody heaps, their blades piercing one another’s flesh. Smoke and blood coated the air so thick she thought she might drown in it. And the innocents, their crying, the screaming, the helplessness.
“Move.” He gripped her waist hard, yanking Arianna to her feet. They were running again, leaping over obstacles, his magic still circling their bodies. Protecting her.
Her mind cleared enough to summon her own, flinging particles of ice into the mix of his rocks and sand. If she couldn’t help anyone else, she’d at least protect him.
A flash and Arianna planted her feet. Ice flew from her body without a second thought, rising above their heads in a thick wall. The explosion hit and she rocked back, but Rion held her firm. His magic pressed behind hers, solidifying when another explosion hit. Her ears were ringing again, but she’d regained her balance.
Arianna counted to two, Rion shattered her wall, and they were moving again, weaving in and out of clashing blades and battle cries.
Móirín.
She scented the misty tang of their magic. They were here, overtaking Rion’s forces after years of fighting.
Móirín was here…
