Page 114 of Brutal Birthright

Flexing his fingers around the handle of his drawn blades, he pulled on his magic, only to confirm the suspicion he had harboured since the night he and Niall had first investigated the other side of the Seal.

Their magic was of no use here.

“Have your weapons ready.” He grunted towards the rest of the group alongside him.

Both of his brothers flanked him with Fehrn, who had already transformed into his wolf form prior to entering the Seal. With each of them joined by their fated mates who carried their own weapons.

“Our magic…” Niall glanced at his hands and raised an eyebrow in question. Realising there wasn’t going to be any tapping into his usual power while here.

“It won’t work in this realm,” Lachie said. Fisting his own swords with one in each hand. He stopped and surveyed those gathered behind them. An assortment of the fae guards Rowan had personally trained emerged through the portal. They were just as skilled in battle as any, and without knowing exactly what they might encounter in this land, they were all going in blind.

Rowan’s jaw clenched tight as he scanned the reddened landscape before them. Nothing stood out as an obvious location to begin searching for Oriana, and that made his thirst for blood only grow hotter with each passing second.

She was here. He knew that much.

There was no doubt in his mind that Fiadh—or whoever had stolen her—would come to them. She’d taken Oriana for a reason, and if whoever this was wanted to draw them all out, then she’d fucking gotten her wish fulfilled.

The bitch was as good as dead in his eyes.

If she’d so much as laid a finger on Oriana… there was no telling what he’d do to eviscerate her. He might even grant this being with death after a few hundred years of torture.

“Without our powers, this is potentially a suicide mission, no?” Niall was looking intently at Ruby. Something silent passed between the two of them.

“Not all of us are without power.” A quiet voice spoke up from behind his eldest brother. Belle had a tight expression on her face, as though wincing with pain.

“What is it? I swear I’ll get you the fuck out of here straight away.” Lachie wheeled round with a snarl and was already all over her before any of them could blink. Grabbing her by the shoulders and inspecting her for injury.

“I’m… I’m fine. The power here is unsettling, is all.” She reached up to place her hands on Lachie’s chest. “While I cannot access any of my magic from our realm, my Ampher is taking on board what exists here.”

“And?” His brother looked ready to start a war just at the sight of Belle in mild discomfort.

Maybe Rowan did now understand a little of what his brothers felt when they looked at their women. He had already slaughtered entire armies in his mind single-handedly since learning of Oriana being taken.

“I’ll be able to work with it. Potentially harness it.” She held her hands up for them all to see, and there were black veins spreading along her arms, stretching in a tiny network that seemed to be growing from her fingertips towards her upper arms. “But this is dangerous. Darker than anything I’ve experienced before.”

“Fuck.” Lachie jabbed his hand through his hair. “I won’t risk losing you again, my fierceling.” His voice dropped low.

“We have to do this.” Belle took his face in her hands and shook her head determinedly. “We find Oriana. Whatever it takes, we’re in this with you, Ruby.”

Rowan’s chest tightened under the strain. While he knew there was no sense in rushing into the unknown, for the first time in perhaps ever, he had no battle plan to enact. Just raw driving need to find her and get her to safety.

Fuck plans or strategy. Savagery was all he needed in order to ensure her safe return.

A commotion sounded behind the line of fae guards. All of a sudden pink hair and wild eyes rushed towards him. Brynne was brandishing her own weapons and talking a mile a minute at the man right beside her.

Finnic had arrived, too.

It would seem they had brought the entire class of students with them. All armed to the teeth with both their own weapons and those Rowan recognised immediately from the armoury.

“You honestly thought you could leave us out of this? After this is what we’ve been training for?” Brynne was glaring up at him with arms folded. “Ri is the best of us and we would all happily die fighting to get her back.” She gestured with her chin to the growing number of bodies emerging from the portal.

Behind them, the vampires Hunter, Ace, and Nelloix all followed. Clearly they had transported the students to the entrance of the Seal itself.

“She’s right. We’re here for Oriana.” Finnic held his hand out to grasp Rowan’s forearm. But held on for a fraction longer than was really necessary. His usually mirth-filled eyes were solemn. Something flickered in his expression as he studied Rowan for a long moment, then stepped back.

Rowan wasn’t sure what the fuck that was about, but he was already about a second away from snapping someone’s neck, and he didn’t need Finnic trying to get in his fucking head.

Leaving them all to debate amongst themselves and form a plan for where to begin searching, he moved to the edge of the outcrop where they stood. It was elevated a little and hung out as a protrusion of jagged ochre-coloured rock. The sharp edges and planes of the loose gravel crunched beneath his boots, and he hunched down to drag a finger through the dust.

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