Page 52 of Chaos Unleashed

Well, at least it can’t get much worse; I mean, I escaped, or I’m escaping, and the princes are dead, so at least there’s that, there’s also . . . ah fuck . . . my sentence stops midway as the first drop of purple rain lands on my hand. Fantastic, it’s now raining as well. My horse clearly doesn’t want to be in the rain any more than I do, and it kicks its speed up a notch. Thankfully, it’s not long until we race through a break in the trees and come to a small clearing and a tiny dilapidated one-room cabin with a lean-to shelter on the side that should be just big enough for my horse. The wisp, having done its job and led me to shelter, simply fizzles out, leaving the rainy night even more miserable than it was moments before.

The horse heads straight for the shelter without any prompting or guidance from me, and I glance at Poca, he seems to understand what I want without me saying a word as he races toward the cabin. I watch as he does a simple perimeter check before nudging his way through the door. It takes him less than five minutes before he’s standing back at my side and nodding that it’s safe to enter.

I waste no time in grabbing Xerxes out of the saddle bag and patting my horse, telling him that he’s a good boy.

Damn, I miss Revel; he better be behaving himself in the Fae realm, although since he’s my horse, I know better, and I have a feeling that he’s causing mischief somewhere.

I’ve been away from him for a while, but he’s used to me disappearing for long periods of time. He’s always equal parts pissed and happy when I finally reappear.

“If there’s any danger whatsoever, you take off, got it?” I say to the horse, I’m unsure how they’ve been trained, but I am aware that some are trained to stay put even if they’re under extreme threat, and doing so means they’re going to die. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that the princes have their horses trained this way.

Like Fae horse he has a high level of intelligence and nods once to let me know that he’s understood. I decide not to take any risks and quickly take off his saddle and bridle, they’re a hazard if he does need to escape. It seems that was some kind of signal to him because he suddenly takes off.

Fuck.

There's fuck all that I can do about now. I'm just going to have to hope that he's back by the morning.

Chapter Twenty-One

Farren

Once I’m sure that he’s going to be okay, I make a run for it through the rain to the cabin door. As soon as I’m inside, Meri huffs grumpily at me for disturbing her and then launches herself off my shoulders and once again curls up on Poca’s back. She’s no doubt enjoying the extra warmth that his fur kicks off. It takes me mere moments to get my bearings; the cabin is really tiny. It’s one room with a pile of straw that looks surprisingly clean in one corner and a stove in the other. That’s it. As much as I would love to light a fire and use that to warm up and dry off, fire means smoke, and smoke means that I will more than likely get some uninvited visitors, and right now, more than anything else, I need rest.

With that thought, I reluctantly turn away from the stove and head to the pile of straw in the other corner; I nudge it with my boot just in case there’s something living in it, but when nothing jumps out at me, I sink to the floor, finding it surprisingly soft. I am suddenly absolutely exhausted; I barely have time to place Xerxes down and check that all of my creatures are with me before my head hits the straw with a soft thump and my eyes begin to close. I really should put some safety spells up around the cabin before I fall asleep or at least an alarm to wake me up if anything comes near the place. That’s the last thought that I have before I slip into a deep sleep.

**********

I don’t know where I am, but I do know I’m dreaming. The space around me is empty though, sort of like when the goddess visited me although I don’t think that’s what’s happening this time. It doesn’t feel the same.

“Where the fuck am I?” the familiar voice of H has me spinning around.

“H?” I ask.

He freezes and slowly turns around, squinting in my direction, as he cautiously asks, “Ren?”

I sigh, feeling a little bit exasperated, “Seriously, after everything that we’ve been through, you still can’t fucking see me?”

His smile grows as he strides in my direction and reaches out for me. I move so that he can easily reach me, and he pulls me into his arms; he holds me tightly, taking a deep, shuddering breath before his hands slowly travel up my arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake. His eyes become dark as he realises the effect that he’s having on me, and I push closer toward him, even though there’s barely any space between us anyway. His hands find my face, and his thumb caresses my lips, making me inhale sharply.

That sound makes something in him snap, and his lips come crashing down on mine. There’s no slow build-up, no gentle touches.

No.

This kiss is primal, raw, and filled with so much emotion that it makes my heart pound painfully. He’s so tall that he has to bend over ridiculously far to kiss me; it can’t be comfortable, and considering I’m looking for any excuse to get close to him, I bring my leg up; he gets the message and lifts me so that my legs can wrap around him, he does it with such ease that it sends another wave of pleasure through me.

My hands dive into his hair, running through the strands and then gripping it tightly; the growl that it causes him to make vibrates all through me as his hands grip my ass almost bruisingly. I don’t know how long we stay lost in the sensations, but eventually, the kiss starts to slow and become gentler, and I revel in the fact that I’m feeling something other than pain.

He pulls back, resting his head on mine, his eyes filled with so many emotions that it makes my own well with tears, and I’m actually incredibly grateful that he can’t see me right now.

“I thought you were dead,” he whispers.

I jolt at his words, “What? You did?”

“There was just this bright light, and then you were gone, and I had no idea if you’d succeeded in getting your magic back or if you’d pushed yourself more than your already battered body could take, and you died.”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” I reply, even though I know that it's not really something that I can apologise for since I had no control over it. “I’m okay. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” he asks, “My magic still senses some pain.”

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