Page 21 of Their Trials

I exhaled a sigh of relief, nearly collapsing in Callum's arms. I hadn't expected him to be the one to offer me comfort, but I'd take what I could get right about now.

As Lennox continued to pull the smoke into himself, a shadowy figure appeared, anger crossing its visage. Bells were on its cloak and pointed cap, tinkling softly in the breeze that was now flowing since the shield was no longer blocking it. How had we not heard those bells before? Well, Bear had heard them, but I hadn't heard anything, even with my enhanced hearing.

The creature flew across the distance toward Lennox, trying to get him to stop. A gnarled hand with wicked, black fingernails wrapped around Lennox's throat as I watched.

I doubled my efforts to get away from Callum and go to Lennox, to get that creature away from him at any cost. I'd be damned if I didn't save him from a dragon only to lose him to this bastard.

Callum's arm clamped down around my waist, almost cutting off my air supply as I struggled against his hold. Arryn and Charity's consorts rushed toward the Ankou, their weapons drawn.

Lennox showed no sign that the Ankou was harming him, but I could see the blood dripping down his neck from the nails of the monster, and the veins in his neck were now distended above the grip. His face started to pale from the complete obstruction of blood flow and oxygen.

My Jui Jitsu experience told me he wouldn't last much longer under the hold if it wasn't dislodged soon. He'd pass out before he could finish his assault against the Ankou, and then we’d all be screwed. The smoke rushed from the creature as it continued strangling Lennox, absorbing into him.

As I watched the whisps disappear, I noticed that the Ankou was becoming less ethereal and more substantive the more its magic was drained from it. The bones in its hand became more pronounced as if the magic was its life force.

Finally, as Lennox's face started to turn blue and the pull started to slow, Arryn reached him, slamming into the creature to dislodge him from Lennox. As the Ankou fell away from Lennox, his hold ripped away unceremoniously, I watched the nails drag along his neck, opening four large gashes precariously close to his artery. Blood started to flow down Lennox's neck, drenching his shirt at the collar, soaking into the material like Lennox was absorbing the Ankou's magic.

I gasped at the sight before my eyes were drawn from Lennox to Arryn as he raised his sword to attack the Ankou. He slashed downward, his sword splitting the cloak of the creature and barely missing the killing blow.

The Ankou hissed out, “Stupid fae!” He flew toward Arryn before he could raise his sword for another attack. Eoghan stepped forward, his sword coming down across the Ankou's outstretched arm and lopping it off in one smooth motion.

It swung to face Eoghan as Charity cried out in fear, distracting Eoghan at the last moment. The Ankou's other arm latched onto his throat and squeezed, the same way he had done to Lennox. Anger etched across Eoghan's face as the Ankou released him.

Instead of attacking the Ankou, Eoghan launched himself at Arryn, and I couldn't stop the gasp from leaving my lips. Connor and Luke stepped in to draw Eoghan's attention and slow his progress toward Arryn. They blocked the swings from his sword and allowed Arryn the chance to attack the Ankou again.

“Why is he attacking us?” I asked Callum, confused as to why Eoghan would turn on us so suddenly.

“The Ankou feeds on anger. It’s manipulated Eoghan's anger so that he attacks his friends,” Callum explained calmly, but the tension in his arm and body as he held me back said he was anything but.

“Why didn't Lennox turn on us?” I asked, confused as to why he'd been immune.

“Best guess?” Callum started, “It's because he was absorbing the magic, so it wasn't effective. Either that or because Lennox already lives with that much anger.”

Fuck. I hoped it wasn't the latter. I knew what it was like to live that way, and I didn't want that for him. The only thing that had saved me was finding my coach and MMA. What did Lennox have?

I watched, riveted to the scene before me, as Arryn swung his sword again. This time, it made contact with the Ankou's neck, the blade passing cleanly through. As if in slow motion, the shadows burst as the creature's head slid from its shoulders.

Lennox fell to his knees, gasping for air, and Charity screamed, shocked at watching the creature die a gruesome death. I barely flinched, willing to do so much worse to whoever tried to hurt my men.

Eoghan dropped his sword, and his fellow Consorts did the same as the magic of the Ankou disappeared, the creature fading from view slowly as if it was sinking into the ground itself.

Callum's arm relaxed, and I pushed against it, rushing to Baer, needing to make sure he was still okay. I landed hard on my knees next to him as I placed a hand on his cheek, my magic bursting forth from me as soon as I made contact, seeking out his injuries and healing them without needing any encouragement from me.

Arryn approached, placing a hand on my shoulder. “That's enough, Rhowyn. He's fine, and we don't need you exhausting your magic. We may need it later,” he said, pulling me from Baer.

I relaxed slightly at Arryn's words, trusting his judgment. I couldn't sit here waiting for Baer to wake up, I needed to do something. So, I jumped to my feet and stormed over to Lennox, who was sitting back on his heels, still trying to catch his breath. I pushed him hard with both hands, causing him to land on his back in the dirt.

“Why didn't you do that sooner?” I exclaimed.

“Fuck, Princess,” he said, ignoring my question as he sat back up again, resting his forearms on his knees.

It was then I noticed that he was still bleeding, and I knelt next to him, moving to heal him before I could think twice about it. I placed my hand over the gashes in the skin, so close to the artery. He was lucky that it had missed. My hand tingled and warmed as I pushed my magic into him, healing the gashes slowly, the blood slowly stopping as I did so.

I met his eyes, pleading with him to answer my question. I was angry with him for not stepping in sooner, for throwing himself into danger like that, and for being a general pain in my ass. But I was also glad that he was okay, relieved that he'd be around to pester me for a while longer.

“Why did you wait so long?” I asked softly, his eyes studying me in the same way.

He sighed, leaning into me, his forehead resting on mine as he held my gaze. “I didn't want to reveal what I am. It's not a common use of magic and is highly feared. I didn't want to use it unless I absolutely had to. This was the worst place to have to use it, with everyone watching now that Mother is broadcasting the entire trials,” he finished, his eyes closing as he inhaled.

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