Page 116 of Song of the Dark Wood

He tried to sense Rowan. Confusion and grief and a distinct sense of foreboding turned his stomach. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He shoved out of bed and pulled on clothes, and the dread only heightened.

He stormed down the stairs and to the gates of the keep before pausing. The Dark Wood felt strange, wrong, even to him.

Charlie appeared beside him so suddenly that he jumped. “What’s going on out there? It woke me up. The beasts are restless.”

Conor’s mind churned. “Valen took her blood, and he knows her name. If he’s strong enough now, he could lure her right into the Dark Wood.”

He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it before. Valen could nearly match Conor’s strength now. When she was in Conor’s bed, Rowan was safe from the pull of Valen’s compulsion. But in Ballybrine, on her own, she’d be helpless. She might not even wake up in time to realize what was happening.

The two of them took off down the path.

“Can you sense him?” Conor yelled over the howling wind.

Charlie grunted confirmation, and Conor turned to follow him into the trees. The two of them moved as fast as they could, snow whipping by them, making everything blurry. The large flakes stung his eyes and made his face feel raw, but Conor didn’t slow down.

Finally, he caught a stronger hint of her scent on the wind and followed. Horror sliced through him when they spotted her a moment later.

One of Valen’s arms wrapped around Rowan’s waist, holding her back flush to his body, while the other held her head to the side. Rivulets of blood dripped down her pale skin, soaking intothe red silk of her nightgown as he feasted on her. Her eyes were wide and unseeing, her hands limp at her sides like a doll’s.

Conor wanted to scream, to rip Valen limb from limb, but he also knew the vampire was hopped-up on a heavy dose of Rowan’s life force, and he wasn’t confident that he could take him out easily.

Valen pulled away from her neck to laugh. “Your new Red is fucking delicious. Best one yet.” His mouth was stained scarlet and his eyes glowed with power.

Rowan’s gaze cleared, and her fearful eyes met Conor’s. She mouthed his name, reaching for him feebly.

“Not so fast, sweet thing. Don’t you want to stay with me longer?” Valen taunted.

Conor recognized the compulsion magic in the air before it hit Rowan. She cocked her head to look at Valen.

“Of course,” she murmured, even as blood trickled from the wound in her neck, pooling between her breasts and disappearing into the lace neckline of her nightgown. Her voice was so small Conor struggled to hear it over the wind.

“I want her back…alive,” Conor barked.

“She seems perfectly happy right here. Aren’t you happy, love?” Valen goaded. He whispered something in her ear that was lost in the wind. She blushed and nodded. “Tell him what you want. Tell your big, bad Wolf.”

“I want Valen to suck the life out of me. Then I want him to make me one of his wives so he can keep me forever,” she said dreamily.

Conor couldn’t stand the vacant look in her eyes. He hated that someone was hurting her, and he could do nothing to stop it.

“You know the rules, Con,” Valen laughed. “The Maiden gets to choose which god of death she serves. Perhaps it’s finally time to give rise to a new one. I thought Elder Garrett would be theone to deliver her to me, but you did it yourself. You gods are so foolish. You and the way you think you can hold this power. The Mother and the way she thinks she can use me, while I used her elders to strip her of power and grow stronger. Now I will take your place, and then I will wipe the Mother off the map until this world is full of darkness.”

So that’s what the Mother had been up to. Conor had his suspicions, but now it was confirmed.

Charlie looked to Conor for guidance on what to do, but Valen was right. Conor had created the rule about new gods rising so he’d someday have a way out if he wanted it. Being eternal was overwhelming. It never occurred to him that he might end up in this exact predicament. He’d been the most powerful being in the Dark Wood for centuries. Now the balance of the world was in the hands of a half-conscious Maiden whom Conor was desperate to save.

He’d seen the way Valen’s “wives,” as he called them, were mindless husks of the women they’d been when they lived. He couldn’t stomach that fate for Rowan.

“Rowan, listen to me,” Conor begged. “Don’t give in to him. I care about you. I lied before when I said I didn’t. I should have just told you the truth. That song was for you. I’ve never written one for anyone else. It was exactly what I feel. I’ve never shared anything like that with someone before. I’ve never felt this before. You scare me to death.”

Rowan’s head rolled back against Valen’s shoulder sleepily.

“You’re so beautiful, so angry, so damn stubborn,” Conor continued. “I need you to be strong now. I need you to fight him. I’m so sorry I made you believe I didn’t care.”

“Aw, did you melt the heart of the big, bad Wolf?” Valen taunted.

Rowan groaned, her head lolling to the side as she tried to focus on Conor.

“You know I care for you. I know you felt it tonight. I am afraid I have little practice sharing my feelings, but I assure you that I’m crazy about you,” Conor said desperately. “Please fight. You are stronger than his magic. I know you are.”

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