Page 41 of Taste of Danger

When Casimir cursed, Raidh looked toward the center of the village. No less than six guards stood there, Elvine in the middle looking trapped with no way out.

Leaving even twenty minutes behind her had cost them too much time. This would no longer be a quiet attempt to retrieve her. Raidh gritted his teeth when he saw Willopher approach her. He knew exactly who that guard was, had seen the slimeball with his father on too many occasions.

Willopher approached Elvine and tucked his fingers under her chin, smiling cruelly down at her. Raidh couldn’t hear what the guard said, but Elvine began to struggle harder as she was led toward an alley.

Oh hell no!

As Casimir took off toward the guards, Raidh closed his eyes and tilted his head back, chanting quickly as he pulled on the powers of the realm. The magic of his homeland charged the magic he already possessed, making him stronger than he already was.

He flew toward the alley, his wings fluttering madly, arriving in time to find Casimir battling two of them with glowing green swords in his hands. Raidh threw his hand out toward Willopher and blasted him away from Elvine, who was against a wall, but the guard got right back to his feet and went after her again.

With a snarl, Raidh threw his hands out, palms up, then raised them higher. Willopher shouted as he rose into the air. Seeing Elvine’s torn shirt and the tears in her eyes, Raidh unleashed hell on the guard. He caused Willopher’s blood to boil in his veins as his skin peeled from his body. Then he snapped the man’s neck before Willopher dropped to the ground.

Elvine raced toward him and threw herself into his arms, openly weeping. “My parents turned me in. It was a trap!”

Knowing Casimir could handle the other guards, Raidh cupped the back of her head and hugged her to him, cursing as he felt her trembling so badly. “If they care so little about you that they would lay a trap for you, then I renounce your familial ties to them. They can rot in hell, dewdrop.”

His renouncement didn’t add up to squat, but he was so infuriated that it had just felt good to say it. Elvine had risked coming back to this realm out of fear for her parents safety. She had risked so much, and they had betrayed her love for them.

They had always treated Raidh like family, but in the end, they had been just like his parents. Looking out for their own best interest. “They didn’t deserve your love or loyalty, Elvine.”

“Thank you for being my best friend,” she said, her head resting against his chest. “I love you, tulip.”

He grinned, realizing just how much he missed hanging out with her. “Love you too, dewdrop. Now I have to get you home to your men.”

She groaned softly. “How mad are they?”

“Well, that depends on whether you think a destroyed kitchen table constitutes as mildly perturbed or panicked and enraged.”

“Who—”

“Raidh!”

He spun at the sound of Casimir’s warning shout but was too late to stop the black bolt from hitting Elvine. She let out a piercing scream as she convulsed violently in his arms before collapsing against him.

“Elvine!” Everything had happened so quickly when they’d arrived that Raidh hadn’t had a chance to place protection spells on any of them. He should have done it while they were standing there, but he’d been so focused on trying to comfort Elvine and distract her from Willopher’s attack he’d let his guard down, leaving Casimir to fight five elite guards alone.

After he gently lowered her body to the ground, Raidh turned, his fury consuming him as he snarled and bared his teeth at the two remaining guards. “Move out of the way, Casimir.”

The warrior looked as if he’d just fought a hard battle, bloody and covered in sweat. He rushed to Elvine’s side and lowered to one knee to check on her, as Raidh unleashed all of his rage on the guards who had dared to harm her.

“You cowardly dogs! Attacking a woman with her back turned? She carries a child!” For the first time in his life, Raidh let go of all control and released the full force of his dark fae powers to avenge his best friend.

His hands glowed with dark magic as he channeled the power within him, causing the guards’ blood to boil and their skin to peel away from their bodies.

When the guards dropped, Raidh’s anger dissipated, leaving him panting heavily and feeling exhausted.

Six dead guards. All the king had to do was use a spell to find out who had murdered them. If he wasn’t already, Raidh would now be a hunted man, just as Casimir was. They would know the warrior and Raidh had been here, and the king, as well as the council, would discover that Raidh was the most powerful Unseelie of their kind.

What had he just done? He’d promised Jaytee he wouldn’t let himself go down that dark path, yet Raidh had just taken a giant leap toward it.

Oh god. Kalen already was wary of the dark fae in his home, even though Jaytee’s father treated them all with love and kindness.

And Raidh had not only let Kalen down, but he’d also given the man one heck of a reason to fear them. If he ever found out…

Shoving aside those thoughts, he quickly lowered to his knees on the opposite side of Casimir.

“She barely has a pulse, and her mytconiz is fading.” Casimir’s voice trembled slightly. “Raidh, place your hands on her.”

---