Page 57 of Last Ride of the Umbra Fae

Raven’s silhouette flew above us, drawing my stare to the sky as he scoured the area.

One by one, we quickly reined in our horses and rode east, away from Fang’s crumbling palace with his body strapped across a riderless horse. We weaved through brawl after brawl between humans and fae. The Eternal stone was tucked inside a small pouch hidden in my vest pocket. Ryder led us to the east side gates as fast as our horses could carry us.

When two worlds collide.

The words of our ancestors echoed through my mind. I felt the power of amber and bloodstone that made the Eternal what it was.

I felt its yearning for Earth’s Fall.

Home.

The word descended upon my thoughts.

I glanced over my shoulder, seeing Pa’s look of satisfaction as Fang’s body rode beside him. Fire scorched several areas of the city we left behind.

They said you had to forget who you were in order to survive these lands. Behind those walls had been a future built off greed. No one should be forced to forget where they came from.

I was the equalizer.

The half-light who had carved a path for them to decide how their own futures would pan out.

As we headed east for Scarlet Gallows, destiny would lead us down the Serpent’s Path in Crimson Valley and into Blightstone Hollow, where fate patiently awaited.

32

Vessa

While we rode into the Scarlet Gallows, we saw how quickly the word of war had spread. For the first time, the horrors heinous enough to make it far west bled before my very eyes. All those stories of the massacres told beside a campfire were now up in flames, with every noose to go with it. Emotions stormed through me, outraged that a place like this had existed all this time. I’d never realized how far Fang’s grip had reached, but now the remaining Elemental Fae were bringing justice to those who had stood on his side, regardless if they were fae or not. We were riding so fast, I only caught glimpses of Fire Fae taking their stances against them. Their souls be damned when they embarked on the Vale.

Fang was barely hanging by a thread when Pa tossed his body onto the ground, left to be ripped apart by those who sought revenge. Karmic justice was what I called it. All that had been lost would never be replaced; the peace our home once brought would never be the same again, but hearing Fang’s final cry before his life came to an end was more than a blessing. It wasa calm that offered a small gift, enough for me to know the fight had been worth it. The Scarlet Gallows would now harness the blood of fae and humans—tainted with another horror that I hoped would be a reminder to anyone who dared to stake a claim upon this land again.

Our horses slowed to a trot as we followed the Serpent’s Path through Crimson Valley. It wasn’t long until we were further south, at the entrance of Blightstone Hollow.

Ryder had kept his vow—he’d ended anyone who had stood in our path.

The call to a divine place fluttered along my arms, sending the hairs on my neck to rise. Crimson birch trees lined the path as fog curled around the horses’ hooves.

The three of us rode side by side beneath the canopy of trees that arched the entrance above us.

“Raven.”I opened the bond. He coasted down with the next beat of his wings, vanishing into a shroud of shadow. He landed in the form of a male, casually walking alongside my mare, keeping his hand beneath her chin as he narrowed his eyes on the terrain ahead.

“Four able bodies are better,” I said.

This place was warm, as if hell itself was seeping through the cracks of the forest floor, creating a fog that felt more like steam. It still did not cease the chill that fluttered down my arms being in such a sacred place. The crimson leaves varied from shades of bright red to a deep maroon. The bark reminded me of bones with fear-stricken faces. The overgrown knots on the trunks were rough and jagged—haunting if I stared too long. But it was Ryder’s gaze I felt the most.

“Are you spooked, Desert Storm?” He smirked, eyeing me from beneath the brim of his cowboy hat, a pale-blue glow within its shadow.

I scoffed, but his words still tugged at my core.

“You can ride with me if you need a distraction.”

I watched the way his hips moved astride the horse, remembering his length pressed against my center when we’d been in the city. He knew exactly how to eradicate my negative thoughts with just a simple motion. He was a tease, and I wanted a taste. Warmth spread across my chest as I looked at this wicked and shameless cowboy. I?—

I felt the power ofNanbefore the release of an arrow as it whizzed by, but there was no time to act. It missed my head by inches. The rustling in the brush came from all directions as heavy footsteps charged from different locations. Time stilled as my mind reeled back to when our homes had been ambushed in Black Water Woods; back when I’d been defenseless and raised in a world without fear. I remembered what it had felt like to be stalked and hunted as I struggled to survive. It was all coming down around us. The only difference between the past and now was that there was no fear, only death awaiting those who dared to play with it. From the shrouds of fog, screams tore through the enemies’ throats, proof that karma would always have a place in the dark as Pa summoned the power ofAma.His shadows unfurled, and with them, he disappeared into the brush to become them.

Several more arrows flew into the air, coming out of the thick mist that hid most of the terrain. My mare bucked before she reared, and in the next breath, I was flying. Raven growled, the sound so shattering that pain broke through our bond as he shifted too quickly, not entirely, as he moved beneath my body to soften the landing. My head flew back against his chest, and my jaw slammed shut, biting my cheek in the process. He wrapped a firm arm around me. I caught sight of the top of his shoulders, barbed with long, stiff feathers. Their glossy, iridescent shine had blood beaded at the tips. I felt the length of his body, large beneath mine. I grabbed his forearms as myshadows reacted of their own accord against his hold, solidifying my nails into claws. They dug into his flesh, sending Raven to growl as the tendons in his forearms flexed until he loosened his grip.

“Fucking hell, Vessa,” Raven cursed, his voice heated raw. I wordlessly jumped to my feet, watching my mare take off as Ryder reared, turning back to get me. He held out his hand, reaching for me. His hold was strong, but hisNaiwas the extra pull to haul me up behind him. I grabbed onto his sides and held on, catching sight of the arrows protruding from the ground with steam curling up through the broken soil.

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