Page 26 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

EVERYONE IS SAFE

Ornella

My body felt impossibly heavy, like there was lead in my veins, and my head was buzzing like a hive of bees which made me feel nauseous and uneasy. But beneath all that disorientation was a thumping adrenaline, a pulse of fear, that made me want to leap out of my listless flesh.

“You are alright, Summer, I have you,” murmured a familiar voice that put me instantly at ease even as my heart panged with instant longing for him.

Sage.

I breathed in impulsively, and his scent hit me hard, flooding me with immense calmness. I realized I was in his arms, pressed against him, and he was carrying me. His steps were unhurried and calm, so I knew we were finally out of danger.

“Tell my mother that we returned. Everyone is safe,” he advised someone else.

Everyone is safe. Everyone is safe. Everyone is safe.

“Sage…” I tried to speak, but his name came out in an incoherent mumble as if my tongue was swollen. I was desperateto fight off the lethargy threatening to drag me back into unconsciousness, but I was losing the battle.

Sage pressed his lips to my forehead, lingering there until I eased again, and it was all the reassurance I needed to slip back into sweet oblivion.

The next time I awoke, it was to the strangely sweet and woody scent and loud crackling of cedar burning.

Heaving aside all the blankets on me, I jolted upright and was instantly assaulted by the frigid wind. Not the dry cold that I had been dealing with in the Suridin Valley but a truly damp and miserable cold.

“Summer,” Sage spoke calmly, and I whipped my head around to where he was sitting just behind me.

He was dressed in simple leather and cotton clothing that was a bit tight on his strong, broad frame. I would have known it was borrowed even if I hadn’t remembered that his fire magic burned away his clothes. I could not help noticing how the firelight made the wine-red strands gleam brighter amidst the rest of his dark hair. Or how the unruly length he’d combed back with his fingers now fell rather sensually back into his eyes as he sat forward to lift the blankets back up around my shoulders. His amethyst eyes were almost crystalline in the glow of our fire.

My eyes slipped away from his beautiful features and snagged on Ciaran who sat on the other side of Sage with his arms slung over his knees. Those tabby orange eyes watched me so closely, and I wasn’t sure if I imagined the new wariness in his gaze or if I was still disorientated.

I jumped again when something moved right next to me but quickly eased when I realized it was only Pyrope. The auburn vargr had curled around me with her wolven head resting nextto the cloak that Carrick had given Sage to wear which had been serving as my pillow. I had also shoved aside one of her enormous, feathered wings that she’d used to cover me along with my blankets, so she folded it back to her side. I saw Serafin raise his head from where he lay at Sage’s back, and the golden vargr belonging to Ciaran lay right next to him.

Everyone is safe. I had heard Sage say that, but I could not help needing to confirm it for myself.

I glanced around us quickly to orientate myself and saw it was dark. The starry sky was clear with no signs of the magic cloud the Fuath mage had conjured in order to move their vile army under the cover of darkness. I had come to appreciate the canopy of youthful oaks and maples in the prime of their autumn glory that surrounded the Aes Suri village. Now, I gazed up into the sensible, shadowy boughs of the ancient coniferous trees that had graciously made room for the aes sídhe at my request.

We’d made it to the mountain plateau with the rest of the aes sídhe villagers. I could see many fires gleaming through the trees, and some animal-hide yurts had been erected, but mostly the fey were exposed. I supposed that was alright for Autumn fey when the fire magic burning inside them allowed them to warm themselves, but I was a Summer dryad. Even with the fire blazing so close to me, I was chilled down to my bones. Not frozen, I would not die, but I was certainly not comfortable.

“What happened?” I asked, looking at Sage who was watching me worriedly with those striking, purple eyes. He hesitated, his gaze sliding cautiously to Ciaran who leaned forward as if to hear better. “Where is Carrick?”

“My father is with Rian. They are alright,” Sage said when my eyebrows condensed in concern. “Rian was… He needed someone to stay with him.”

“He almost killed us.”

“Yes,” Sage admitted reluctantly. “You stopped him.”

“And I wouldstilllike to know how,” added Ciaran with a frustration that told me that this had been a point of contention while I was unconscious. Sage confirmed that suspicion when he turned to frown in exasperation at his brother rider who ignored him.

“I… Water magic,” I shrugged, trying not to be too obvious when I focused my attention on repositioning my blankets around me in order to avoid their eyes.

“Do you take me for a fool?” Ciaran demanded, and he shifted as if he meant to stand and confront me.

I braced, lips lifting in a defensive snarl, but it was Sage sitting up between us in a subtle but powerful way that made both of us ease back. Ciaran’s orange eyes flickered between us before he huffed reluctantly.

“I think we deserve some answers,” he mumbled.

Sage agreed, I could tell by the way his eyes appraised me curiously.

“Rian is the most powerful user of fire magic I have ever seen,” he began calmly, raising his eyebrows at me. “He would not be diffused by average water magic.”

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