Page 7 of The Sacred and the Tormented

The wind shifted and Arianna scented the air, her shoulders stiffening when she found Pádraigín’s magic floating through the breeze.

No, no, they weren’t ready.

The warriors beside her drew their weapons and magic tore from their bodies, all preparing for a fight.

Arianna glanced behind her briefly, wondering how fast they could evacuate the villagers into the underground safe houses. Were the supplies ready? Could they get to them fast enough? Would it even matter in the end?

She turned back right as the figure pulled their hood down and everything in Arianna’s body relaxed a fraction.

Gavin.

But Gavin was—she didn’t have time to react as a fierce snarl ripped from Rion’s throat. Then he was moving. The earth came up to surround his body, rocks floating in all sizes and shapes as he closed in on the male faster than she’d ever seen him move.

Anger flooded the tiny room containing the bond and Gavin stepped back, fear plainly written across his face as The Demon of Alastríona barreled toward him.

Gavin stepped back and Arianna had the sinking feeling that Rion wouldn’t show the male any mercy.

Gavin had disappeared the same night Ellie had gone missing. Their only conclusion had been that Gavin helped Niall escape, or, in the best-case scenario, was forced to go back with him. But Gavin could lie. He’d admitted it himself. There was the possibility that Gavin had never been on their side to begin with. Regardless of his loyalty, he’d know whether Niall had Ellie.

Arianna yanked on the bond hard enough that she saw Rion falter. It wasn’t a movement anyone else might have noticed, but she saw the way his magic jerked all the same.

Don’t kill him, she tried to convey.

Rion’s fist collided with the side of Gavin’s face and a resounding crack echoed across the field, followed by Gavin’s howl of pain. He tried to fall to his knees, but Rion grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up, slamming another fist into the male’s torso.

No one dared intervene, not even her, though she wasn’t sure she wanted to. If Gavin had helped Niall escape—if he were the reason Ellie was taken—she might very well kill him herself.

Rion struck him again and Gavin fell to the ground, scrambling backward away from The Demon, his face pouring blood. He held one hand up, begging Rion to listen.

Rion growled in response and made to lunge for Gavin again, but ice tore across the ground at Gavin’s feet. Rion jumped back, his magic drawing closer around his body as he searched for the threat.

Then Arianna saw Talon jogging across the field. His clothes were torn around his legs and left arm. Blood stained the fabric. Even so, her friend kept moving until he stood between Rion and Gavin.

Arianna’s heart tightened all over again as she remembered the last time Rion and Talon had been at one another’s throats. She placed one hand on the edge of the wooden fence, prepared to leap over the edge in order to separate them.

They stared at one another, then Talon turned toward the male on the ground. Gavin almost looked relieved, then Talon planted his boot in the male’s face.

FOR THE briefest of moments, Talon feared Rion might outright kill Gavin, but he should have known the male was more calculating than that.

Gavin might very well be the only one able to tell them where Ellie was being held.

Talon had looked around for Arianna and was surprised to find her standing at the top of the wooden wall, looking down on them. She’d given Talon the briefest of nods and his chest swelled with the trust. She’d always trusted him, but he’d been failing her at every turn. To know he might finally be able to bring her some good news was a relief.

Rion grabbed Gavin by the back of his neck, ignoring the male’s pleas for mercy. Thiswasmercy as far as Talon was concerned.

Talon turned to the warriors in his unit and gave them the signal to freshen up. His second would inform Avalon of their findings, which amounted to pretty much nothing, at least where Ellie was concerned, but there were other things Avalon needed to know about. Like the amassing Dark Fae and all the destruction they’d caused. And where they were likely headed.

Arianna was already gone by the time he looked back, likely preparing herself to tend to the warriors in his unit. There was only one that could use her help. The other two had been lost on the way home, bleeding out long before their arrival.

Rion was a brewing storm the likes of which Talon hadn’t seen since they’d fought in Levea. He followed in silence, almost relishing in the fear pouring from Gavin as they moved away from the village. If the male had hoped to plea his case before Arianna, he’d been sorely mistaken.

When they were far enough away that a wandering villager wouldn’t overhear their conversation, Rion slammed the young male’s back against a flat rock and stood with his hands at his sides, fists clenching and unclenching.

The old Rion might have very well already taken off a leg, Talon had seen his methods before. But again, he was a calculated male and likely thinking about the possibility that Gavin might have to lead them to Ellie.

But if Gavin proved useless, well, Talon wouldn’t be hanging around to find out what Rion had in store for him.

A traitor. That’s exactly what Gavin was to them now. He might have helped everyone escape Ruadhan, but if he were involved with Niall, there was no sparing him.

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