Page 14 of Fated In Forever
“Go to Fiona and Eldric,” I urged Riordan, “and get them behind those rocks while Nash picks off the thralls. Maybe we’ve weakened Romulus enough to finally kill him.” I didn’t know how he’d survived my shadows, but if I had to saw the fucker’s head off his shoulders to finish this, I would.
Rohr vanished, just as Ravok twisted away, then struck, sharpened claws aimed at Wolf’s throat—a killing blow.
Only Dravin's intervention saved Wolf’s life—the bloodied, battered vampire throwing himself between them, taking the brunt of the attack, his claws intercepting Ravok’s strike in a shower of sparks. But the maneuver left Dravin exposed, and Ravok’s second strike raked across his bare chest, drawing blood and a howl of pain.
Shots rang out in the dark, Nash picking off the thralls, and when the mountain winds finally tore my shadows away, the ruins were strewn with bodies. Riordan was dragging both an unconscious Fiona and Eldric to safety, andWolf, Dravin and Ravok were tangled together once again in a violent twist of claws and fangs.
I had to hand it to Dravin, even with a broken arm and leaking blood all over the mountain, he was still holding his own.
“Look at you, all alone,” Romulus materialized out of a bank of shadow. “I don’t know whether to curse you or thank you for this.” He gestured to his half-charred face. “My Master is going to kill those two, I’m going to kill you, then we’ll use the king and the witch as bait to draw out your precious Evangeline.”
My hands closed into fists, magic coating my arms in a cold wash of darkness as I waited for him to make the first move. One heartbeat to measure my enemy. One breath to decide where to strike first. Would he attack me with my own shadows? Or Rohr’s fire? Or something even more deadly?
“And sheisprecious, isn’t she? So much finer than anything a common grunt like you ever deserved.” His eyes—one normal, one black as coal—glinted with malice. “Whereisyour mate? Or should I say…where did that monster take her?”
I squashed down the resentment and anger bubbling up from my gut, brought my raging jealousy back under control, my voice cold and unwavering when I answered.
“To safety.”
Romulus’s expression hardened, hatred gleaming in his ancient eyes and when he moved, it was with the full terrible grace of an Ancient. I barely managed to dodge his first blow and the second opened a throbbing gash down my shoulder, my dominant arm going numb.
But it didn’t matter what happened to me.
Evie was safe.
Malachi would keep her safe, Riordan would ensure she remained protected.
Wolf and Dravin were both injured, bleeding, and Ravok showed no sign of faltering, thralls creeping up over the edge of the outcropping like roaches, and while Nash and his guards were picking them off, soon enough, their ammunition would run out.
But our personal battles meant nothing, as the true threat continued to grow.
The rift above Ravok pulsed like a diseased heart, each beat sending tremors through the foundations of the mountain. Through the tear, I could almost glimpse shapes moving in the endless dark—things that could never be allowed to cross over into this realm.
At every break in the battle, Ravok tore that rift open wider, and with each passing second, he grew stronger as thralls dropped and dropped around us, until I could almost see the line of power flowing straight to Ravok, like an undulating river of stolen magic.
Dravin saw that stolen magic too, as he crept up behind Ravok, hatred burning in his face.
“This isn’t over. And you did not win today,you lost.” Romulus hissed, his head snapping toward his master, spotting Dravin. Then he vanished in a swirl of smoke and reappeared beside his Master.
Moving with terrible grace and speed, far beyond what he should be capable of, his claws caught Dravin mid-leap, the two of them crashing to the ground in a tangle of limbs and fury. They rolled across the broken stones, each seeking the other's throat, neither giving quarter. Romulus was faster, but Dravin was a feral beast, tearing with a desperate ferocity that was awful to watch.
The end came suddenly. Dravin overextended himself,lunging for what he thought was an opening in Romulus’s defenses. Instead, he found himself impaled on the vampire’s blackened claws, talons punching through his chest with surgical precision.
“No,” Wolf screamed, lunging for Dravin before Ravok hurled him away. I scrambled to help, sending my shadows spinning, but was too late. Romulus grasped Ravok’s arm in his bloodied hand.
One look—a glare that promised retribution—and they were gone.
Dravin crashed to his knees, trying to stem the bleeding, blood pouring between his fingers, splattering on the ground like a macabre painting. Above us, that rift roared like a starving dragon.
“We have to get the fuck out of here.” I staggered to Dravin’s side, slid my arm beneath his and heaved him to his feet. “Now. Fiona sealed off the ley line, but whatever Ravok just did…”
Wolf took on the rest of Dravin’s considerable weight, his blue eyes lifting to the threat above us. “We’ll go back to Ireland, tell Nikolai what’s happened. You should come with us.”
On the other side of the Keep, Nash was shouting orders, gunshots ringing out as he took down the last of the thralls.
“I can’t heal you, not here. We’ll have to dematerialize with your injuries,” Wolf explained to his friend. “If I know my brother, Nik will have healers waiting.” His gaze lifted to my face. “Bring your people. Tell King Riordan we will form an alliance, in the face of this threat.”
“I'll live,” the wounded Elder managed, though his face was pale as moonlight, his eyes on Fiona, sprawled on the rocks. “The witch’s binding—is her magic holding?”
