Page 74 of Of Vows and War: Special Edition
Lian caught my eye, her blue hair quickly coming my way. I opened my arms, thinking she was going to embrace me. Instead, her hand connected with my cheek. A pained groan slipped past my lips as I grabbed my stinging face.
“Dammit, Lian, what was that for?”
“You are late! We have a future queen to rescue!” she shouted in response, her hands going to her hips and her glare leveling my way.
“They took forever to get ready!” I pointed at Noe and Cyprus, hoping to send some of Lian’s ire their way.
“We did not!” they yelled in unison.
“Enough! Focus.” Adbeel’s order was immediately obeyed, silence overtaking the ship.
He was right, we needed to focus. Nothing was okay until Asher was with us again.
“So what is the plan?” Just then, a door behind us loudly shut. I turned to find Captain Harligold walking out of what must have been her quarters, followed closely by the blonde that seemed glued to her side and a female I had seen many times before. She was dark everywhere but her clothes, the lavender dress fit more for a casual dinner rather than a battle.
For that reason alone—my previous stalking habits aside—I would have known exactly who she was even before Farai shouldered past our group and ran at her.
“Nicola!” he cheered, grabbing her by the waist and spinning her around as he embraced her. She giggled as they spun, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing their foreheads together.
“I have missed you,” she responded.
“King Adbeel is right. We need to focus. Nicola, while it is lovely to meet you in the flesh, can we discuss the plan?” I asked, becoming antsy.
“No plan, Elemental. You have one job, get Asher. The pirates have done their part for now,” Nicola said, gesturing behind her to the group of females. I noted that they were one short. The siren was gone. As if that were their cue, they walked away and huddled together, their whispers too quiet to make out. “Burning the royals’ ship means that Asher now has drastically less poison in her system, as her new clothes were freshly made and Perdita swapped out her hairbrush. I could not see how else they were doing it, but she should be significantly more coherent and her magic should be enough to fight back. This is not a mission to kill Mia, but Ash will make it one. We need her out of there as quickly as possible or worse will happen.”
Sounded easy enough. I would have went for Asher first either way.
“Your Majesty,” Nicola said, offering a small curtsy to Adbeel before addressing him again. “I need you to distract Mia. She is going to be looking for Asher. I have not yet seen a future in which she succeeds, but I think we all know that it is not an option.”
Adbeel looked stricken at the idea of Asher not coming back with us tonight, and I imagined my face mirrored his.
“I can do that.”
“As for us,” Nicola said, slowly assessing my Trusted and her best friend. “Well, we are back up.”
“This is not enough to fight off what will probably be hundreds of fae soldiers,” Cyprus argued. He had spoken so much less since Luca was taken from us that any time we heard his voice was a relief, but especially now. He would survive this, he was okay and ready.
“We are enough for now.” With an understanding of what needed to be done, we all squared our shoulders and readied ourselves. “You first, Bellamy. Right to the Fire Warden’s home.”
I was gone before she finished her sentence.
I landed upon the grass just in front of the manor. It was a sprawling estate with red walls and a towering black gate shaped like flames. My skin prickled, and then I heard his voice from behind me.
“You should not have come, Baron.” Xavier’s voice was stoic and calculating, just like it had been for much of our conversation in Grishel. This time, it also held the faintest hint of sorrow. I could almost taste it in the air. “Mia had a feeling you were behind these attacks on Asher, but I swore that you loved her too much to harm her. Apparently, I was wrong.”
“I wouldneverhurt Asher. I am here to take her home, to rescue her from you psychopaths.” My hand twitched, black fire igniting at my fingertips and then blowing away like the wind.
“I once said the same about her—aboutyou.Yet here I stand, ready to kill my own son, just as I was ready to end you in that desert.” Something akin to pain crinkled his eyes. “One of the hardest things in the world to accept is your own wickedness.”
He was not my purpose, but he could help. What had Stassi said? He was a weak link, the crack in their foundation.
“You do not have to do this,” I said, letting my entire body light in black flames.
“The exact opposite is true, actually. I have to do this, because I cannot let you take Asher from me again,” he responded, letting his flames ignite as well.
“You know, I think you do love Asher in your own way, even if it is the wrong way.” Xavier let out an animalistic growl at my condemnation, his body going rigid. We faced each other, father and son in every way except the one that mattered. Nearby, screams echoed off the clear sky, entering the abyss and being thrown back at us in a mockery of the pain tonight would bring. “You have to let her go. She deserves happiness.”
Xavier ignored my plea, grunting as he stepped forward and rained fire down upon me. I summoned my Earth power, lifting the dirt and grass from the ground. Fire met earth, bursting in angry flames and charred grass. As if the visual had shown him exactly what Asher had felt growing up, Xavier stumbled back. I let the dirt fall as his flames extinguished.
