Page 54 of Eclipse of Fate
Slowing to a steady beat.
I don’t know how she manages it, but I close my eyes, my heart calming with the pressure of her hand over the muscle. I take a deep breath in through my nose and blow it out through my mouth. Kait watches my face as I do, and she whispers ‘thank you’ before I turn back around to face Dax and Raelle.
“Fine. Tell me what you need us to do.”
Fate sometimes has a fucked up way of making things happen. Sitting with my back pressing against the stone wall, I rest my arms on my knees. Letting my hands hang between them, I watch Raelle frantically worry about the man that lies at our feet. It’s been hours, and his body just lies there while we do nothing. We don’t even know if he’s succeeded in projecting.
The muscle in my jaw ticks as I sit there with nothing else to do other than think of the possible outcomes. The majority of them are not good.
Rubbing my thumb back and forth across the inside pads of my fingers is my silent equivalent to pacing. Raelle is doing enough of that for all of us.
“How long is it going to take?” She asks as she bites at the skin around the nail of her thumb.
“I don’t know.” My voice is merely a croak as I look up to where she stands.
“He should be awake by now, right?” She continues pacing, her eyes never leaving Dax for more than a few seconds.
“I don’t know.” I reply again.
“Should we try waking him up?” Her gaze finally turns to me.
“I don’t know,” I say flatly.
“Do you have anything helpful to say?” She quips.
“No.” I roll my neck as I look up at her. I’m choosing not to say anything. Anything I have to say will only cause her to worry more—if that’s at all possible. Kait stands from where she’s been sitting near the back of the cave and strides to Raelle, wrapping her in her arms, and Raelle’s shoulders shake as she breaks down crying into Kait’s cloak.
I can’t do this anymore.
“I’m going to scout the area around the cave,” I say as I stand. Leaving the two of them there. They don’t acknowledge my exit. I won’t go far. I just need to get out of that fucking cave. The angst is suffocating. Looking above the lip of the cave, I shift my wings and fly myself over the edge before landing quietly and curling them back into my body.
Choosing my path, I begin my sweep. I don’t have to worry about being quiet because the storm will cover any noise I make. We’ve seen no wildlife here—nothing to hunt. Another concerning thing about where we are. It doesn’t make sense. We’ve got the rations we brought, though, so I’m not too worried. Yet.
Lost in my thoughts, I come to a sudden stop, thinking I heard something other than wind. When an arrow comes whistling past my head, I curse, ducking low, I keep my eyes trained on the area it came from, and when I notice the loose gravel at my feet begin to vibrate, I curse under my breath at the same time I hear a deafening roar.
I have nearly no time to react, as in the next moment, the trees around me are lit up. Everything is in a blaze of dragon fire. Pulling my blade from my back, I take off in a sprint. I head in the opposite direction of the cave, needing to get this fucker as far from Kait, Raelle, and Dax as I can. I haven’t even seen the dragon, but with the heat of the flames licking at my skin and the quickness with which it reached me, I know it's not far behind.
My muscles flex and burn as I push myself to hurdle bushes and logs moving through the forest in a blur of speed. Something flashes to my right, and as I turn my head to see what it is—the fucker who is aiming to take my head off with his sword—goes down, between the sharp canines of a tawny wolf with bright blue eyes. Skidding to a stop, I swing my blade, taking the head of theRaskin that moves to attack Kait as she rips the throat out of the warrior who almost killed me. Gold dust is carried away by the wind above her.
I whip my head around to search the area. If Kait is here…
“Where is Raelle?” I bellow into the wind. But there is no one around who can answer. “Stay here. I'm going to fly up through the trees so I can get a better view.” I bellow at Kait in her wolf form. She growls, but I launch into the sky, not trying to decipher the sounds of a wolf.
Once in the sky, I can still hardly see anything beyond the billowing smoke. It appears that the whole fucking cliffside is on fire. Dropping back into the trees, I cover my face with my arm to try to block out the smoke. “We need to get back to Raelle. We shouldn't be split up.” Kait wastes no time and begins running back to where the caves are. I keep scanning the forest, but I have yet to see the dragon or any other soldiers. It’s like it was a lone warrior after us, but I know better. If this is Cano… He likely has a whole crew out in these woods, and there is only one thing he would aim to do.Fuck. I never should have left that fucking cave.
Gods, I promise to work on my patience if you help me get back to them.I’m not a religious man, but I send a silent prayer to the gods, hoping like hell it’s enough and I didn’t just damn the kingdom with my need for fresh air.Fucking shit.If anything happens to either of them, the kingdom will suffer even more, and it will be all my fault.
I push my legs as fast as they can go. “KAIT!” I see the Raskin as it lurches out of the brush and collides with Kait’s flank. They go down in a cyclone of fur and blood. Their bodies spin with the momentum of the hit. Their bodies careen over a small ravine. Everything is happening so fast. I start after Kait andthe Raskin, but there is noise up ahead, and when I spare a second to look in that direction, my heart sinks. Raelle is standing sentinel in front of the cave entrance, with a downed tree barring the entrance. But a fierce determination is clear on her face. My head whips back to where Kait had just killed the Raskin at the bottom of the ravine, but she now has four more surrounding her. She snaps her teeth, growling as she spins, trying to keep her eyes on all of them as they circle her. If I don’t help her, she’s as good as dead.
“Fuck!” I grind my teeth as I growl the word. Spinning away from the queen, I lift my blade. Without my help, Kait dies. I have to trust that Raelle is strong enough to keep herself safe while I help Kait. I know it’s what Raelle would want anyway. With a roar of my own, I launch myself into the path of a Raskin just as it moves to attack Kait at her back. My decision made.
Chapter forty-five
Watching Ambriel cook Ireach under the table with my head tilted and squeeze myself through my breeches. It seems like my fucking balls have been aching for weeks. Every time I’m close to her, I feel like I’m going to combust… and watching her cook? I groan under my breath; it’s fucking with me, and she has no fucking idea. She pulls a strawberry out of a bowl of water she was rinsing them with, and pushes the end of it into her mouth, taking a slow bite.
A growl builds in my throat as I squeeze harder. Fuck.
“You ok?” Her brow quirks up, and I cough, bringing both hands onto the table in front of me with a loud thump.Dax and the others have only been gone one night. I hope they get what they are searching for in the caves quickly, but if this is what it's going to be like when they are gone, they can take their time. I’m thinking Ambriel is a Fae I wouldn’t mind getting to know a little better. Especially if she keeps feeding me like she is.
