Page 58 of Eclipse of Fate
When I was alittle girl, I dreamed of the tales that my mother used to whisper to me at bedtime. She told me of kingdoms with magic, unlike anything we knew here in Aldramani. Stories of how things used to be when the Realm worked together and Aldramani thrived. Each one was always so filled with love and happiness. Reality couldn’t be further from that. Love is painful and raw, and happiness comes at a price. Every decision that I’ve made since my destiny has revealed itself has made my nightmares come alive. Not the dreams I had as a little girl.
Dax once told me that he was no dream, that he was the nightmare. Today, those words strike true. Watching him lay at my feet,silent and motionless, is a nightmare. Not knowing what he is going through or if his projection has worked?
My magic is as frantic as my nerves. The humming tingle has yet to leave my stomach. Sweat gathers on my pinched brow as I pace the cave. My fingertips burn, and I’m doing everything to gather every ounce of hope I can, no matter how dangerous it may be. I have to hope that we will come out on top. The biggest wins always have the highest cost, though. I just hope that it’s something I’m willing to pay.
“He will be ok. He’s the strongest Fae I know.” Kait says, but I can sense the tension in her eyes even as she speaks the words. I can see the fear that mirrors mine. I used to think the same thing about my parents. If everything I’ve been through has taught me anything, it’s that I know better. Not one of us is impervious to the dangers of this vicious world. And now I carry the weight of it on my shoulders.
“I know.” She rolls her lips and gives me a tight smile before stepping away.
“I’m going to find Alaric. I’ll be right back. Will you be ok?” Will I be? No. Yes. It’s not likely.
“I’ll be ok.” I feel like I’ve said this too many times to those I love, and I think I’m telling myself the words as much as I’m saying them to Kait now. I'll be ok. I'll get through this. So will Dax.
When she leaves the space and I’m truly alone, save Dax’s still body, I drop to my knees at his side. Pressing my ear to his chest and hearing the steady beat of his heart calms mine. Taking a deep breath, I breathe in the familiar scent of him. As I close my eyes, I let the warmth of whiskey and cedar that is Dax wrap me in its embrace.
Small pebbles begin to crumble and fall from the cave walls. The gravel at my knees vibrates in pulses, and then the sound that hits my ears has my heart free falling into my stomach.
“No.” Not now; this can’t be happening. I slowly close my eyes. Knowing, to some extent, what is going to happen next. Even with all of my attempts at curving fate to bend in a way that I thought would be favorable to us. Here it is. Raging like a storm. A single tear tracks down my face as I open my eyes again.
“Gods, why do you keep doing this to us?” I plead with them as I brush Dax’s cheek with the back of my fingers, his stubble rough on my skin. He still doesn’t move. Pushing all emotion from my mind. I wipe the moisture from my eyes and stand to face what’s on the outside of the cave. While I don’t know exactly how things will go, my magic is guiding me enough to know that the hope I’ve felt all this time is too dangerous to keep in my heart.
Stepping outside, I watch as a massive scaled beast banks right in front of me in a barrel roll—once it faces me again, I suck in a sharp breath. Noticing its intention, I duck and roll to the side. Dragon fire narrowly misses me; the fire blasts into the cave, and I scream.
“DAX!”
As soon as I’m able, I get up and run into the blaze. Most of the flames have dissipated, but some still linger where they have caught some wild brush on fire. The heat licks at my skin, but I ignore the pain as I try to get to Dax. Skidding to a stop, I drop to my knees as I see what’s ahead. A fallen tree from above the cave now completely blocks the entrance.
Frantic, my chest rises and falls rapidly as I look in all directions for a way to get to him. The tree has caught fire, and there is no way I can get in without catching alight myself.
“DAX!” My scream rips through my throat painfully. All the breath I bring back into my lungs is clouded with the smoke that surrounds me. I bury my head into my hands, pull my hair at the root, and let a devastated scream tear me apart. The sound is more animalistic than anything.
“Well, I can say this is not how I envisioned our first meeting.” Spinning around and standing tall, I watch as a tall man walks from behind one of the larger boulders near the cliff edge. He’s in all black, this leather jacket long and collar wide. “But I have always liked it when my hunts squeal.” A wicked glint sparkles in his deep brown eyes as he walks closer, and a grin lifts the corner of his mouth. He is evil embodiment.
I don’t need to ask who he is when he steps closer and I get a better view of him—his strong jaw, dark hair, and sharp brows… that malicious look on his face. It’s like walking into the future and looking into Cano’s eyes.
“Soren.” My lip pulls back into a sneer as I look at the monster before me.
“Ah—my reputation precedes me, I see.”
“Where is Cano? He didn't want to be here for this?” I ask, and he laughs. The sound is deep, gravelly, and coated with acid.
“I’ve learned a hard lesson in my time being…dead. You don’t send a boy to do a man’s job…” His grin widens.
“And what? You plan to kill me and take the kingdom?” I try hard not to look into the cave to give him any insight into where Dax is, but he notices my gaze drifting when part of the tree cracks and threatens to collapse. It’s all I need to be able to get to him, but then what? We would be trapped in a cave… and I’m not even sure I could wake him from the state of projection.
“You know—it’s pretty predictable the lengths that some men—Ravendene men, go for the likes of love.” He tilts his head, and his eyes flick over the bond mark that’s now exposed from the charred remains of the sleeve on my tunic. He then turns his gaze over my shoulder and towards the cave where Dax lies vulnerable, and a sinking feeling washes over me.
“What. Do. You. Mean?” I grind my teeth, and my magic flickers to life in my hands. The way that Soren surveys me—a blink of shock—is all I get before he fixes his features flatly again, telling me that my eyes have shifted too.
“Tsk-Tsk, Raelle, I know you are smarter than that.” He tilts his head in the other direction, and his tongue rolls out over his bottom lip, like a snake tasting the air for fear. As he eyes me and takes a tentative step closer, my magic flares brighter, and wisely, he stops his advance. “It would be a travesty to kill someone as beautiful and powerful as you, dear.” He clasps his hands behind his back, making his large chest appear even wider. His overcoat opens to reveal the multitude of blades strapped across his body in a leather baldric.
My jaw ticks, and the muscles ache with how hard I clench my teeth. He’s toying with his words, not answering my question. “What was predictable, Soren?” My mind is reeling from what he’s implying. We can't have walked into a trap. All of this couldn’t have just worked out in his favor.Wake up, Dax. I need you.
He smiles again. “Your mate won’t be walking out of the cave alive.” My heart stops. “He really should have learned his lesson before, with the curse. Just like his uncle and his father, the Ravendene men seem to have the same overbearing personality trait—so damn predictable when it comes to thatpitifulemotion. He had so much potential. What a waste.” He shakes his headmockingly, like he is sad that he is going to have to kill him...Like it’s causing him pain to speak the words. He is a sadistic asshole, but I can’t kill him with Dax being in that cave. If he has done something to him…
“What did you do?”
“You know, Raelle, I tried to go about this another way. So many times, I tried to get your guardians to give you up to me and my care. I could have taught you to be a ruthless and feared leader. We still have time yet.” I’m dizzy, the ground is tilting under my feet, and I’m shaking my head in refusal of what he is saying.
