Page 36 of Oaths & Vengeance
I arrived on the other side and found only Jax waiting for me, along with his horse that grazed on a patch of grass. The strong elf with shoulder-length brown hair, square jaw, and condescending eyes glared at me as I approached him.
When I last saw Darrow’s friend, we didn’t say a word to each other. Mostly, he’d just given me menacing looks that were not dissimilar to now. I had the distinct impression he disapproved of my marriage, and trying to win him over would be an unwinnable battle.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, forcing an even tone in my voice.
He leaned his back against a tree and crossed a leg. “They’ll be here in a couple of hours once you’ve regained your strength. No sense in everyone coming and all of us having to sit with you.”
Lovely. Jax wasn’t even trying to cover his disdain, but I wouldn’t sink to his level. “Fine.”
I found a tree a short distance away, sat, and relaxed against it. Here, I thought Darrow would be ready and waiting with sarcastic remarks, but instead, he didn’t want to see me until it was necessary. He’d sent his anti-social friend instead. I was more than a little annoyed, consideringwe’d been married for nine days, and he was already avoiding me even when he requested my services. If I complained about it, though, he’d sarcastically ask if I missed him.
Tired after a long day working in the garden, followed by a tense meal and verbal battles with my uncle, my eyelids drifted shut. I desperately needed a nap. Jax appeared awake and alert. If anything dangerous showed up, he could deal with it. That made it even harder to resist.
I spread my senses to be sure there weren’t any threatening creatures. All I picked up were small, harmless fae animals. Safe enough. Despite being in enemy territory with a man who hated me, I drifted to sleep. I hadn’t been getting much rest at night lately and couldn’t help it. The druid side of me felt more at ease with nature, making it relaxing.
Sometime later, the sound of hoofbeats stirred me awake. I slowly rose and dusted off my pants. Darrow, Faina, Loden, and several others rode toward us. All of them wore expressionless masks.
That was fine. If they wanted to keep this cold and impersonal, I could do the same. After all, this was a business transaction. My husband held up his end of the deal, and now it was my turn to do the same. Of course, polite discourse was unnecessary when we were still enemies in every other way.
Darrow rode up to me and handed me a small sheet of paper, along with a bag of holmium dust. “That should be everything you need. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” I said, staring at the paper with the symbol sequence and avoiding his gaze. I’d seen him when he came up the road and immediately remembered how his looks alone could make my heart race. Of course, he didn’t have the same reaction toward me. It was all a game to him.
I moved to the portal. Darrow's rune sequence wasn’t on my list, so I had no idea where we were going or what to expect. I wanted to ask what all this was about, but I knew they wouldn’t tell me. Their closed expressions said as much. All I’d heard before was that this place was very difficult for anyone else with my gift to reach. I took a deep breath and drew upon my power until my skin tingled with the surge. Then, I sent the ray of light toward the runes and began channeling.
It was like hitting a wall. My chest tightened, and sharp pain drilled through my head as I slowly chanted the words to start the process. Wherever they wanted to go, it resisted my efforts. I could feel all their gazes on me as I pushed harder and mentally worked my way through complex wards and protection spells unlike any I’d ever encountered. Sweat beaded my brows after several minutes passed, then my hands began to shake, but finally, I made the connection.
A blue miasma appeared before me.
“I can’t believe she did it,” Loden murmured.
Someone grunted. “Guess Darrow won the bet on this one.”
I stood back and gestured for them to go ahead, not bothering to look their way. There was no feeling of triumph when I had no idea what I’d just done beyond allowing them to reach a difficult location. They rode their horses through the ring, with Jax picking up the rear after he’d mounted his. I’d be the only one on foot.
Once they were clear, I braced myself and followed them. Travel took longer than usual and felt like nearly twenty seconds. When I came out, I discovered we were in a dark forest, and an unwelcome sensation crawled across my skin. Somewhere nearby, I heard waves crashing against the shore, and the scent of saltwater filled my nose. We were either on a coast or an island, but nothing looked familiar. I’d never visited a place that felt more ominous than this.
Chapter 16
Aella
Imade myself look at Darrow. “Where are we?”
He didn’t appear the least bit uncomfortable as his gaze slid my way, and he gave me a dark smile. “Jolloure. It’s gone back and forth between belonging to Zadrya and Karganoth for many centuries, but the dark elves currently hold it. Technically, we’re trespassing.”
“You had me take you to enemy territory?” I asked, stunned. “And you didn’t warn me?”
He shrugged. “The dark elves might hold it, but most of them can’t stand to be on this island for more than a few hours, either. Magic here is…disagreeable to us.”
“Is that why the portal was so hard to open?”
“Part of the reason,” he said cryptically.
I crossed my arms and glared at him. “So what’s next?”
Darrow turned his horse toward the others. “Koen will stay here with you. The rest of us will be back in a couple of hours, so you should have time to regain your strength.”
I ran a nervous gaze at the hulking trees surrounding us. “Is it safe?”
