Page 98 of Storm of Summer (Wild Haven 3)

ZARA

Ice fills my veins, and a chill makes its way up my spine. There was always the possibility that Anthony would show up tonight. He knew the last time we tried to break his bond and didn’t take it well.

It’s hard to see with the rain and only two small lamps to give off any light, but he looks furious. His posture is stiff, but he walks through the downpour like a predator. This Fae is dangerous, no matter how long he’s been hiding his true nature away.

More figures emerge from behind him. I see Seraphina first and Colton soon after. There are more, some of the same Fae that were in Rhys’s bar so many weeks ago. Lena’s been noticing more and more Fae coming into town and the others are getting better at sensing their unique magic. Miri’s reported several coming into her store on different occasions. Never the same one, but I don’t know if that’s better or worse. Why are there so many Fae in this realm? And why are they gathering here on Wild Haven Island now?

These thoughts will have to wait for another day.

Magic crackles in the air. I don’t know who makes the first move; it’s too hard to see through all the rain, but lightning strikes in the center of the burned-out circle. Someone screams, and the heat from the strike makes my skin feel tight. All the hairs on my arms stand straight up in the air.

“Fuck,” I hear Davis shout, but I have no idea why. I can’t even see him.

“Miri,” he shouts again, and then I spot them about ten feet to my right. Davis throws a bag at Miri, full of potions she created just for tonight. She catches it without a stumble.

Colton charges forward, looking like he’s going to tackle Lena to the ground, but shadows burst out from Archer, engulfing us all in complete darkness. Another chorus of curses floats through the air because no one can see a thing.

Rhys has my hand clenched tightly in his. We remain still in the midst of the shadows. It’s terrifying. I know that Archer’s on our side, but not being able to see while there are enemies around us is awful. The sound of cloth ripping is quickly followed by the roar of an animal. I want to ask Rhys what the hell that is, but I don’t want to give anyone our location by speaking. The snarling sounds of a beast are quickly followed by screams of pain.

Is one of us injured? Or one of them? Please let it be one of them.

“Arch, I can’t see a fucking thing.”

“Kind of the point, Davis,” Archer grunts in return, as if he’s concentrating so hard, he can barely speak.

“Gonna need you to drop it, Archer,” Miri calls out and our back-up plan comes back to me through some of my panic.

My magic isn’t meant for a battle. It's more of a head’s up to run before the battle is ever necessary.

The shadows disappear in the next instant. Miri and Davis are ready, both of them holding fistfuls of tiny bottles. Miri created some just-in-case potions. They whip the little bottles at all of the Fae, catching as many as they can.

“Hell yes. Why didn’t I play softball in high school?” Miri grouses as she lobs another bottle at the Fae. Miri created a potion that would knock out anyone that came in close contact with the concoction. More importantly, and impressively, she was able to engineer it so that it wouldn’t affect any of us. Using a hair from each of us, she spelled it so that we would be immune to the mixture.

In the meantime, Ezra is fighting three of them. Naked. And he’s winning. Or he was. They’re all passed out now that Miri’s potion is swirling in the wind and covering all of them.

He looks up, an annoyed look on his face. “Hey. I was winning.”

“Where the fuck are your clothes?” Ruby cries out, leading everyone else to turn toward where Ezra’s straddling one of the Fae.

The rain has slowed, but it’s still nearly impossible to see much of anything out here. I think Ezra is actually embarrassed, though.

“They got ripped.”

“So, you took them off? No! Don’t get up. Hot Christ sandwiches.” Ruby slaps a hand over her eyes and turns around. I think she might be more embarrassed than Ezra now. Wow. The two of them are so confusing.

“Someone lend me some pants or something.”

“Dude, I’m not taking off my pants just because you decided to get naked during a fight.” Archer sounds like he’s enjoying this a whole lot.

“Fuckers,” Ezra grumbles and then takes the pants off one of the Fae that he beat up. They’re too short, and way too tight for his muscular legs.

“As weird and amusing as all this shit is, we need to get out of here. The potion might work for a while, but there are no guarantees.” Miri crosses the clearing, tugging Davis along with her.

She’s right. We need to get out of here now. When these Fae wake up, they’re going to be mad as a pit of snakes. We all follow Miri’s lead, heading back to our ATVs. They’re blocked in by more of the little vehicles that must belong to the Fae behind us. Ezra and Davis get in a few and move them out of the way until a path is clear. Considering we left our keys in our ATV it’s not much of a surprise that they did, too.

Ruby jumps in the back of Rhys’s cart with us. I have no idea who she rode out with, but I'm glad she’s with me now. The plan was for everyone to head back to Rhys’s bar after this whole production. Once we get there, it’s obvious how tired everyone is. We wait, unwilling to leave each other in case Anthony and his lackeys show up to do more damage. I don’t think anyone lets their guard down, but when a few hours pass, and no one shows up with pitchforks and torches, we call it a night.

Davis and Miri take off first, and Lena and Archer are only a few minutes behind them. Ezra and Ruby are drinking a beer, arguing about something, while Ruby tries to keep her eyes off Ezra’s naked torso. He’s incredibly cut, so I can understand why she’s having a hard time. Or I would, if my world didn’t begin and end with Rhys.

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