Rhodes’s hand went to his sword, his voice a snarl. “Now I know who attacked my sheep.”
Cander gave a chilling laugh, the sound scraping along the spine. “Aye. They were hungry for a kill.”
Fawn’s breath hitched, her heart clenching. The sheep, slaughtered not from need but from cruelty, forced by this evil man. The needless waste turned her stomach, fury burning behind her ribs. How could anyone wield such power only to spread pain?
“And what is hunger, Rhodes,” Cander continued, “but nature’s command? Beasts obey what they are born to be. As do men. As will you.”
“I have no interest in your warlock schemes.”
Cander’s eyes glowed, his grin mocking. “No interest? Do you even grasp what warlock power you carry inside you? The wealth, the dominion, the fear you could command? Kings would bow, clans would kneel. You could rule more than a stretch of Highland earth—you could rule all of it.”
“I have all the power I need,” Rhodes snapped back, his voice ringing across the clearing. He tugged Fawn closer against his side, his hand steadying her as his eyes never left Cander’s. “Andas for wealth… I am rich already. Rich with the love of my wife, and she with me. I need no more.”
Fawn’s breath caught, her fingers curling in his tunic. The words filled her chest with fire and fear all at once.
Cander’s smile shattered, fury darkening his face. “You would throw away such immense power for a mere woman?” His arm shot up, his palm blazing with light. “Then you are a fool!”
The bolt lanced across the clearing before Rhodes could move. It struck Fawn, and she cried out, collapsing to the ground. Her cloak pooled around her, the snow hissing where the light had seared.
“Fawn!” Rhodes dropped to one knee, reaching for her, but another ball of light exploded toward him. Instinct roared through his blood. He tore his sword free in one fluid motion, the blade flashing as it caught the crackling orb and flung it aside with a hiss. Sparks scorched the air, the sound like thunder breaking.
Cander snarled, hurling another, then another, each one meeting steel. Rhodes advanced, step by step, the old rhythm of battle rising in his veins. No sorcery, no trick of shadows—only steel and will.
“You’ll not take her from me!” Rhodes bellowed, each strike of his sword breaking through another lash of power.
The clash rang through the forest, light against steel, Rhodes easily batting away every fiery ball Cander flung at him, wanting it done, needing to get back to Fawn.
The fireballs came faster, and he batted every one of them away, advancing on Cander as he did. Once close, he was ready to strike.
“A blade cannot kill him,” Elune called out.
Cander laughed as he formed a larger fireball.
Rhodes didn’t hesitate. He dropped his sword and leapt forward, grabbing the fireball out of his hands and smashed it against Cander’s chest.
Cander’s eyes went wide, his mouth opening in a soundless cry as the ravens above shrieked in praise. His body convulsed, light flaring bright throughout him, then it extinguished along with Cander, leaving not a speck of him behind.
The forest fell silent.
Rhodes turned and hurried to Fawn, shoving her parents away from her where they knelt, and dropped down and gathered her against him, terror ripping through his chest as he clutched her close. Her skin was pale, her breath faint, her body frighteningly still.
“Elune!” His voice was raw, a plea hidden in the roar.
The old woman stepped forward, her voice calm. “Cander spoke true. You have power, Rhodes—power enough to save her. But not with steel.” She stooped, her gnarled hand taking his and guiding it to rest over Fawn’s heart. “Let your love flow through. Command it. Call her back.”
He swallowed hard, every muscle in his body trembling as he bent low over his wife, his lips close to her ear. “Fawn, hear me well. I love you. I bloody love you, and you are not leaving me. Do you hear? Come back to me now… I command it.”
Nothing happened.
Rhodes dropped his head back and roared to the heavens. “I forbid you to take her from me. She is mine and I will not let her go.”
Slowly, Fawn’s lashes fluttered. Her lips curved into the faintest smile.
“You did not have to forbid or command,” she whispered, her voice soft and steady. “There was no way you would get rid of me that easily.”
Relief broke through him, fierce and overwhelming. He tugged her tight, so tight it was as if he could bind her soul to his by sheer will. She clung to him, her smile growing as his lips pressed to her hair.
Their moment of peace was short-lived. From behind them rose the sharp clash of voices.
