Iver vanished before I reached them.
Blood coated Eislyn, though I could tell by the scent it wasn’t hers. Both of the females appeared relatively unharmed.
“Ariana?” I asked when I reached them. Fear threatened to close around my throat at the fact she was not with them.
Eislyn and Kiora swiveled towards me.
“She was shrouded in mist. I assume she is okay as long as the mist was around,” the Sparrow answered, though the way her lips turned down it was clear she was nervous. “Kole was in there with her.”
“The Sidhe King?” Pain stabbed at my chest for the fact that she had to endure being near him.
“Also shrouded in that mist,” Eislyn said.
Ariana was withhim. I was spared from imagining the worst when she appeared at my side with Kole and Iver. The relief was followed by a shock that stopped my heart in my chest at the sight of her. She stood before me, before all of us, completely bare of clothing.
“Our princess here turned herself into mist during that encounter,” Iver said before my shock could meld into something uncontrollable as he slipped off his wool cloak.
Soldiers around us tripped over themselves, running into each other, as they caught sight of her.
Fire erupted around us, as finally my mind worked enough to form a barrier between us and the rest of the warriors, to shelter her and warm the space.
Ariana’s eyes were wide as as she looked down, face instantly turning red as she realized the state she was in. Her nipples pebbled against the cold before she wrapped a hand across her chest as Iver draped his cloak around her.
“Thank the Spirit that whole thing is over,” Kole muttered, looking a little green from the travel methods. He awkwardly looked everywhere but at Ariana.
Ariana scanned the group at once, taking a quick inventory of all present while tugging the cloak securely around herself.
Kiora gave her belt to Ariana to singe the wool around her waist. “Once we get to the horses, I’ll give you some real clothing to wear.”
Ariana nodded, her face still flushed, her gaze lingered on me a fraction longer than the rest. “Soren?” She turned to Iver.
He shook his head. “He warned me that we had about thirty seconds to get out of there before the room flooded with backup. Said to leave him, that he would find a way to work the event to his advantage with Clause. That.” He stopped himself, eyes flickering to me like he was considering whether to say the rest in front of me.
“Finish that sentence,” I instructed my brother.
Iver frowned, turning to Ariana once more. “He said that he would like to remain so that you would have an ally when you returned.”
She stiffened.
“Ariana is not going back there.” My voice dropped, gaining a lethal edge. The thought of her returning there made my whole body turn to stone with horror.
The back of Ariana’s hand briefly brushed mine, as if in reassurance. “We are retreating?”
I let the fire receed so she could see. Ariana glanced at those moving around us, away from the Sidhe stronghold. Though she tried to refocus, I caught sight of the dimming shadows in her gaze at Iver’s words. The threat he spoke into existence. That there was an expectation that she would find herself at the monster’s mercy once again.
Her fear pathetically crippled me. My pledge to destroy the darkness threatening her did nothing to help her. For even though I controlled flame, Clause’s darkness was too profound. It would engulf the light. I needed to find a way to change that, to spare her from him.
I nodded, forcing my jaw to relax enough to answer. “I’ll explain, but we need to keep moving and get as far away fromhere as possible. Our horses are close by.” I needed to place distance between the Sidhe King and Ariana.
“Let’s go then.”
We took off, running till we reached our horses. The Sparrow gave Ariana real clothing to change into, though Iver insisted she still keep his cloak. Once she was dressed, I guided her to my stallion, and she did not protest when I told her she would ride with me. Once mounted, we continued the sprint through the Sidhe land.
It did not appear as though the Sidhe’s chased, still we set a grueling pace. Not slowing till we crossed into the Bavadrin territory. Ariana relaxed then, her muscles loosening, her body leaning into mine a bit. I shifted my hold of the reins so that my arms better settled around her.
The fearful fist that held my heart began releasing its hold with the feel of her in front of me. Leaving an aching in my chest. Everything she had seen, been forced to do. Icy bitterness clamped down on my heart at the thoughts. This astonishing, compassionate, clever woman did not deserve any of this. The pain she now undoubtedly carried in her soul should never have been there.
She had a monster chasing her, nipping at her heels. Relentless. But I was the monster she chose, and I would not stop til I ended the Sidhe King. I would become her champion.
