The wind brought Frelina’s flowery scent to him once more, and Raine tensed when the beautiful female before him squirmed, the ropes shifting as she tried to move her arms.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Frelina,” Raine called in a low voice. “It’s all right. It’ll all be all right.”
A male voice slicing through the air made Raine jerk as Frelina’s terrified eyes latched onto his. “So you’re finally awake. Thought you were lost there for a while.”
Raine couldn’t see the male—he was somewhere behind him—and when he searched for his mind, his magic fighting his lingering fogginess, there was a barrier, a thick wall of what Raine could only describe as… greenery? At least the taste of grass and warm forest beds layered over him as Raine tried to find a way through the blockade, into the mind of this bastard, ideally to take him the fuck out.
But there wasn’t any. At least not yet.
Frelina made a sound that made Raine believe the male was right behind him, but Raine locked his muscles, refusing to do anything other than stare into Frelina’s beautiful eyes, although he kept to himself the soothing words he’d almost let slip.
He’d been captured before, and showing any type of fear or worry for another?
It was the worst thing he could do.
Even if he was fucking terrified for the little half-Fae with the big eyes and the neck that he could spend days admiring for its soft skin and beautiful swerves. Andwhen more of what must be fucking Oakgards’ Fae came into his line of vision—faces covered with hoods, brown robes held together with green clasps that looked like some type of branches with leaves—he tugged on every lesson he’d been taught growing up in those soldier camps to keep his body resting against the back of the chair.
The Fae and humans around them pulled sharp gasps into their lungs as maybe a dozen or so Fae circled them, their hidden faces turned somewhere above Raine’s head, where Raine guessed their leader stood.
He brushed the male’s mind again, but that thick, thorny bush still kept him out, and he dragged his magic back when low laughter echoed behind him.
“I’m glad we believed the books,” the male said in his strange, slow accent after his laughter faded. “We don’t have the mind Fae in Jordeina, but our old scripts spoke of those who could twist and capture minds and how to protect ourselves against them. I can actually feel you trying to find a way into my thoughts.”
“I wouldn’t have guessed you could read,” Raine drawled, still fighting to remain still, especially as Frelina’s eyes widened, her hair flying around her face as she shook her head at his words. “I thought all earth Fae just danced around in the forests and performed sacrificing ceremonies to keep your sacred mud fueled.”
He would have grinned at the hisses exploding around him, the jolting hoods as the Oakgards’ Fae’s heads snapped his way, if Frelina hadn’t screamed into his mind,Stop this right now. I know exactly what you are doing, and it won’t end well, Raine!
Raine held her gaze as he responded,That’s what I am counting on, sunshine.
Raine.Frelina’s tone shifted from angry to begging so fast it crushed his chest.Please. We’ll figure out a way out of this together.
He made one side of his mouth curl when he heard the air sing behind him.There is only one way out of this.
He’d been in situations like this before, and he knew of only one path to keep Frelina alive: to keep these fuckers focused on everyone other than her until either help came, or he was able to kill them all.
Raine’s head flew forward as a fist or palm struck him in the back—so hard it knocked the breath out of him for a second—and he took a long breath before wheezing, “Wow, all those greens you eat really make you strong. Not b-brave, though. No… not if you can’t even face me.”
The wind stilled again, and Raine didn’t need Frelina screaming “No!” to prepare for the next strike.
The hand connected with the side of his head, and he turned the huff into a chuckle when he caught a glimpse of the tanned limb before it slipped back behind a brown cloak.
It was a female hitting him. And she was really fucking strong.
“You… you’re having your little mate do all the dirty work? How sweet.” Raine snickered, trying to turn his head to show them how little he cared about what they did to him.
From the possessive growl, Raine guessed his deduction had been correct. Behind him must be the leader—or one of them—of the Oakgards’ Fae, and the one who kept hitting him must be his mate and equal.
Another punch had Raine bite his cheek, blood flooding his mouth, buthe didn’t stop grinning.
He’d hurt himself for years.
He’d hurt the perfect creature before him—had almost thought he’d lost her until the past few days.
There was nothing they could do tohimthat would make him cower.
Only to the female he loved, who now bared her white teeth and hissed, “If you do that again…”
