“The Keep is ours.” He turns to me, his dark eyes burning like the pits of the Abyss. “Ours, my mate.” He kisses me, his fangs cutting my lip as his tongue presses into my mouth, taking and tasting, and telling me that we are bound. We are forever. Eternal. He releases me as the last of the dome falls. “My incomparable queen.” He smiles, my blood on his lips.
I want to return his smile. But I don’t. I can’t. I can’t feel anything.
“Ah, my pet. Taking you fully will be a treat beyond measure. But business first, of course.” He strokes my cheek then tucks his dark wings against his back and turns to the keep. “I love the scent of fear.” He lifts a single finger, then drops it.
The full brunt of his army rushes forward like a dark river, overtaking everything that moves and quickly inundating the town. Screams are short-lived as the seekers push forward to the keep, to Eraldon’s father, and to the throne that belongs to my mate.
15
Solano
Everett looks up again, his eyes on the ever-present moon.
“What?” Charen follows his gaze.
“They should be on us by now. King Sigrid’s army, or at least some sort of cohort.”
“Thirsty for blood?” Bladin grins. “Me too.”
I keep a wary eye on the woods and the fireflies dancing between the mossy trunks. “They had to sense it when I crossed the barrier without a ward. Everett’s right. Everyone stay alert.”
“Too dark to see, my lord,” Selene crows. “They could be on us before we know it.”
I gambled when we crossed the border and left the rest of my soldiers to guard the villages at the edge of night. They’d already been ravaged by the seekers, and the more I saw, the more I realized my people needed assistance. I couldn’t leave them in shambles, not when my forces could help them rebuild and fortify.
“We would’ve been safer if only we had more fighters,” Selene chides, as if reading my thoughts.
“Be quiet, witch,” Charen growls.
“Make me.” She darts her tongue out at him.
“Settle down.” I keep my voice low, my gaze on the narrow lane ahead. “We need to focus.”
The hoot of an owl turns my head, but I can’t see it through the trees.
“Big, fluffy thing, that is.” Selene grins. “Beautiful. Night is so much better than day, don’t you think, my lord?”
It feels like it’s been long years since I was last here, the time I came to choose my consorts and left with only one. Emma. I was entranced by the night realm then. Now, though, it’s different. It’s threatening in a way I never contemplated fully. Here, my powers are weak. That makes me vulnerable and puts Emma in even more danger.
The owl hoots again as we continue riding deeper into the forest that abuts the Nightkeep, though the fortress is far to the south of here. Slowing, I bring my warriors to a halt as I send a question down the bond, feeling for Emma. Since crossing into night, I can sense her, but only slightly more. Just enough to get a fleeting sensation of her being near, but still far beyond my grasp. Still, I center on her, looking for her in the inky black.
“She’s farther south.”
“Deeper and deeper into this black realm.” Everett scowls. “A trap awaits us, I’m sure.”
“Could be.” I spur my horse onward. “But I’m not stopping.”
“I know.” He sighs. “I signed up for a one-way ticket to the Golden Lands when I said I’d come with you.
“So dramatic,” Tristano mutters from the rear.
“That’s rich, coming from you,” Charen shoots back.
“Shh.” I stop again as I peer through the trees. Movement ahead grabs my attention, and Selene pulls her unicorn up beside me, her gaze latched onto the same area as mine.
Charen and Tristano flank her, their minds always on my safety. But I fear the obsidian less than whatever is hurtling through the woods ahead of us.
“What is it?” Tristano nocks an arrow.
