“Shiya.”
Something in his voice stopped her short. She stood there, back to him and fingers locked around the strap of her satchel, waiting.
There was a tense beat of silence before Taevas rasped, “Trust me,minu metsalill.We’ll be together tomorrow.”
Grief was an angry, tearing thing in her chest now. It didn’t leave any room for trust, let alone the idea of atomorrow.
Chapter Forty
Taevas had mademany hard decisions as Isand. He’d sacrificed. He’d done exactly what was necessary, no matter the cost, to make the world a better place for the people he cared about.
Nothing had ever made him feel quite so much like a monster as when he sent Alashiya away.
Yes, he knew she’d put up a little bit of a fight, but he never thought she’d actuallyrefuse.
But no matter what hurt she felt now, at least she was safe. He could live with anything, so long as Alashiya was out of harm’s way.
Taevas forced himself to tap into the part of him that had been honed in the Great War: the soldier, the general, the killer. He thought it might be harder to slip back into it, but it was like shrugging on an old, broken-in coat. He snapped into the role he’d happily left buried under the rubble of the old ’Riik with terrifying ease.
His mind was sharp. The discomfort of his body was unimportant. Nothing mattered besides ending the threat to him and, more importantly, his mate.
It didn’t take long.
He’d only sat in the woods behind the barn for an hour, his mind adrenaline-sharp and full of possibilities, when Alashiya’s wards rippled with warning. They were designed to disorient and hide rather than block intruders outright. Now that Sergei knew where the entrance to her property was, he could push through them with relative ease.
The sweet taste of her magic grew cloying, like the over-ripeness of decayed fruit on his tongue, and the world around him seemed to shudder violently long before the distant rumble of an engine reached him.
His jaw clenched, but his fingers remained loose and relaxed on the shotgun. He had a clear line of sight to the entrance of the property, but he doubted they’d be able to get a vehicle through there. They’d have to ram it through the undergrowth, which would announce their presence more than they already had. If they were smart, they’d abandon it and approach on foot.
He was counting on it.
It was unnatural to face down an opponent in his weaker form, but there were some advantages to it. Stealth was one of them. He was no nymph, of course, but he’d become a little bit more comfortable in the woods in the time he’d spent on Alashiya’s land. In his smaller form, and especially at night when his skin darkened, he could blend into the trees much easier. If he stayed downwind, he’d be practically invisible.
Even if Sergei thought Taevas was hiding, he wouldn’t expect him to bestealthy.Dragons didn’t fight that way. Their surprise attacks came from the sky. The bulk of their fighting techniques relied on their brute strength more than anything else. It would be expected that he’d try to get the jump on them as quickly as possible, then attack.
Hewould,but first he had to even the playing field.
Taevas listened to his own breathing, his mind clear of anything besides razor-sharp focus. There was no breeze. Even theowl that hung out around the barn was still and watchful as it stood on a sagging beam, its golden eyes keen.
It wasn’t a peaceful stillness that settled over the land. It was a malicious sort of quiet. The kind that waits.
A reedy figure bled out of the darkness across the grassy yard.
Taevas didn’t tense. He didn’t hold his breath. The rage he felt when the figure walked up to the front door and tried the knob like heownedit was muted. Locked away for a better time.
It wasn’t too hard to guess that this was most likely Monty, the arrant who’d been to the property before.
The figure had the unmistakable shape of a rifle strapped to his back and despite the lack of sunlight, appeared to wear a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. He moved with the slow, loping gait of someone used to sneaking up on the unsuspecting.
Taevas bit the inside of his cheek when Monty shoved his shoulder into the door. The old, crumbling door frame didn’t stand a chance. He disappeared into the darkness of her home, violating the sanctuary she’d guarded for so long.
Watching as his Chosen’s dwelling was breached was a nightmare.Lettingit happen was worse.
What if she’d been in there alone?
The memory of watching someone break into her home so easily, so carelessly, would keep him up at night for years to come.
Alashiya’s wards would’ve given her plenty of warning to run, but they weren’t foolproof. The possibilities turned his stomach. Knowing that Monty was there in her sanctuary his finger inch toward the trigger of his ancient gun.
