“Who— You didn’t,” he snarled.
“And that’s our cue to take a walk,” Fallon said, getting to her feet.
“Wait, why? I want to watch this,” Jarek protested, but Fallon leaned down and grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet and leading him to another fire.
The fire where Bram was now standing, a satisfied smirk on his smug fucking face.
Razik turned back to Wren, and she shrank back a little. “Don’t look at me like that,” she said, sounding more confidentthan she looked. “He simply accompanied me. Would you rather I had gone off alone?”
“I would rather you asked me to accompany you. What happened to wanting to be off limits to the Cadre, Wren? This was something we agreed on from the start,” he said, trying to keep his voice low.
“It’s nothing like that,” she argued.
“The fuck it’s not. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. You being unattainable has made it a game to him. You’re not a fucking game, Wren.”
“I know that, Razik,” she tried. “But he didn’t try anything. He walked with me in the woods, looking for berries. That’s all.”
He scoffed, a sneer curling on his lip. “I know you’re not this stupid. He’s not going to just come right out and ask to fuck. He’s laying the groundwork. By the gods, Wren.”
She straightened, her cheeks flushing with anger as she leaned away from his touch. “We also agreed this bond was an equal partnership. That you didn’t have any claim over me when I agreed to be your Source. There was a respect there that apparently isn’t anymore.”
“He wants you because he can’t have you. Surely you see that,” Razik hissed.
Her smile was all venom. “Of course. Because he couldn’t possibly want me for any other reason, right? Not a Fae who has nothing else to offer because she’s already bound herself to another asshole.”
“Don’t twist my fucking words, Wren. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Unless you’re the one doing it? Don’t worry. I’m not that stupid, Razik,” she retorted, getting to her feet. “I can recognize when you’re projecting your own issues onto me, but I’m still going to call you a bastard for doing it.”
Then she stormed off, leaving him alone.
Always alone.
“Everyone get the fuck up! We’re under attack!”
The words had him jolting awake and shooting to his feet, a sword already in his hand and dragon fire at his fingertips before he’d even fully processed the words that had been said. But the translucent beings drifting around them had him figuring it out pretty damn quickly.
“Shit,” he muttered, sending his sword back to a pocket realm. It wasn’t going to do any good. Instead, he pulled up more dragon fire, sending a wave of black flames to the closest phantoms, keening wails filling the air and ashes littering the forest floor.
Everyone was shuffling to the center—Kailia, Cethin, and Wren in the middle—but none of them would be effective. It was only him and?—
An arrow whizzed past him so closely it ripped the sleeve of his tunic and left a scratch on his bicep deep enough to bleed. Then a tiny terror with smoke and ashes was shoving past him, bow in hand.
“For the record, that was on purpose because my aim is that good,” she said airily before she was standing in front of them all.
Three arrows appeared on her string, and she pulled them back, releasing them all at once. All three found their marks, three keens of death sounding around them. Another two arrows flew before the first three beings had fully dissipated. She moved quickly, her feet leaving ashy footprints as she ran, and Razikbriefly wondered why she wasn’t using her smoke and ashes like she’d done the first time he’d watched her fight. This was just as impressive though, and she didn’t need to be fighting them alone.
Leaving Kailia to tackle the beings to the left, Razik spun to the right, black flames writhing and consuming. He felt Cethin’s dark power converge around everyone else, offering some kind of shield that wouldn’t do much. It’d be as useful as the others’ magic.
A creature darted closer, making it past Razik, a gold blade piercing the inky black veil. The darkness sank in on itself, shirking and convulsing, the Cadre shuffling back.
“Blood of death and dreams,” the phantom hissed, his tone clawing at Razik’s bones. The dragon in his soul was agitated, pushing to be let out, and he was about to shift until Cethin’s hand thrust out and the being’s head tipped back. That same keening howl sounded as white wisps spewed from its mouth, and that was when Razik remembered Cethin had one of Kailia’s godsdamn arrowheads.
Cethin’s eyes connected with his, and Razik held his stare, even when he lifted a hand and sent a wave of dragon fire to another pair of incoming spirits.
“Her arrowheads!” Razik yelled. “She’ll need them back, but use them to fight now!”
The Cadre sprang into action. They didn’t question anything, diving into the fray, as they’d been trained to do. It wasn’t as seamless as it had been with Valric, but they’d get there in time. Despite that, the individual skill was there. That was proven with how not a single one of them suffered an injury. The phantoms were deadly because of their weapons and immunity to most magic, but they weren’t quick in the ways of battle.
