Submit.
Rion growled and stepped beyond the line, prowling forward with his magic billowing around his body. He sensed others moving with him, but Rion hardly cared.
Another veil lifted.
And Vairik smiled back.
Chapter Forty-Two
Rion
Vairik stood in the center of the chaos with two others flanking him. The male wore black robes that concealed his entire body and any weapons he might have hidden within.
The Dark Fae gave him a wide berth, as if there were an invisible barrier surrounding the male. His vile magic covered everything with a sickening slickness.
Rion’s lips pulled back in a fierce snarl as he met the smugness on Vairik’s face without flinching.
Seems your mate, Vairik spit the word,has abandoned you after all. So much for an unbreakable bond.
“Get out of my head,” Rion snarled before charging, his magic a whirlwind, ripping up the very ground he walked upon. The creatures before him lunged, mouths gaping, but ice and flame raced across the field, colliding with them first.
Vairik threw his robes open, brandishing his own long blade, the steel thick and ancient. A relic he’d probably stolen from a past king.
Magic burst from the male in a wave so strong it stopped Rion in his tracks. He planted his feet and used one arm to shield his face as he skidded across uneven ground, nearly tripping on the still warm bodies of their enemies.
Rion let his own magic burst free. It roared in his veins. The pain. The grief. The rage. Vairik had orchestrated all of it. Vairik had taken everything. Rion shoved forward again, sprinting, jumping between the broken bodies. The Dark Fae surged, but Rion’s magic ripped them to shreds with half a thought.
Vairik was the only one he cared about now. If Rion could bring him down, right here, right now, they would accomplish their singular goal. Erase him from the world.
Maybe then Arianna would be free.
Maybe the entire continent would be free.
Rion broke through the line of Dark Fae, entering the empty space that surrounded Vairik. The male still had a smirk on his face, then he rushed forward so fast Rion barely caught the movement. He raised his blade to block Vairik’s onslaught, but the moment their weapons clashed, Rion was thrown back again, soaring through the air. He landed right in the middle of the Dark creatures, then rolled to his feet.
Rion obliterated them with half a thought.
If that’s all you have, this is going to be severely disappointing. At least your predecessor put up a fight.
Rion snarled again and shot forward, magic tearing the ground into pieces that he hurled at Vairik’s body. Vairik blocked them with little effort, then surged forward, sword clashing with Rion’s yet again.
Rion’s foot slid backward, but Vairik didn’t use his magic this time. Instead, the two stared at one another for a split second. Rion saw the hatred there. The willingness to let this drag on as long as possible. He was a male with nothing but eternity laid out before him. He didn’t need a quick battle. He didn’t want it.
Vairik craved the suffering. He relished the pain in a Fae’s eyes right before they lost everything.
And Rion hadn’t lost everything.
Not yet.
The line of Fae behind Talon and Raevina drew closer, fighting off the Dark Fae that surrounded him and Vairik. They were too close.
Varick’s gaze drifted toward them, then the male pushed off, sending Rion flying once again.Finally made friends?
Rion didn’t answer. Instead, he tore the ground out from beneath Vairik’s feet and raised it up, cocooning the male in his magic. Vairik burst the dirt and rock away as if breaking away from a youngling.
You know, Vairik continued,I took everyone he loved, too. It’s what finally broke him. He watched them die, one by one, and even though he still had Laoirse, he couldn’t take any more.Vairik smiled.I wonder how much more you can bear before you give in?
Rion spun toward Talon. “Run!”
