Blaise growled low in his throat. He must have realized what was going on. “You’re not taking her!”
“B-b-b-b …” Brogan choked, then fell to her knees to clutch at her throat. It was obvious the Crom was commanding her to speak Blaise’s name and she was refusing to give him the power of death over the mandrake.
Throwing her head back, Brogan let out a blood-chilling screech. She pounded the ground until her fist was bloody and bruised.
“Stop it!” Blaise shifted into his dragon’s body. He let loose a blast of fire toward the Crom.
Engulfed by the fire, he laughed through Brogan’s throat. Then threw his whip of bones and skulls toward Blaise. The head at the end of it opened its mouth as if it were laughing at the mandrake.
Shadow caught it and threw it back toward the horse and rider. “Leave here or I will dine on you both!”
Yanking his whip free of Shadow’s grasp, the Crom snapped it in the air, shooting sparks of fire in all directions. Sulfur rained down over them.
“I demand my property!” He cracked his whip for Brogan.
Urian caught it again and yanked the Crom from his horse. Faster than Medea could blink, Falcyn was on him.
He grabbed the Crom and pulled him up from the ground. “Renounce your claim on the kerling. Here and now. Give her her freedom or I will rid you of your essence for all eternity!”
The Crom struggled for several seconds until he realized that Falcyn wasn’t about to give. More than that, he came to the startling and truthful conclusion that Falcyn indeed had the means and ability to carry out his not-so-empty threat. “Very well, my lord. I give the kerling her freedom.”
No sooner did Brogan speak those words than she fell forward to lie in a heap. Blaise returned to his human form so that he could rush to her side and pull her into his arms.
“Ro?” His voice quivered from the strain of his fear. “Speak to me! Say something!”
Brandor knelt beside them. “Brogan, please don’t leave me alone!”
Still, she didn’t move. She didn’t even appear to breathe. Her face turned pale, then blue.
Blaise cupped her cheek and cradled her against his shoulder. “Speak to me, my lady. I cannot live knowing I caused you harm.”
When she didn’t respond, Blaise choked on a sob and lifted her up. Her head fell back while Brandor took her hand and kissed it as if it were unspeakably precious. Tears fled down his cheeks.
Urian knew that love firsthand. He’d felt it the day Tannis had died, and it sucked to the outer reaches of hell itself. He wanted to scream and rage against the cosmos. It wasn’t right or fair.
Damn them all!
Shadow swirled past them to Brogan and lightly touched her cheek.
No sooner did he withdraw his hand than her eyes fluttered open. Lost in their grief, neither Blaise nor Brandor saw it.
Not until Brogan pulled her hand from her brother’s grasp and sank it deep into Blaise’s pale hair. “They can take me by force and break every bone I have, but only you will ever have my heart, Blaise. For it alone is mine to give.”
Laughing and crying, he pulled her to his lips so that he could kiss her.
Brandor quickly withdrew from them. And though it was obvious he didn’t like to see his sister in the arms of another man, he didn’t say a word as he moved to stand beside Medea. Facing the opposite direction.
Like Urian.
Snorting at their ridiculous actions, Medea wiped at her eyes. She drew a ragged, grateful breath.
More grateful than words could express that she was alive, Urian glanced at her with Falcyn, then over to Brandor. “Don’t we feel like the odd ones out?”
Shadow manifested between them and draped his arms around their shoulders. “I feel your pain, my brothers. I’m always the oddest of the odd.” He darted his gaze around them. “So which of you assholes destroyed my rope?”
When they finallyreached their destination, Shadow slowed down. “We’re here.”
With his powers, he cut another hole into a small room from his shadow realm. Shadow stayed back while they walked through. Then he joined them and sealed the rupture tightly closed.
