My decision was clear.
“Go to hell,” I told him. At the same time, I released the gathered magic inside of me, flinging it right at his staff. He let out a snarl, his smirk drying up. The moment my midnight-colored magic touched the crystal, I was falling, and then with a slam I woke up.
Surging up from the softness of my bed, I let out a yelp upon seeing Baladar and Kade standing at the foot of my bed. Finn was whining at my feet and I realized I was shivering, teeth chattering. Reaching down, I felt my feet and recoiled. What the hell? They were freezing.
“Ari?” Kade seemed at a loss for words.
I pulled the blanket up as he dropped down beside me and ran his arms up and down my shoulders, warming me. I snuggled closer to him, thankful that bear shifters always ran at a temperature akin to the desert in summer.
It was Baladar who found his voice first. “Where did you go?”
I shook my head, still trying to wrap my mind around it. “Some dream land with the fae lord.”
My answer startled Kade and Baladar; both of them looked alarmed. “You weren’t dreaming, Ari. You were gone,” Kade said gruffly.
“I … uh … what?” I didn’t understand. “I went to sleep here with Finn. I thought it was just like those dreams with Violet in the Otherworld.” If I actually went somewhere in my physical body, then it did at least explain my frozen feet.
Finn ceased his grumbling, calming down now that I was back.One minute you were at my side, and then next there was a burst of cold air, and … then you were gone. Disappeared.
Baladar had deep concern lining his eyes as he chimed in: “Finn got me out of bed, and when I got into your bedroom it reeked of dark magic. A magic which felt very similar to the dark book.”
I ran a shaky hand through my hair. Damn. Somehow that bastard had figured out how to transport me from my bed and into his territory in the fae lands. “How is it even possible? How could he pull me into the Otherworld like that?”
There was a soft popping noise and then Violet was there, standing in her pajamas, hair a hot mess. “What happened?” she shouted as she looked around the room, focusing on something I couldn’t see. “Holy dark magic.” She waved her hand in the air above my head.
All of us were silent for a beat, which was pretty standard when Violet did her sudden appearance thing.
Baladar finally said, voice dry, “The Dark Fae Lord opened a portal and transported Arianna through it while she was asleep.”
I squirmed out of Kade’s grasp and scooted off the bed, needing to stand. My body temperature was finally beginning to return to normal, and with it came a frantic need to pace and throw my arms around. Pins and needles filled my feet, but at least I could feel them now.
Kade followed me, his eyes very dark and bear-like as he watched me closely. “Tell us what happened.” His voice was bear-like too, growled out between clenched teeth. He was not happy, and he would be even less so when I filled them in on what had taken place.
I took a shaky breath, continued pacing, and left nothing out. I told them everything, even mentioned how the dark magic called to me. When I got to the part where the dark fae talked of us being together to rule in darkness, and how he’d eyed me in such an intimate way, fur began to break out on Kade’s arms.
“I. Will. Kill. Him.” Each word was said slowly, thudding across the room with the weight of Kade’s fury.
I finished the rest quickly, my final line being, “So, he offered to call off the war if I promised to rule by his side.”
Kade was now in his half bear shape, towering over everyone in the room. “What can we do to make sure he can never take her like that again?” He directed this blast of words at Baladar and Violet.
Violet was rubbing her chin. “Arianna can break spells, so that’s why she was able to get out of there so easily.”
The dark expression did not lift from Kade’s face. “That doesn’t answer my question.”
Violet tried again. “He’s a dark magic wielder, Kade, so we can’t exactly keep him from doing his dark voodoo magic stuff, but I believe that if it happens again Ari can get out of it in the same way. She has incredible untapped power. If she trusts in her magic, no one can hold her against her will.”
That seemed to calm my mate; fur disappeared, and he was back to being normal giant-sized Kade. Our hands reached out and found each other.
“Violet might be right. I’m just going to have to be more careful. Sleep with one eye open if possible.”
It didn’t sound possible to me right now. I was exhausted, cold, and wanted nothing more than to curl up with my mate and sleep for days.
Baladar frowned. “That won’t work. He isn’t physically coming into the room. He’s pinpointing her essence and snatching her from her bed in a millisecond, pulling her through the magical ley lines, those which crisscross all the mecca stones. Obviously, he is able to tap his dark magic into that network too. The best thing we can do is train Ari’s powers — teach her to hone her defensive skills.”
Kade did not like the sound of that, ignoring Baladar to say, “I’ll take first watch. Arianna, get some rest. The rest of you, we’ll meet first thing in the morning for training.”
I already knew that my sweet bear wouldn’t be able to sleep again until the Dark Fae Lord was dead.
