A slow smile curled his lips. “Gladly.”
He stalked through a small pocket of mist Kalen had left behind us—I’d noticed the skies were strangely clear again. I fisted my hands and breathed it in, filling my body with the power I felt zinging through Kalen’s veins. If anything, we would find out once and for all if my vow to Andromeda stopped me from using Kalen’s power against the gods. And if it didn’t—if my marriage bond to Kalen could voideverythingI’d promised—then, well, we had much better odds than we ever could have hoped.
The power burned through me, singeing my veins. It filled my head with a strange song. It sounded like the call of something wild and unfettered. I lifted my hands and spread my fingers wide, palms held toward Orion and his rapidly approaching form.
He didn’t slow when he saw what I was doing.
Clenching my jaw, I loosed the power.
It sizzled on my hands, then that force knocked me back. I landed in a crouch several steps behind Kalen. Orion just laughed as he continued to advance on us both.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“Your marriage bond only negates the part of the vow that kept you from your mate,” Orion said. “I thought you were clever enough to realize that. You have no way to kill us. No way to stop us. No way to protect these pathetic, wicked mortals from what needs to be done. Give me back my sisters and get out of our way.”
“And what will I get from you if I give them back? A swift death? You’ll drag me back to Malroch? Or will you send your Star Isles army after everyone I know and love?”
He slowed. “How’s this? You’ll get none of those things. Give me the gemstones, and I’ll leave you to rot here in the fae lands with your mate. And if Andromeda asks, I’ll tell her I couldn’t find you. As for your loved ones, we don’t care about Aesir. They can live.”
My heartbeat thundered in my ears. “That sounds too good to be true.”
“I don’t care about you, Tessa Baran. You’ve just proven your vow with Andromeda holds strong, so you can’t use your power against us. Give me the gemstones, and I’ll leave you be.”
“And what will you do with them?” I had to ask. “Bring Callisto back and what else? Bring whoever Pandora is here, too? What happened to Caedmon?”
“We will smite the humans, just like we always planned.” With a scowl, he moved toward me, but Kalen edged in, blocking the god’s path to me.
“Stay away from her,” Kalen said in a low growl.
“Or you’ll what, Mist King?” Orion asked, snarling. “You’ll mist me? You’ll stab me with your pathetic Halen Mon sword?”
Kalen stood his ground as the god advanced on him. And then my mate pushed me to the side, moving me out of range of their weapons. Fear jumped in my veins. I opened my mouth to warn him back, but Kalen had already lifted his arms to blast the god with his own power.
“It won’t work, Kalen!” I screamed, though my fear held back my voice. The words scraped through my throat and came out as nothing more than a hoarse gasp.
Kalen’s power exploded out of him. But like with me, it didn’t make contact with the god. The power threw Kalen back, and he vanished into the darkness.
The god turned his crimson eyes on me. “Now that he’s out of the way, I will ask you one more time. Hand me the fucking gemstones, Tessa Baran. I won’t hesitate to rip your head off your body if you refuse, and your mate is no longer here to protect you.”
“I don’t need anyone’s protection but my own,” I said, my lips curling back to expose my teeth. “And no matter what you promise me, I will not give you these gemstones. Not if it means bringing more gods into this world.”
I shoved my wings from my back. They punched through the slits of my leather armor, and I pushed off the ground. Flinging myself into the dark sky, I cut a path toward the lakes near Itchen. As long as I could stay far enough ahead of Orion, he wouldn’t be able to see me. I’d drop the gemstones into the lake once I’d lost him, then I’d double back to where I’d left Kalen.
Orion would be angry when he realized I’d dumped the jewels, but judging by his desperation to get them back, I had a hunch he’d choose to hunt them down rather than fight me. He’d never find them, and it would give us enough time to get away.
The thunderous sound of wings rushed by me. My heart jumped as Orion dove into my path. I tried to change course, but he was brutally fast. As I twisted to the side, he grabbed my arm. I kicked his chest, my boot colliding into his armor. The contact jolted me, knocking my teeth together.
“Tessa!” Kalen’s furious roar rose from the ground. I shuddered against the instinct to return to him. I’d sworn to stay by his side, and he was calling for me.
Orion tightened his fingers around my wrist and jerked me toward him. He hissed into my face. “Give me the fucking jewels or I will rip your mate’s head off his body.”
Something stirred in my gut. It was like a poisonous snake uncoiling after a long, blissful slumber, and now some fool of a bastard was repeatedly kicking its nest. It rattled its tail and looked into the face of the enemy while venom dripped from its brutal fangs.
I’d been ready to run. But I was done backing down.
I grabbed Orion’s arm and tugged him even closer, so close I could smell the wine on his tongue. “You shouldn’t have threatened my mate.”
With my free hand, I slid the Mortal Blade through the gap in his steel plate. Fear flashed in his eyes, but he caught my arm before I could shove the dagger into his gut.
