Page 91 of Her Ivory Flame

His wings were gone and he had pulled his hood down so she could see his entire face. His eyes held rage but also mixed with worry as he looked her over closely.

“Who are you?” she choked out, her mind finally able to start processing what had happened.

“What do you mean?”

He reached for her but she pulled away, rolling onto her rear end facing him. He clenched his fist but dropped it back by his side, his eyes watching her carefully.

“You have wings, they are black and you have the Ebony Fire.” she snapped, her body moving further away from him the best she could while still bound.

“I will tell you everything, just please let me get those off of you so you can heal.” His voice was pleading and pointed to the manacles.

“I only know of one person that has pure black wings, Fae wings.” she hissed, her eyes realizing the familiarity now that she thought about it.

“I will explain,” he pleaded again. “I would never harm you.”

Sounds of more wings came from the sky and she saw all three other guards hit the ground behind him, all variations of black wings adorning them.

“You.. You are Mavros’s son?” She choked out again.

It was like her mind became clear in an instant, pieces collapsing together and she shuttered in shock.

He pushed her so hard because he needed her power as quickly as possible. He had sent that messenger the first night of their travels, probably to whoever hired the mercenaries. He knew their route and knew their destination.

She couldn’t explain why he would have killed the men he sent, other than they had gone against his instruction not to hurt her.

Panic rose in her and she could hear the others approaching slowly.

Betrayal.

He had told her not to trust him from the start, and she was stupid enough to do it again, letting her emotions get the best of her. She could feel her heart shatter in her chest once again.

She saw Kaden try to reach toward her again but she smacked his hand away.

“Don’t touch me.” She snarled.

He stayed squatted in front of her but she didn’t look at him. The others had joined them, and to her surprise, Xander stepped closer to her.

“Let us take those off.” Xander’s voice was soft, enough of a shock to make her look up.

He had a key in his hand and gestured towards her arms.

She glared but lifted them toward him. She knew what she was going to do, but needed her power to do it.

He gently unlocked each lock, her wrist flexing as they were released and when he was done, she stayed still for only a few seconds.

She pulled at her power, the small amount she had been nurturing for the last day and when Xander stepped back, she exploded.

Fire surged from her as she jumped to her feet, the men jolting backwards from shock. She was not going to be taken back to Mavros or his kin, she would die first.

So, she ran.

She didn’t get very far before she was being picked up and taken into the air, her back aching in pain.

She clawed at the arms that wrapped around her, kicked and tried to break free of their hold. Lilac filled her nostrils but she ignored the way her body reacted to it.

“Alyra, stop!” Kaden yelled, panic in his voice.

She knew they were getting higher, but she didn’t care and found a small amount of her power still inside her. Placing her palms on his chest, she sent that power flaring out and she was soon falling through the air.