Dark Alpha's Fury, page 14
“I hope that means they took his life.”
“They did,” she answered softly.
Xaneth fought not to pull her into his arms. She wasn’t some frail, vulnerable female in need of his protection, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to do just that. She deserved only happiness and joy for the rest of her days.
He hated the man who had hurt her and tried to extinguish what made her unique. More than that, he hated the Dark for having experienced her love. That she had given all of herself to him, only to be abused and demeaned in such a way. The man had taken the spirited Fae and turned Aisling into nothing more than the husk she had been. Yet Aisling had clawed her way back after that and the tragic death of her daughter, as well as the betrayal of a so-called friend. That took an inner strength he wasn’t sure many had.
“Thank you for telling me,” he said.
She turned her head slightly and kissed his shoulder before replacing her head. They sat like that for a time. Since everything he thought to say sounded hollow, he figured the best thing would be to just sit with her. Then he lay back, and she curled up next to him. Something in his heart eased at how she sought him out. He stared at the ceiling of the cave and memorized the feel of her body against his and the way it fit perfectly. She fell asleep quickly. She had released a ton of pent-up emotions, so he wasn’t surprised.
It was some hours later before his eyes grew heavy. He slept lightly, waking each time Aisling moved. The sky was just beginning to lighten when he woke and gently extracted himself from her. He didn’t know how much time they had at the cave, and he expected it was shorter than either of them hoped. His first instinct was to keep them hidden so they could spend as much time as they wanted together. But that wasn’t feasible. Not when Lena and the Fae Others were still out there.
Xaneth sat beside her and watched the sky gradually lighten through the cave entrance. He would go to Lena today. He wanted to go alone, but Aisling would fight him on it. He knew it. He’d always thought to take on the Fae Others himself. Not because he thought he could do it alone, but because he didn’t want anyone getting hurt. If he died, then so be it. He was a monster.
Yet Aisling had told him he wasn’t. He believed her because he desperately wanted it to be true. She looked at him as if he were extraordinary and irreplaceable. She made him feel both. Right or wrong, there was no going back for him.
“That sigh sounds as if it carries the weight of the world.”
At her voice, Xaneth turned his head toward Aisling. She wore a sleepy smile, but her gaze held a measure of concern. Xaneth leaned on his elbow alongside her. “Just thinking.”
“About?”
“Lena.”
“Ah.” Her gaze searched his. “I’ll follow you, you know.”
He grinned and tugged on a long strand of her hair. “I know. I’ve accepted that.”
“You have?”
“You don’t have to sound so surprised. You’re…persuasive.”
She rolled to face him, the corners of her mouth turning up. “That, I am.”
“You didn’t wake with a nightmare.”
Her fingers skimmed his bare shoulder, moving to his chest. “It’s the first time I’ve slept soundly in ages.”
It didn’t matter if it was because she’d talked about the past or because she was with him. It was enough that she had rested well. “Talking about it must have helped.”
“Or it could’ve been the company I kept.”
He would like to claim he was the reason, but he wouldn’t. “Hungry?”
“Starving, but Eoghan’s shouting my name.”
“Ah. Our interlude is over.” The sadness that swept through him was as thick and dragging as quicksand.
She leaned toward him and pressed her lips to his. “For the moment.”
They got to their feet and called their clothes. Xaneth removed the blankets and replaced them with an array of food. Aisling mumbled her thanks around bites. She got in three mouthfuls before she said Eoghan’s name.
The Reaper appeared almost immediately. The widening of his eyes told Xaneth that he hadn’t expected him. Eoghan’s gaze slid to Aisling, where she was eating.
“It’s been a rough few days,” Xaneth said.
Eoghan returned his attention to him. “Since Aisling is otherwise occupied, why don’t you fill me in?”
Xaneth told him about Lena, the maze, the hound, and the escape. By the time he finished, Aisling had taken her last bite. Xaneth grabbed a scone and halved it before slathering it with butter and sinking his teeth into it.
“It’s amazing you two got out,” Eoghan stated.
Aisling nodded as she glanced at Xaneth. “Had he not seen the arrows, we’d likely still be there.”
Eoghan’s sharp eyes studied Xaneth. “Seems there’s a lot you can do.”
Xaneth decided it was better to take another bite than answer.
Eoghan crossed his arms over his chest as a frown marred his forehead. “At least we know where Lena is.”
“If she’s still there,” Aisling replied. “It won’t have taken her long to find out the hound is dead. She might continue looking for me, but she also may leave.”
Eoghan nodded slowly. “It’s good that she didn’t know Xaneth was there.”
“Very,” Aisling agreed.
Xaneth grew uncomfortable when both of them turned their gazes on him. He swallowed the last of the scone and asked, “What?”
“I wish we knew everything you could do,” Eoghan said.
Aisling smiled as she said, “What he can do is quite impressive.”
For the first time in ages, Xaneth felt his cheeks warm. He liked that she thought so highly of him. Would that she always did. “If I go after Lena, Aisling will follow.”
“Aye,” she replied.
“I think it’s better if the Reapers join us,” Xaneth finished.
Eoghan’s smile was wide. “I’m glad you said that. Do you have a plan?”
“I do.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Lena stared down at what was left of the cú. Her ire grew, churning violently. How dare Aisling kill her prized pet? Lena fisted her hands. It had taken her decades to craft the cú as she wanted it. The hound had been her most faithful and devoted servant. It had never questioned her, never sought to take her power. The cú had simply wanted to follow orders. Now, he lay dead, ripped apart as if he had been nothing.
“She wasn’t alone,” Lena said as she studied the brutality of her pet’s death.
“You can’t mean Aisling,” Berach said from her left. He hadn’t stopped looking nervous since they walked into the labyrinth.
Lena turned to spear him with a look that made most drop to their knees. “Of course, I’m referring to Aisling.” Lena pointed at the hound. “She couldn’t have done that.”
“I know the power you’ve given me. I think I could’ve taken on the hound.”
His confidence astounded her, and not in a good way. Lena faced him. “Is that so?”
“Aye.”
“When I create another one, let’s put it to a test.”
Berach frowned briefly. “You make it sound as if I couldn’t.”
“Because you couldn’t. None of my soldiers could. And that means none of the Reapers could have either.”
“I don’t understand,” Berach said with a shake of his head.
She turned her back on him. “You aren’t meant to.”
Berach hurried to catch up to her. “If you don’t think Aisling was in here alone, then who was with her?”
Lena couldn’t figure that out. No one had been with Aisling when she came to the manor. Yet Lena knew for certain that Aisling couldn’t have taken down the hound without magic, and Lena would have the Reaper’s power if Aisling had used any.
Lena halted suddenly. “Aisling understood that in order to stay alive, she couldn’t use her magic.”
“She must have seen another Fae die by doing just that.”
“Maybe,” Lena murmured. She tapped her finger on her leg as her mind sorted through things. “That doesn’t explain the cú. No magic was used to kill my hound.”
Berach glanced behind him. “Then someone used their hands.”
Had she underestimated Aisling? Could the Reaper be that strong? Lena’s magic had taken her down easily enough during the battle on the Isle of Skye. Lena had been sure she was dead, yet the Reaper was very much alive.
“Maybe there’s more to the Reapers than you first thought,” Berach said.
Lena slid her gaze to him and simply stared until he glanced away. Unfortunately, he might have a point, and she didn’t like that at all. She and the rest of the Six had found out about the Reapers from Brian, a cowardly Light Fae who had been part of the original Others. He had been the first she’d killed and taken magic from. Once Lena discovered the Reapers were very real and not some legend, she had set out to learn all she could.
It hadn’t been easy. Death made sure to keep the Reapers a secret, but not secret enough because Lena had been able to uncover things. Once she dug deeper, things eventually fell into place. She had been wrong about how many Reapers there were. Everything hinged on how strong the Reapers were—even Death, herself.
Lena knew she could take on the goddess. Or she had believed that. Now, she wondered if Death and the Reapers were toying with her. No. That couldn’t be right. They fought too hard to let innocents die. Which meant she wasn’t wrong about their strength—or the fact that Aisling wasn’t alone in the maze. But who was with her?
Fury rushed through Lena with such force that she swayed. “Xaneth.”
“He’s here?” Berach asked, glancing around.
“Nay, you idiot. He was with Aisling.”
Berach’s brow furrowed deeply. “How? We only saw the Reaper.”
“That’s right. We were too focused on her following my trap. Xaneth must have been following her. Or was ahead of her. It’s the only way she isn’t dead.”
“So they’re still down here?”
That was the question, wasn’t it? Lena had every intention of facing Xaneth, but on her terms. Not down in her labyrinth where she couldn’t use magic. She didn’t answer Berach as she began walking again, following the arrows only she could see to lead her out of the maze. It took time to reach the exit, time that caused her apprehension and alarm to build.
She and Berach had talked openly, loudly. Were Aisling and Xaneth waiting to attack them somewhere up ahead? Or, worse, had they found the way out? That couldn’t be possible. Only she could see the arrows leading to the exit. Yet with every step, she began to consider the possibility that the couple had escaped.
“Could they have known you set a trap for Aisling?” Berach asked.
Lena clenched her jaw. “Possibly.”
“I’m not too eager to face them when I can’t do it properly.”
Neither was she. Lena quickened her pace. She expected Aisling or Xaneth to jump out at her from every corner. Her nerves were stretched tight by the time she reached the wall and began the climb upward.
For once, Berach didn’t ask questions. He kept his head on a swivel until she was high enough that he could climb up after her. Lena opened the lid and exited. She dusted off her hands and waited for Berach before shutting the opening once more.
“Where are we?” Berach asked.
She ignored him and searched for any signs that the couple had found the exit. They had been in the maze for three days. They had two more days, tops, before they succumbed without water. When Lena didn’t find anything to alert her that Xaneth and Aisling had escaped, she smiled.
All this time, she had prepared herself to meet Xaneth in battle. Without even meaning to, she had captured him in the maze where he would die slowly and painfully alongside the Reaper. Lena had been excited to get a Reaper’s magic, which would’ve helped her against Xaneth. Acquiring Xaneth’s along with Aisling’s would make fighting Death and the other Reapers as easy as killing humans.
“Which doorway do we take?” Berach asked as he looked between the four.
Lena’s good mood had returned. She faced him and shrugged. “There are three wrong options and one correct.”
“Where do the three wrong one’s lead?”
“I’d suggest not finding out.”
“And the correct one?”
Her smile widened. “Dublin.”
He paused as he looked about the tiny isle. “You created this in case anyone ever figured out the maze.”
“I needed a way out, but, aye. It was in case someone managed to find the way.”
Berach laughed as he shook his head. “There’s no way Aisling and Xaneth came here.”
“That’s right.”
“They’ll die in the labyrinth.”
Lena was delighted at the thought. “They certainly will.”
“So, which doorway leads to Dublin?”
“Why would you use a doorway when we can teleport back to the manor?”
He blinked at her in confusion. “Then…why have the doorways?”
“To make someone doubt, just as you are. You assumed that you had to take a doorway, especially after coming out of the maze, where you can’t use magic.”
“Oh, that’s clever,” he said in awe.
“I know.”
Berach’s gaze was approving as he looked at her. “You’re going to do great things for the Fae. I can’t wait for the removal of the Reapers and Death.”
“Don’t forget the Dragon Kings,” she cautioned.
He lifted one shoulder nonchalantly. “They won’t matter by that time. Their deaths will be an afterthought.”
Maybe she had been wrong about Berach. Perhaps he was a better second in command than his predecessor. “It won’t be long before I right things to how they should’ve always been. The Dragon Kings have lorded over all for far too long. They relegated us to second-class citizens. Us. The Fae! Had the audacity to put humans above us. That was the Kings’ mistake.”
“What was the Reapers’?”
“That falls to Death. The goddess claimed the right to decide the fate of the Fae. She alone stands as our judge and jury. And we’re supposed to accept that? I may not know when she took that role, but she hasn’t always been around. We were fine before her, and we’ll be better without her. If power gave her the ability to decide our fates, then I’ll take it from her once I crush her into nothingness.”
Berach’s smile slipped. “What if there are other gods or goddesses?”
Lena snorted. “If there were, they would’ve already shown themselves. Death is on her own. Oh, her lover, Cael, might have some of her magic, but I’m not worried about him.” The only one she had really been concerned about was Xaneth, and he was about to be taken care of.
Everything she had been dreaming of and planning for was finally coming to fruition. The Fae had been hindered and told to hide their true selves for too long. They wouldn’t repeat the catastrophe of the Fae Realm here. She would see to it. Once she took charge of all the Fae, Earth would be their playground.
There would no longer be talk of a Fae council. There would no longer be those vying for the Dark or Light thrones. There would only be her. When she thought about all the Fae bowing to her, Lena got a rush. They would soon sing her praises.
The Fae had been divided for far too long. No longer would the Dark be looked down on. They would be equal to the Light in all ways. No more would the Light be told to sleep with humans for only one night. Let them enjoy the mortals for as long as they wanted. After all, they would only exist to satisfy the Fae’s appetites.
Lena imagined her ancestors, the ones who had been killed because they’d followed their baser instincts, looking down at her with pride. They might have failed, their hope lost, but she had discovered her roots. And she would succeed where they hadn’t. Everyone would once more shout the Muldowney surname. It would be respected by all.
“Come,” she told her captain. “Let’s go back to the manor. I’ve got all the time in the world to wait for Xaneth and Aisling to die in my maze.”
Berach bowed his head before teleporting away. Lena hesitated for a moment and looked around the island. She had erected a shield around it. From the outside looking in, only a tree grew in the middle. From the inside looking out, there were miles and miles of water, when, in reality, the shore was only a quick swim away.
Illusions. It was something the Fae didn’t use often enough. It was too bad Aisling and Xaneth hadn’t made it up here. She would’ve liked to know how long they would stand here debating which doorway to take. There was a slim chance they would decide to chance teleportation, but she doubted it.
The minds of the weak were so easy to bend—and break.
“It’s too bad you’re going to die in the maze, Xaneth,” she said into the wind. “I would’ve enjoyed meeting you in battle.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“You can’t be serious.” Aisling could only look at him in disbelief. Eoghan departed to fill Erith and the others in on the news some time ago and returned to let them know the planning would happen on Death’s Realm. And yet, Xaneth didn’t want to go. Not after everything they had been through.
He briefly looked away. “I can’t leave Earth, even if it is to go over my plan with Erith and the Reapers. I have to be here. I hunt evil, Aisling.”
“It isn’t as if we’ll be gone for months or even weeks. We’re talking days.”
“I can’t.”
She was trying to understand, but she couldn’t. “Explain it to me, please.” She knew her words were clipped with anger, but she couldn’t help it.
Xaneth ran his hands through his black locks. “You’re tied to the Reapers, to Erith, correct?”
“You know I am.”
“That’s how it is with my situation. I wish it were otherwise, but it isn’t. I have to be here.”
Aisling closed her eyes for a moment and nodded. She might not comprehend his ties, but she accepted it. When she looked at Xaneth, she shot him an apologetic smile. “I get it. I just…” She floundered for words, trying to find the right ones so she didn’t sound irrational. “It would be better if you were there with us, is all. Also,” she said with a shrug, “I don’t like you here by yourself. You should have someone watching your back.”
