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“Alastor…” he said, not taking his eyes off her.
“I know…” growled Alastor, doing the same.
Then she was there, gliding down with three of the packs. I was impressed, I had to admit. They were damn heavy, and she was carrying three. She dropped them at the mouth of the tunnel, then turned to go back.
“Wait!” said Theo, but she was already gone. We watched her keep low, close to the columns, our beams lighting her way. She was almost there when another creature came out of the shadows, but a swift slash of her knife and it was already falling. She disappeared then into the shadows, only a faint blur, and we waited.
Then the rustling started. All around us in the shadows, I could hear movement, lots of movement. Suddenly I had a really really bad feeling.
“Alastor,” I said.
“I’m aware,” Alastor said grimly, his eyes fixed on Sariel’s distant figure as she came back towards us.
The movement increased, rustling and flapping, and spread out over the cave.
“Alastor!” I said again.
“I know,” he growled, still watching her approach. “She’ll make it.”
The rustling grew louder again, echoing off the cavernous walls until it felt like the entire cave was alive with movement. Suddenly, out of the shadows, a multitude of hellions surged forward. The previously silent cavern came alive with screeching and flapping of wings.
“Hawke!” I yelled at him, panic taking over as Sariel disappeared from view as the horde collided with her mid-air. For a moment, time froze, and then they plummeted down and down, dragging her with them into the gaping maw of the chasm below, out of our sight and out of our reach.
Chapter Twenty-Two
ALASTOR
The world went dark. Not just the cavern. My entire fucking existence. I dropped to my knees, the rough ground biting into my skin through my clothing, but I felt nothing. My breath hitched, a ragged gasp that clawed at my throat as I watched them drag Sariel down into the abyss. The winged hellions, their twisted shadows a swarm of nightmares that consumed her light in front of my eyes, and without wings of my own, I was utterly powerless to stop it.
"NO!" The word erupted from me, raw and guttural. I could feel the edge of the ledge just inches from my fingertips,beckoning me to follow her into the void. To join her in whatever end awaited below.
"Alastor, don't you dare," I heard Theo's voice, but it was distant and lacked conviction, echoing the gravity of despair in my own heart as our mate was ripped away from us.
But then, as if the heavens themselves refused to surrender to the bleakness, a burst of pure radiance pierced the black. Sariel shot up from the depths, wings unfurled—a fierce angel of vengeance with her blade slicing through the night. Her angel blade flashed, its glow illuminating the horde that pursued her, casting long, grotesque shadows on the tunnel walls.
They were on her again in moments, but as I watched, my mouth falling open in shock, I realised how she’s managed to fight her way back up from the chasm below. I had been told Sariel was a warrior, but it hadn’t really occurred to me what that meant until I saw her in action. She moved with lethal grace, her blade a blur of silver, each stroke a sentence of death to the vile creatures that dared to touch her.
I found myself standing, not sure how or when, watching in awe as she fought with the fury of a storm. Each swing of her blade dispelled more of the darkness, and with it, some of the cold dread that had settled over my heart. Her strength, her anger, her wild beauty ignited a fire in my chest that burned away the paralysis of my earlier despair.
As the last of the hellions fell screaming into the darkness below us, I saw the toll the battle had taken. The glow of her blade dimmed, and I caught the glint of blood that was red, not black. But she was alive, and that was all that mattered. Her wings beat a weary retreat, carrying her bloodied form to the stone ledge where I stood, and I reached out for her hands, pulling her onto the ledge and into my arms.
“I thought…” I said, looking down at her, raising one hand to wipe away a smear of dark hellion blood from her face.
"Thought you could get rid of me that easily?" she smirked, though her voice was tinged with pain.
"Never," I said. "You're the thorn in my side. Always showing off." I tried to smile, but the shock of nearly losing her again had hit me even harder than a few days ago, and my whole being still felt the pain at the thought.
"Only for... your benefit," she gasped, then her smirk faded away as pain flickered through her eyes and she dropped, her legs giving way. I caught her as she went, sliding my hand under her legs and lifting her up into my arms. A high-pitched shriek filled the air and then another and another, and suddenly the air was full of winged forms, bearing down on us like some supernatural air raid.
I glanced round at the others. “Grab the packs and move it! We’re not out of this yet. Down the tunnel and hope they can’t follow!”
I pulled Sariel close to my chest, her feathers still soft against my hands, despite being soaked in blood and ichor. She pressed her face against my chest, making my heart skip.
"Always so...dramatic, Alastor," she whispered, as I ran in the tunnel, leaving the others to grab the stuff and follow me.
My torch, still clipped to my belt, swung back and forth, giving me occasional light and I ran half blind, charging into the unknown, desperate to keep her safe, and needing to know she wasn’t badly hurt. All I could focus on was the rise and fall of Sariel's chest against mine, each breath a promise I intended to keep.
Dimly, I heard Theo taking charge behind me, urging the others down the tunnel, and the terrifying sound of leathery wings flapping at the tunnel entrance.
