Font Size:  

Regan’s eyes filled with tears. I will. May the Goddess be with you.

And with you.

No other words followed, just two tears tracking down Sandra’s cheeks. She looked different somehow to Regan, maybe more confident. And she hoped with all her heart the slave would somehow make her escape as well.

Sandra took the empty tray from off the table and nodding to the troll, the key could once more be heard turning in the lock. When the door opened, Sandra disappeared into the small hallway beyond. The sounds of her steps as well as the troll’s faded down the steep stairwell.

Regan moved to the door and listened intently. She would have to wait a few minutes, to make certain they were gone before she attempted her escape. Yet now that the moment was at hand, each second felt like an eternity.

When she sensed enough time had passed, she unrolled the towel and with trembling fingers picked up the key. Returning to the door, she slid it in the lock and after a couple of tries, felt it give way.

An enormous swell of emotion rushed through her and it felt like freedom.

~ ~ ~

When Ian reached the streambed, he didn’t fly down to the bottom but crossed to the large outcropping of granite twenty feet away from the mist wall.

Regan, he pathed, using telepathy. Are you there? Please answer me, sweetheart. This time, I beg you, please answer me.

Though he hadn’t received a single response in all these weeks, he still went through the drill, speaking to her as though she was there. I’ve been here every night, hour after hour, since your disappearance from Swanicott Realm, since Margetta took you away from your home. Your servant witnessed what happened and I followed after you, but the trail ended here, though I’m not sure where ‘here’ is.

I know I’m at the top of Dark Gorge and at the foothills of the Dauphaire Mountain Range. But I can’t even see the mountains from here. Margetta has a spell in this area. I brought Ben here once to have a look as well, but he wasn’t able to see the wall of mist, just me, and you know how much power Ben has. Ben said all he saw was the forest, but when I told him to enter the woods, he couldn’t do it. He simply felt a tremendous urge to go the opposite direction, Margetta’s spell is that powerful.

Regan, please answer me. Talk to me, Sweetheart.

He felt a sudden pressure on his telepathy. Ian? Sweet Goddess, is that you?

The sound of Regan’s voice inside his head, set every warrior instinct on fire. He lowered his knees and stretched out both hands. His battle energy swept down his arms. If the Invictus came, he was ready. Regan, are you okay? Is this really you?

Yes, it’s me. I’m trapped in Margetta’s fortress, or at least I was. I’m outside now, but I don’t know which way to go. The mist is so thick from here. When I was imprisoned in the tower, I could see for miles, but not now, not outside.

Ian felt both relieved and distressed at the same time. He’d been right all along; the Ruby Fae was here.

Regan, I can’t move forward, because of the wall of mist. I’m on the granite outcrop above Dark Gorge. And where in the fortress are you exactly?

I’m on a catwalk, on the southern side. But the wall of mist is right there as well. Ian, Margetta has a large army here. I doubt even your Vampire Guard and Shifter Brigade combined could defeat it.

Ian took a moment to process this information. Try not to think about that right now. It’s more important to find a way for you to escape. We can deal with her army later. But with so much adrenaline flowing through his system, he became acutely aware that the blood supply Charlotte provided him wouldn’t last very long. Shit.

What? What’s wrong?

Whatever we’re going to do, we have to do it fast. My blood starvation is fucking me up.

She didn’t respond right away, which probably meant she was thinking things through. Don’t leave yet, Ian. Please. I’ve waited a month for this chance and I have a feeling it’ll be the only one I’ll get. Margetta intends to marry me off to a mastyr vampire aligned with her, but she’s waiting for some fulfillment of my power.

Ian’s heartrate ramped up as a long string of curses flipped through his head. Finally, he pathed, I’m here.

Waiting, however, became torture, since the spots had returned and once more flew before his eyes. He was worse off than he thought, but he couldn’t leave her now, not when he’d finally made contact after all this time.

Regan, I’m going to try something. Focus on me as hard as you can. I want to see if I can home in on your telepathy and establish your location.

Oh, dear Goddess, Regan cried. I can hear Margetta shouting. I don’t have much time.

Ian used what was left of his strength to reach through the mist with his mind, hunting for Regan. He had to find her and do it fast. For the helluva it, he added his battle vibration, stretching his hands toward the mist.

He’d been right to experiment because suddenly he found her. He couldn’t see a damn thing, but he could sense her location fifty feet in the air, on the catwalk, but no more than a hundred yards almost directly in front of him. So close.

Staying focused, he found a path growing visible within his mind, the one that would take him to Regan. He’d be running blind through the mist, but without another thought, he headed into the spelled area and took each jagged curve of the path that presented itself within his head.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
Articles you may like