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Then he stepped into the shadows only to be stabbed with far too many obsidian blades to count. Kes couldn’t determine where any of the blades were coming from. It was as if they appeared from thin air from all around him. Each blade was left in his body so he couldn’t heal himself. Blood poured from him far too quickly. Kes was more distraught over who would keep Anin safe after he was gone than he was over his actual death. He tried to get up, but try as he might, he could barely move and the pool of black blood rapidly spread around him. When he started to cough blood, he knew the end was near. The last thought he had was how he wished he could’ve had more time with his darling nymph.
Anin watched Kes make his way around the room. She noticed he kept her within view while he tried to appear to simply be in need of something to eat and drink. She watched as he stepped into the shadows, but never stepped back out. She stared at the spot where he had disappeared, willing him to reappear.
She checked to see if anyone was approaching her cage, then she flitted her gaze back to where Kes had disappeared. The pull that made her naturally gravitate towards Kes was feeling fainter and fainter. Anin began to panic; she knew something was not right. She started yelling for Ciaran when she noticed a growing shadow on the floor was not in fact a shadow at all, but a pool of blood. She knew Kes had black blood from the blood oath ceremony, and she had a horrible feeling that was his blood on the ground. Considering this, and how quickly the mate bond was fading, she knew Kes was dying. Here she was, stuck in a stupid cage with no way to help him.
Ciaran seemed to understand her urgency and quickly ushered Etain into her own cage, then ported to the shadows. The room began to realize something had happened and everyone began to turn towards the far shadows where the pool of blood still steadily spread. Many creatures began to engage in even more depraved forms of carnal activity, the scent of blood sending them into a frenzied state.
Had Anin not thought she was going to be sick with worry for Kes, she may have found their behavior amusing. As it was, a sob escaped her and she felt fear so potent she nearly collapsed under the weight of it. She held her body frozen. She was distracted trying to catch any glimpse of Kes, she did not notice a door had appeared on the back of the cage and opened. She also did not notice the robed being who snuck up behind her and hit her hard on the back of the head, knocking her out instantly.
Twenty Nine
Seamushadstoodoffin the shadows for several minutes waiting for a chance to make his move. He watched as the demon who had been torturing him the past few days held Etain as if she were a delicate flower. They kept their heads close together as they shared words with each other. Seamus was sick with disgust. How dare she allow the demon that had caused him such pain to hold her.
He planned to make her pay for not only getting him into this mess, but also for allowing him to suffer at the hands of one she obviously had power over. If she thought Seamus would ever want to touch her in a way a husband touches his wife after she had allowed that demon to soil her, she would be sadly mistaken. Seamus would cause her pain and suffering just as he had felt at the hands of her demon lover. Then he would deliver her to the Shepherd to fulfill his mission.
Seamus smiled as all attention was beginning to shift to a far corner of the room. He watched the demon delicately place Etain into a cage and then disappear, likely to investigate. The Shepherd had orchestrated this chance for him to sneak up on Etain without her being any wiser. He pulled his hood tighter to further obscure himself as he made his way around the edge of the room to come behind the dais, sticking to the shadows the whole way. Once he was there, he slowly climbed the back of the dais staying low to keep hidden in case anyone turned to look back at the throne. He got closer to the cage and realized there was no door. He began to panic, wondering how he was supposed to get her out. Suddenly, a door appeared directly in front of him and silently opened.
He watched her for a moment and noticed she was starting to get agitated. Following her gaze, she spied another individual on the same mission as Seamus. A large robed figure was sneaking up behind the cage of the creature he had thought was a Being of Light when he first arrived. If Seamus wasn’t fast, Etain was going to make a lot of noise trying to warn her friend.
Just as she took a deep breath in and prepared to yell to the creature in the other cage, he hit her as hard as he could over the back of the head with the silver candlestick he had pilfered along the way. She dropped like a sack of potatoes.
Seamus wasted no time and slung her unconscious body over his shoulder, then snuck back into the shadows. He pulled out the map the Shepherd had left for him as he raced down empty hallways and stairwells, never running into another soul. Seamus was sure that was the Shepherd’s doing as well. After running for several minutes, he began to tire, thanks to the added weight of the whore on his shoulder. Finally, he saw the door which would take him outside the palace.
He had just a little further to go until he came upon a wagon attached to a horse. He did not hesitate to use the rope which had been left in the back of the wagon to firmly hog tie Etain in case she woke before they got away. Just as the Shepherd had claimed there would be, another map was waiting for him on the driver seat of the wagon. He opened it, then set off in the direction indicated, but he would not go straight there. Instead he would look for a quiet spot to pull over and wait for Etain to wake so he could watch the pain fill her eyes as she suffered. He did not think the Shepherd would mind; he would likely understand and tell Seamus it was the least he was due. Seamus smiled wide when he thought about how the Shepherd would likely commend him for teaching Etain the error of her ways.
Seamus urged the horse along faster until they got deep enough into the woods he could no longer hear the bustling of the palace or the city behind him. He slowed the horse to a trot and kept his eyes out for a good spot to rest and wait for Etain to wake. Finally, he came upon a small glade and pulled the wagon off to the side of the overgrown trail he had been on; it had obviously been forgotten. He got down from the wagon and went around to the back of it to slide Etain out. He untied her enough to be able to toss her over his shoulder once more and began to make his way into the glade. Finding the perfect spot for her in between a few trees, he dropped her none too gently to the forest floor. She was still unconscious. He took the time to tie each limb to one of the trees surrounding them, pulling tight; her limbs slightly lifted off the forest floor. When he was perfectly happy with her binds, he found a comfortable seat against a nearby tree and waited for Etain to wake.
Ciaran was not prepared for the sight that greeted him when he appeared in the shadows. His cousin was filled with an unimaginable amount of obsidian blades and on the brink of death. Ciaran was not sure he would be able to save him in time. He placed his hand on Kes’s body in a rare spot free from blades. Ciaran needed to heal him faster than the little remaining blood Kes had left could leave his body as he pulled each blade free.
After what felt like hours, Ciaran was beginning to fade, but had successfully pulled all of the blades out of his cousin, stopping him from complete death. Even with nearly all of Ciaran’s power depleted, he was not sure it would be enough. He quickly ported his cousin to his chambers and dropped him on his bed. Even as close to the veil of death as Kes was, Ciaran heard him mumble Anin’s name.
“Fear not, cousin. I will bring your nymph to you. Rest now and heal. As soon as my power restores, I will speed it up again for you.” Ciaran was eager to return to his witch. He was furious at the unknown assailants who had pulled him away from Etain and caused him to deplete his power to such an extreme; he was not sure he would be able to stay standing for much longer. He hoped he had enough power to collect the females, drop Anin off to tend to Kes, and get him and Etain back to his bedchambers. He knew he would have no choice but to sleep for at least a night; luckily he could do it with his little witch curled up next to him. Not the night he had envisioned for them, though he would be sure to make it up to her as soon as he woke.
Porting directly to his throne, Ciaran immediately noticed the open cage and began to frantically look around. Not seeing her anywhere, he searched through the bond which had been getting stronger and stronger over the past few nights. She felt far away, as if she was no longer anywhere in the palace. He let out a rage-filled roar that shook the room and extinguished many candles. There was one particular fae that was known for being adept at breaking spells, and Ciaran had every intention of making him pay for his treason. He turned his gaze to Anin, perhaps she had seen something, when he noticed she was also missing. He saw the black begin to creep into the sides of his vision and knew he needed to port immediately.
Ciaran barely had enough time to port to his bedchambers and send the last dregs of his power down the bond with Etain in hopes he could unbind her magic from such a distance. He wasn’t sure if it had worked, although there was nothing else he could do.
Just before the darkness took him, he threw open the window and roared Etain’s name into the night sky; a promise and a threat all in one. The last thing he remembered was his attempt to stumble towards his bed and not quite making it.
Thirty
Etainwokeslowly;herhead feeling like it had been split in two. Groaning, she started to blink her eyes open. She could see trees above her and surmised she was laying on the forest floor. Her head was scrambled. She was having a hard time remembering where she had been. Slowly the Lunar Ball started to come back to her.
She had been sitting on Ciaran’s lap learning about all the different types of fae from his court – among other things. Even as slow as her brain appeared to be working, she felt the heat creep into her cheeks thinking about what they had done on Ciaran’s throne.
How did she wind up on the forest floor? Had everything been a dream? Could it have been a cruel trick played on her by some fae the night of the blood moon? The thought of none of it being real hit Etain with such sadness, she let out a little cry of despair. That would be the cruelest trick anyone could have played on her. She felt tears begin to fill her eyes.
“Ah. You’re awake.” The voice sounded like Seamus, but slightly off – a bit too nasally.
Etain gasped when she remembered how Seamus had pinned her down and forced himself on top of her. Etain tried to move her arms and sit up, but realized she couldn’t move, not even an inch. She rolled her head to look down her arm with bleary eyes and saw she was stuck on something. When she looked to the otherside she realized she was not actually stuck on something, but tightly tied to trees.
“Seamus, help me get untied.” Her voice came out raspy and low. Panic began to set in the more she became awake. She looked down and noticed she was wearing the black dress she thought she had been dreaming about. If it wasn’t a dream, where was Ciaran, and how had she gotten here? She tried to think back to the last thing she remembered. They had been at the ball and something had happened. Etain tried to remember. She remembered being in the cage and then…she gasped.
Anin! She was about to be taken.
Etain had seen a cloaked figure sneak up behind Anin’s cage and raise something to knock her over the head. She supposed something similar happened to her, too, since the back of her head was throbbing in tune to her heart beat. She heard Seamus approach, and her fear crept even higher. She was loath to admit it, but Seamus terrified her.
“Why would I help a demon whore like you, Etain? When you did nothing to help me!” Seamus had crouched down to get in her face. As he yelled, spittle flew out of his mouth, and his face began to turn beet red.
