Reign of Ice (Forever Fae #4)(49)
My blood ran cold. What had I done? How could I have been so stupid as to touch it?
“You bastard,” I hissed. Quickly, I shot to my feet and charged after him, heading for the border. Before I could get past the shield, I was knocked off my feet by the weight of someone tackling me to the ground. The breath whooshed out of me as the impact from the fall had me gasping for air. When I looked up, the sorcerer had disappeared and Brayden was on top of me, scowling and angry.
“Brayden, no!” I shouted, slamming my fist in his chest. “Why did you stop me?”
“I can’t leave you alone for five minutes without you getting into trouble,” he bellowed furiously. “What were you thinking?”
Defeated, I huffed and let my head fall back into the snow. I wanted to cry, scream, and demand that time rewind itself so I could finish this once and for all. I had a chance to end everything, and now the situation had made a turn for the worse. The sorcerer had my power, which meant he would be just as strong as us once he absorbed my essence.
Brayden was breathing hard and fuming when I glared up at him. “I had to save her, Brayden. I couldn’t sit by and watch her die in front of my eyes. I could’ve killed him if you wouldn’t have stopped me,” I growled.
I waited on him to tell me how stupid I was for trying to charge after the sorcerer alone, but that never came. Instead, he stared at me, his eyes softening with understanding in his concerned, brown gaze as he helped me to my feet.
He brushed the hair out of my face before cupping my cheeks in his firm hands and placing a gentle kiss to my lips. “I know you’re a good fighter, angel. It’s just the thought of you fighting him sets me on edge. The last thing I want is to watch you die in front of my eyes.”
“That’s not going to happen,” I whispered regretfully. He wasn’t going to be around when I did what I had to do.
Peering over his shoulder, I could see Zanna still on the snow laden ground, unmoving, with Kamden and Meliantha hovering over her. “Oh no,” I cried. Taking Brayden’s hand, I ran as fast as I could to them and collapsed onto the ground by their sides. Meliantha’s hand was covering Zanna’s neck and she was rocking back and forth, her lips moving silently, with a sheen of sweat misting on her brow.
Kamden was devastated, tears streaming down his cheeks as he watched his one true love lying helpless on the ground. His pain tore through my heart and it killed me to know that Brayden was going to be in the same position soon, mourning my death. Deep in my heart, I felt stronger than I ever had in my entire life and in a way I did feel invincible. Maybe there would still be hope for me. When I faced off with the sorcerer I had no clue what was going to happen, but I had to have faith that things would work out the way they were supposed to. If I lived or died, I would at least know that I saved everyone I loved.
When Meliantha stopped chanting and opened her eyes, the whole world fell silent. She took a few deep breaths and a slow smile crept across her face. She removed her hand from Zanna’s neck and spoke, “It’s done. She’ll be all right now. If I got to her later it would’ve been all over.”
Kamden picked Zanna up in his arms and held her tight against his chest. “Thank you, thank you so much,” he murmured over and over.
Meliantha smiled and squeezed his arm reassuringly. “She’s a strong woman, Kamden. You’re a very lucky man. She’s going to need some rest, but she’ll be as good as new in a couple of hours.”
Kamden bowed and took Zanna up to the palace, followed by Coran. Now that Brayden was back with Calista and Ryder our whole group was complete. Meliantha placed her hands on her hips and scowled, “I would’ve given anything to be able to kill that son of a bitch. Seeing him again brought back everything he did to me and Kalen.”
Out of all the princesses, Meliantha was the one who had been used and violated by Alasdair more than any of us. I could understand her desire and hunger to kill him. I ran my hands soothingly down her arm, but she caught them in her grasp and gasped. They were blistered from the talisman and I wasn’t going to lie, they did hurt, but I knew they would heal soon. My sister, however, wasn’t going to let me wait it out. The moment she sent her power flowing into my hands, it felt like a warm pair of gloves wrapping themselves around the blisters. Slowly, I could feel the pain ebbing away faster and faster until there was none left. When she let go of my hands, they were as good as new and perfectly unblemished. Breathing a sigh of relief, I pulled her to me and held her tight. Softly, I whispered in her ear, “Thank you, Mel. I would’ve given anything to have killed him for you. He will die soon, you have my word.”
Somberly, I pulled back and addressed the rest of the group, “We have bigger problems now. We’re going to need to call in our allies as soon as possible and get their help.” Calista’s eyes grew wide when I reluctantly met her gaze and nodded at her. She knew what I was getting ready to say … my power had been taken.
Drake interrupted with a wave of his hand, “I think we figured that out already judging by what he did here today. I’ll make sure the Summer warriors are ready once you and Brayden…” He stopped mid-sentence, casting a mischievous glance in mine and Brayden’s direction. Sorcha rolled her eyes, but nonchalantly he continued, “Never mind, I’m not going to finish that sentence. Anyway, I’ll have my people ready.”