Page 26 of A Promise so Bold and Broken

The life the rebels had gladly sacrificed.

And now he wanted to go back to them?

Had he not heard what Merrick had told them? Did he truly not grasp the danger they faced if an entire nation of Oakgards’ Fae descended upon Havlands?

The rebels might have a few shifters and half-Fae with magic, but…

Like in the previous war, they’d not stand a chance against full Fae.

“Perhaps,” Merrick responded quietly, and Lessia was certain from his tone he’d already suspected as much of Ardow. “But you owe me, Raine. I will not ask more of you than to shelter us. Once we have a plan, we’ll leave you be, and you can choose to go as many years as you like before seeing me again. Or forever, if that’s your choice.”

Raine sighed as he slipped a hand into his white shirt.

Tensing, Lessia watched closely as he dug around for a while, wondering if he’d perhaps bring out another lethal weapon, even worse than the jagged blades on his back.

And when he took a step toward Merrick as he did it… everything before her eyes turned a vivid red.

Raine glanced her way, his mouth curling into a cold smile that didn’t touch his eyes as he took another stride.

Overwhelming fury built inside her, a feral snarl working its way through her throat, and she could see the talons, the presence inside her mind, clearly for the first time.

It was like a shadow version of Raine.

Only it wasn’t a Fae form; it was more similar to the wraiths Preysaih, the god of death, had used in his warmongering when he still walked this realm.

She’d seen drawings of them in her father’s books growing up, and if it hadn’t been for the anger coursing through her blood, she might have shuddered.

But like the wraiths, Raine’s eyes were clear as day within her mind, and when she shut her own, she let her Fae intuition guide her.

Her eyes turned inward, almost as if they peered out of her soul, and when she met the hazel ones in her mind and a golden sheen reflected in them, a low laugh left her.

Get the fuck out,she purred.

The presence evaporated.

Snapping her eyes open, she didn’t hesitate before storming toward Raine with the daggers in her hands, sand flying around her feet as she pushed herself to run as fast as she could.

“Lessia!”

She ignored Merrick when he hissed at her, able only to focus on the still-smiling Fae before her.

She didn’t even care that the wyvern let out an ear-splitting shriek or when it splashed its tail so viciously that a stream of water fell over her.

Raine shot a glance toward the beast, the cold smile giving way to an amused one. “Stand down, Ydren.”

The wyvern let out another cry, its hostile gaze fixed on Lessia when she flashed her teeth at it as she continued charging toward Raine.

He snickered as she stormed up to him, and when the thing he pulled out was merely a flask, her strides slowed, confusion weaving a crease between her brows.

Unscrewing the cork, Raine grinned at her before drawing a large swig.

When he finished, he wiped his mouth with his white shirt, staining it with a brownish tint, and reached out the flask toward Lessia. “You might need this more than me. You seem a bit high strung.”

A hiss left her, but Merrick’s voice broke in from behind before she could tell him to shut his mouth. “Back off, Raine.”

“Very well.” Raine shrugged. “Perhaps this might be more interesting than I thought. It’s been a while since someone could escape my hold.”

Huffed breathing sounded behind her, and when she spun around, Venko stood with his head in his hands while Ardow brushed off some hair that had stuck to his flushed face, the magic that had held them in place finally releasing them.

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