Page 59 of Courting the Fae Captain
“And … the captain?” Portia asked slowly. “What of him?”
I grabbed my top and peeled it down my neck to show her the bite mark Raithe had given me. The Claim. “He’s doing something that should have been done a long time ago.”
She inhaled sharply. “I know what that mark means. My mother had one too, gifted by my father. So, the captain is your mate.” A slow, bewildered laugh. “Of course he fucking is. I should have understood what was happening that day in the apothecary. So, where is he then? Making his girl do all the fighting?”
I grinned. “Raithe does not make me do anything. We are equal, and we both fight for the same thing.” I raised my voice so the surrounding females could hear me. “Fight with us. Fight for your mothers and sisters, and friends. Fight to show these fuckers that we will not be slaughtered. No more females need to die needlessly today. Instead,wewill do the slaughtering.”
Portia looked at me like she saw me for the first time. Something sparkled in her eyes that I hadn’t seen before. Something that looked suspiciously like hope. “Enough with the speeches already.” She turned and roared at anyone listening. “You can die fighting for males who would enslave and abuse you, or you can fight for your freedom, for female freedom. No longer will we be oppressed. You choose how you will live and how you will die. Which one’s it gonna be?”
“They have soldiers,” a female called out. “They have power!”
Bells sounded, cutting off the outcry of females within the arena, effectively halting all fighting as everyone’s head swivelled towards the other direction.
I grinned, my heart swelling about ten sizes. “So do we.”
A flurry of movement caught my eye from across the way as countless soldiers swarmed from around both corners of the castle, Killian and Jaren leading each group. And at the main entrance, heading innumerable females dressed in varyingstates of dirty and dishevelled white, was Raithe. His shadow wings were out, his power streaking along the ground in pluming tendrils of black. My partner in everything. My mate. Here, with the females he’d freed from the island, just as we’d planned.
My smile dropped. Was that terror I saw in his eyes? In the paleness of his face? But then his gaze caught mine, and I registered the shockwave of relief as he realised I was safe and unharmed. Of course … the bond. The moment our connection was severed, he must have thought the worst. My eyes drifted from Raithe to the crowd beyond. I searched frantically for my mother, but I couldn’t see her among the females.
“You’re here,” I breathed as Raithe ran towards me.
He pressed his hands to my cheeks in a loving embrace, pulling me to him tightly. “I never left. But when the bond went down, I was terrified, Aeris. I thought … I thought?—”
“It’s okay,” I hushed. “I’m alright. Is my mother okay?”
“She’s fine,” Raithe said with a chuckle. “She is with mine. Turns out they’re friends.”
Relief flooded through me. I knew he would have taken them somewhere safe before joining me here. My heart leapt at the idea of reuniting with her, but it would have to wait. We had a Pentad to kill and a rebellion to lead. By the end of the night, this castle would be ours, and we would finally be reunited.
“What is the meaning of this?” the lion sputtered as soldiers and freed females flooded the grounds. “Stand down! That is a command!”
“These males do not fight for you,” Raithe said as he turned. “And neither do I.”
“How dare you interrupt this sacred Rite,” a low voice said. The sea serpent stood slowly. “You, whom we have honoured so. How dare you lower yourself to their level and let the cattle out of their cage. You are a disgrace to your family name. Your title and rank will be stripped for this. No one shall remember thename Raithe Windaire after you have died a slow and miserable death.”
“You’re mistaken,” Raithe said as the full weight of his stare fell upon the male. “There will be no trial. Only death. And I will not be among the fallen.” As the lion and two other masked males began to edge away, he turned his wrath on them. “Run.See how far you get.”
“Unleash the Waiflings,” the sea serpent barked at the soldiers still standing loyal to the Pentad. “Protect the court and kill anyone who stands in your way! Reinforcements won’t take long, Captain. And as a reward for their obedience, they may do whatever they please with the cattle. They were all just meat for slaughter, anyway.”
“Like hell,” I snarled. “You are all going to die. Every last one.”
I charged towards the wall of soldiers blocking my way, Raithe and his males at my back.Renewed vigour filled my veins as the females surrounding me roared, taking up arms and turning against our captors. Pride rippled through me as we fought together, the way it should have always been. And as my blade sliced into the first male standing in my way, I didn’t feel anything but pure determination.
The snow fell heavier now, reducing visibility as swords and bodies clashed. Fire rippled in my periphery as arrows soared through the night, and soldiers and females alike went down screaming. Mechanisms groaned, and then the sound of chains clanking along the ground followed as the Waiflings were set free.New, terrified screams echoed, drowning out the sound of steel. Even the Pentad’s soldiers weren’t spared as the creatures attacked. One Waifling turned to me, and my stomach lurched as its muzzle flared and it charged. It moved so fast I didn’t have time to dive. The gaping mouth widened, revealing its razor-sharp teeth gleaming with blood.
Raithe’s shadows lashed out, ensnaring the beast by its legs before it could launch at me. He grimaced as his boots slid along the ground, his brows scrunching with the effort of holding it back.
I didn’t have time to breathe a sigh of relief as it snapped and raged against its leash. Portia snatched a spear from a passing female and launched it through the air. The point made its mark through the Waifling’s left eye. The beast went down with a thud.
“They’re getting away,” I yelled as the Pentad made their way towards the castle proper. Typical. Powerful as they were, they’d rather let everyone else do their dirty work for them whilst they ran and hid.
“Go,” Jaren shouted. “Killian and I will hold here.”
“Do not let any Pentad soldiers through the castle gates,” Raithe ordered. “Arm the battlements. Keep that gate shut at all costs!”
A boom sounded before Killian could answer, and my heart sank as I looked to the source. Reinforcements were already here. Was the nearest outpost really that close? Or had the Pentad sent for them ahead of time? I swore under my breath as soldiers poured in on horses, their long swords and spears making quick work of those in their way on foot.
Magic blasted from every direction. I halted, torn between chasing the Pentad and helping the others.
