Page 24 of Rising Out of the Darkness
“You shouldn’t be here, Shadow Prince.” One of them snarled.
“What?” Her tone was flat, sharpened with annoyance with me for bothering her search. My teeth clenched, but when she rolled those bright aquamarine eyes, the words on my tongue dried out completely.
In that moment, all I wanted to do was take her over my shoulder and spank the stubborn sass right out of her. Or maybe just silence her with my lips? A rush of dynamis swirled, pressing against my skin, as my thoughts wandered over the idea of smothering those pillowy lips of hers into submission.
When her eyes had met mine for the first time, a dull ache had pulled against my chest, straight towards her. Everything about this woman since then had thrown me off completely.
Not only was the journey unexpected, but so was she. I needed to unhook this pull I had towards her before it got me into trouble.
The tiny hairs on my neck stood at attention. The men surrounding us were a lot closer than before. One gripped the hilt of his dagger.
Hells, Declan. Focus.
I followed the man’s eyes, which led straight to Elena’s hand, the one that was no longer glamoured. Damn.
“We need to leave.Now.”
Red tinged her cheeks as she stood up meeting me almost eye to eye. She was taller than most women I’d met but I still had a few inches over her. “I am not leaving until I help that child!” She shoved past me and ripped out another herb from the mass of weeds behind me. How she could even find what she was looking for in all this mess baffled me.
As she reached down once more, the man closest to us began his approach. Throwing myself in front of her, I whipped out my shadows, knocking the dagger straight out of his palms.
The sound of steel drew my eyes towards my guards. Liam and Killian both stood at the ready, swords glistening in the midday sun.
“Move! NOW!” I growled as I unsheathed my own sword.
Her eyes widened as she took in the scene around her. Then, in a flash they turned wild and blazing with fury.
“WILL YOU ALL JUST STOP!” she screamed.
As she did, a burst of white fire blazed through her fingertips along with a turbulent gust of wind that sent us all to the ground.
Scrambling back onto my feet, I froze. Elena stood in the middle of the scorched garden, her face paled, mouth gaping wide. Tendrils of white flame still flickered on the ground as she looked at her trembling hands, stunned by the dynamis that had flown out of them.
The others began to stir on the ground, and the woman who owned the house came out screaming at Elena for destroying her garden. In the distance, more disgruntled voices rang out, but they were all a muddle to me. The only thing I was focused on right now was the terrified Light Phoenix in front of me.
I glanced at my guards, giving a silent order which they returned with a nod. In a blink, they hopped onto their horses as I zephyred towards Elena. The gust of wind twirled around us as she clung to me. My stallion, Shadow gave a high-pitched whinny as we landed abruptly on top of him. Without a second thought, I grabbed the reins, and we all galloped out of the town.
Once I felt confident enough that no one had followed us, I raised my hand to alert the guards behind me to slow to a trot. Finally, I had a chance to acknowledge the trembling woman in front of me. I could hear her muttering the same words under her breath, over and over, as she rocked back and forth.
A lump formed in my throat as her hands folded over each other. The repetitious actions sat heavily in my chest, as it was something I knew entirely too well.
I gathered the reins into one hand and placed my palm gently on her biceps. She flinched, but then her body sagged into my touch.
“None of that was your fault. You know that, right?” I rubbed my hand over her smooth skin as I awaited her response. A sniffle fled from her, and when she spoke her words were almost inaudible.
“No…I don’t.” The misery in her words caused a piece of my cold heart to chip. “I…I burnt everything. Now how will they help that p-poor child?”
I squeezed her arm, causing her to turn and face me. Elena’s once-bright eyes were now reddened, her pink cheeks wet with an endless stream of tears. Before I could think, my thumb wiped them free, causing her lashes to flutter closed.
“They will help the child, I promise,” I said, pinching her chin and raising it to meet my stare. “Nothing about this is your fault, you tried valiantly. You should be proud of that.”
Elena shook her head out of my hand with a breathy scoff. Her gaze fluttered down, and she fidgeted with something around her neck. I had seen her do it on our way here, but hadn’t seen what it was until now. Between her fingers was a smooth white stone in the shape of a feather.
“There was nothing valiant about it. I was reckless and stubborn.” She paused, dropping the pendant as her hands curled into fists. “The funny thing is, I’ve always thought there was so much beauty in our dynamis.” A breathy laugh tumbled out of her, doused with sadness. “Mine is supposed to bring about light and peace. Yet there’s no beauty in my dynamis, only destruction.”
With a heavy sigh, she turned back towards me, then her eyes drifted behind me to my satchel. “Put them back on.”
“Elena—”
