Page 36 of A Dance With Fire
“Besides, we’re here.” He stepped into a small clearing where three other Fae men were standing. Among them, Ryker, the other one from last night, and another Fae male she didn’t recognize.
In the light of day, she made out their features clearly. All of them were tall, the four of them. Clay went to stand beside them, and she realized that while he was still average height, the others towered over him, but no one towered over Ryker.
She avoided looking at him, and instead studied the other two Fae males.
One of them had pale skin and long silver-white hair that brushed over his shoulders. Some of the strands were braided and pulled away from the hard, angry angles of his face. There was something brutal about him, something grave and deadly about his demeanor as well as his scent.
But not as deadly as the other Fae at his side. This male was all sharp, cutting angles and black, bleeding eyes that were trained on Shula with no remorse. The sides of his head were shaved bald, but dark, long hair covered the top in an elegant knot. She remembered him from the night before and the posters scattered around Tuath.
These two Fae weren’t as muscular as Ryker, but they still had a foreboding bearing. Their arms bulged as they flexed, and she could make out the shadow of muscles against their tightly pressed tunics.
Seriously, she thought,what is with these Fae and the tight shirts?
“Shula Azzarh.” Her name leaving the dark-haired Fae’s lips made her still. His glance was cutting, the kind that threatened to tear through her whole soul.
“Shit, Valerio, you’re scaring her,” Clay snapped.
Despite him being the one who’d told her she hadn’t had a choice but to come with them the night before, she felt like she now had an ally in him. He was staring angrily at Valerio.
So he was Valerio?
No wonder Clay was frightened of him.
He looked more formidable than Ryker even and emitted a fragrance that was too sweet and unrecognizable.
“I do not care,” Valerio replied impatiently. “We do not have time to coddle her. We need answers.”
Clay clamped his mouth shut. Shula grew annoyed. She didn’t like the fact that he was bullying Clay or her. She didn’t appreciate the way he was treating her, kidnapping her and forcing her into this safe house.
She pressed her palm against the blade, drawing strength from it. “I’m not going to give you anything until you give me answers, too.”
Valerio’s jaw clenched tightly, and she wondered if he was contemplating striking at her.
You can try,her gaze said.
“Fine.”
Keeping her satisfied smile to herself, she demanded, “Who are you?”
“You’ve already met Ryker Valda.” He nodded towards the scarred man, who she refused to acknowledge. “And Clay Valentino.” Clay gave her a finger wave. “This is Uric Adriel Nova.” The silver-white haired Fae glared at her. “And I am Valerio Ashera.”
“And we are the Resistance,” Clay added.
Valerio closed his eyes and let out a breath of exasperation. “Stop calling us that.” When he opened his eyes again, he looked straight at Shula. “We travel Illyk looking for Fae in need of help and offer them sanctuary.”
She swallowed. To think there were more. Shula had all but written them off as extinct.
“Why were you being held at the temple?” Valerio asked.
Memories came flooding back at the mention of that horrid place. Not that they’d ever been far away, but just mentioning them out loud made the air escape her lungs. Shula saw black spots behind her vision, and when she opened her mouth to reply, nothing came out. Panic set in her gut and she remembered the pain of water burning a pathway down her throat. The symbols on the ground, the iron nail driving into Brother Lara’s throat, blood coating her fingers…
She suddenly felt suffocated, like she was drowning, like she needed air and she couldn’t get any… She was dying. She was…
A strong hand gripped her chin, hauling her gaze up into a scarred face. “Breathe,” Ryker whispered. Magic glowed from his hand and spread over her. She wanted to jerk away, but she was hypnotized in his bicolored gaze and the intensity there. He wasn’t showing emotion, not exactly, but there were a million words and sentiments in the depths of those two-colored eyes.
Suddenly, she felt revitalized. She gasped, inhaling a sharp breath. The moment her lungs opened and her panic abated, Ryker dropped his hand and staggered backwards, clutching a big hand to his chest. He let out an animalistic growl and barreled past Shula and away from the clearing, panting as he went.
“I—is he okay?”
