Page 39 of A Sword of Ice
He groaned, letting that strength take space at the forefront, even while he was consumed by ever-growing rage. The ice broke apart, showering around him like crystalline sparks. He stood and whirled, a growl rumbling deep in his chest. His canines snapped and he tilted his face up, nostrils flaring as he scented his prey.
He was a hunter, and he would find the Elemental.
The angry part of him made him want to make her pay.
An even bigger part of him wanted to see what else the Fae was capable of, because Julius liked his women strong, with a cold bite of fury. Women who could take him down with a single burst of magic.
Or a well-placed kick to the dick.
His rage and amusement swelled in equal measure as he turned and followed after the two women. He went after Shula’s familiar scent of fire and confection and the newer, more pleasant scent of apples and mint and ice, and the sound of their clashing raw magic. Of fire and ice warring against one another as viciously as enemies. The two women groaned and cried out as they were blasted back from the collision.
Shula fell to the ground, and so did the other Fae, but she recovered first, standing and watching Shula warily.
Then Shula stood, lowered her hood, and began to speak.
“We’ve been looking for you.”
Julius made himself known, walking up behind Shula. And for a moment, the beauty in the ice Fae’s expression halted him. It was gripping, hypnotizing, and a sliver of magic burst through his chest, through his soul, and nestled inside. It became something primal, demanding. Something he’d never thought he’d feel yet recognized right away.
A wildness like the drumbeats and dancing of the little people of the wood he used to revel with in his youth. This was that same adrenaline-filled feeling, and he couldn’t hold back the single growl that rumbled in his chest or the savage thought that ripped straight through his mind.
Mine.
* * *
Ice clashed against fire,and the ice didn’t melt, and the fire continued to burn.
The raw magic of Mana burst through Shula’s veins, and when it collided against a strong line of ice, all she could feel was aconnection.One so fierce, it made her knees tremble and her lip quiver. And it made her strong too.
She hadn’t understood what it meant to be an Elemental in this capacity. Not until she had another one so close. Because she felt something like instinct kick to life inside of her. Something fizzled between their strands of magic, and the proximity made her feel strength eddy inside her.
And then it exploded and Shula fell back, colliding against the ground. The breath whooshed out of her on impact, but she scrambled to her feet, trying to appear the picture of calm. As calm as the Elemental Fae across from her evidently was.
She wasstrong. Not strong because Shula was close. She seemed powerful enough all on her own that for a minute, self-consciousness threatened to overwhelm the fire Fae, but she pushed the insecurities away and tilted her head up. Her fingers went to her hair, pushing the strands away from her ears so the pointed tips were visible.
Dark eyes flicked to them for a brief second before settling on her face again. There was a sort of fascination in her gaze and a challenge.
Shula stepped forward cautiously. “Hello,” she said. “My name is Shula Azzarh, and I’ve been looking for you.” She heard Julius’ steps behind her and amended her statement, “We’vebeen looking for you.”
“Why?” the Fae demanded. Shula didn’t know her name, but she suddenly felt a flicker of admiration for her because of that tone and her ferocity alone.
“Because,” she replied. There was so much she could say. So much she wanted to say. So many words that she wished had been said to her but hadn’t been. And what came out of her mouth next wasn’t what she’d meant. They were words she regretted almost as instantly as she said them, if only because she had mocked Clay for them, and she knew he would mock her as well. “We are the Resistance.”
21
Mates
Iona stared at the two.
Fae.
She should have realized the hulking, handsy stranger was Fae, but his ears were hidden behind flaming hair. He was too big to be human, and he’d obviously broken out of her ice somehow, something very few would have been able to do unless with the aid of magic or superior strength.
As for the female, Shula Azzarh, she was an Elemental. Iona could feel their connection like a vital thing, flowing between the two of them. Evenso, even when all her life she had thrown herself into executing the will of Mana and following her own gut instincts, she was reluctant.
If only because the Fae male was staring at her like he meant to devour her whole.
“The Resistance is dead,” Iona declared. Her voice didn’t tremble, but her mind was a maelstrom of thoughts. “I should know. I watched them fall.” Right before she’d left the chaos of a lost battle, led to a boat to get her race to safety. Right before the accident, followed by the storm that swept in and she was swallowed by unforgiving wet arms that had deposited her right here in Teg.
