Page 65 of A Sword of Ice
Her eyes widened as she realized what happened. Her familiar was communicating with her. Tears prickled behind her eyes, but she forced those away. Her palms came down against the sides of his face and she pressed her forehead to his.
“It won’t happen again. Ever,” she vowed.
He rumbled something that sounded like approval or contentment. She didn’t know. Because Shula was rushing into the cage, her eyes wide. “Time to go.” Her chest heaved with every breathless word.
Iona turned and found the distraction of Clay and Julius was being broken up by soldiers. Soldiers wearing the colors of the Emperor of Illyk.
“Fuck.”
“Yeah,” Shula said, hand clamping down on Iona’s. “Fuck. We have to go.”
She tugged her out of the cage, and Iona could feel her familiar following behind. Iona dug her heels into the ground, abruptly stopping Shula in her tracks.
“Julius—”
His howl came a moment later. It was a sound of rage and pain. And from where she stood, she saw clearly how the hood of his cloak slipped, revealing his face. His ears.
A hush seemed to collectively settle over the crowd. Everyone stopped, frozen. And then, Clay lowered his hood as well, revealing a feral, beautiful grin that matched Julius’.
As one, the humans charged, encircling Julius and Clay, drawing their weapons and sneering at their ears. Weapons clashed, and they were swallowed up by the crowd.
Panic and rage swelled inside Iona. “We have to help them!” She started towards them, but Shula yanked her back.
“That wasn’t part of the plan,” she said. “They can handle themselves.”
“Fuck that.” She pulled herself from Shula’s hold and started to run. Just as Julius broke through the throng of humans with a beastly roar. Limbs and blood flew through the air as Julius tore through them with his bare hands.
He was like a boulder, a force of pure strength and fury busting through flesh and bone like he was breaking through brick or her ice. The humans seemed to realize just how dangerous he was, because some fled. Those that didn’t charged for him.
Someone snuck up at his back but suddenly Clay was there, lifting his palm up. Iona held her breath and watched blood explode from every orifice of the human.
A shower of gore rained down like a geyser and when Clay turned, she could see the blood dripping from his own eyes and nose. He was the perfect picture of violence and wore a smile so at odds with that destructive power that Iona couldn’t help but laugh.
But just as a single wave of attacking humans ebbed, another took its place. They charged, quickly overpowering Julius and Clay.
Her feet flew across the ground as she dove into the fray. Elbows and the slice of swords met her. Her magic shot through her veins like a jolt and she unleashed it. Ice rose from the ground in jagged spikes, splintering everyone apart, piercing through bodies like blades. The air was filled with the scent of blood and the crying groans of the dying. Her magic gave the Fae a moment of reprieve, and Julius’ green eyes met hers from across the deadly, glittering beams.
More people herded around them and a certain thrill pressurized through her body, an adrenaline and a bit of fear. But she faced it side by side with her mate. With her friends.
And when the humans charged, she didn’t feel afraid. While their swords slashed through her clothes and the iron singed her skin and blood stained against her coat, she was not afraid. Even when it seemed hopeless. They were encompassed, just the three of them. Clay’s eyes cried blood until he wobbled on his feet. Julius’ rage was blinding, making him useless in fighting strategically.
Where were the others? The thought flittered through her mind like a vicious song, a prayer that a moment later went answered.
Humans screamed as licks of fire cut through the spaces between their bodies, the heat blasting them away like an explosion. The flames burned bright in colors of red and green and purple. There was a roar, familiar, recognizable, and the thrill of bonds deeper than Iona itself. The bonds of familiars. Of mates.
Of Elementals.
Shula stepped through the flames, her entire body glowing scarlet like rivers of lava threading through the blood in her veins. She looked formidable, and a surge of pride welled through Iona’s chest.
The fire parted and Iona’s familiar tore through the crowd, reaping his own vengeance against the ones that had taken him. Blood and magic flew, and Shula stepped beside Iona. Their magic combined in a single swell of power, ready to be unleashed.
A portal opened behind them, Valerio peeking his head through.
“Time to go,” the Seelie Prince commanded. Then he was grabbing hold of his cousin by the back of the collar and yanking him through the portal. Julius shouted at her to follow. Iona was aware of her voice screaming at her familiar to get inside. Only when he did, did she turn to Shula. Together they nodded.
Together, they jumped into the portal.
And together, their magic exploded across the entire island.
