Page 93 of Oath of Betrayal
Orm sat down beside me. ‘I was worried. I … I felt your pleasure, only for a moment, but I knew you were with him. Ari swore he wouldn’t pursue the Anchor bond as long as he’s cursed. Nothing else, nothing permanent. It is just a precaution … I made a fool of myself,’ he said, taking my hand and looking at me with a strange expression. ‘How was it … with him?’ he asked before shaking his head and grumbling under his breath. ‘No, forget it. I shouldn’t ask …’
I place a hand on Orm’s cheek, forcing him to look at me. ‘It was amazing, but so different from what we have. Ari is a male of the dark fae. He likes me to be dominant, even a little cruel, and I never thought I would, but I like it, too.’
Orm gazed into my eyes for a long moment before his lips curled into a contented smile. ‘I’m not giving you much chance to be dominant in bed, am I? Maybe it’s good he can give you what I can’t.’
I chuckled. ‘No, you aren’t, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,’ I said, embracing him. I wasn’t happy about this blood oath, but I understood their reasons, and I admired Orm for adjusting to our ever-changing bond. ‘Give me a moment, and I’ll meet you down at the landing field.’
The Anchor bond flared to life as I kissed him, and I felt his emotions wrapping around me like a comforting blanket. Orm was confused and uncertain, but he wasn’t jealous, and I couldn’t help but smile, intending to show him just how much I appreciated his new attitude.
Irushed to the landing field only to find Ormond talking to Alaric. The riders greeted me with knowing smirks as I walked past and I gave them a confused look, wondering at their expressions, until both of my men turned around with smiles that could light up the entire valley.
‘I told you she’d forget.’ Alaric smirked at Orm and I blinked in surprise.
‘Forget what?’
‘A cloak. It may be warm down here, but up in the currents, you will be cold,’ the dark fae said, wrapping a fur-lined coat around my shoulders. Orm turned to me.
‘Are you ready, Ani? The reports say there is a large swarm of spectrae gathering near the Rift, and I had to recall the patrols because of it. I’m hoping the Lich King isn’t using it to sneak more creatures out of the Barren Lands.’
I felt fingers of trepidation squeezing my heart—the last time I dealt with the spectrae, I’d almost died. Now I was headingstraight for them, knowing exactly what we were about to face.
Alaric, the more sensitive of the two, must have noticed the change in my mood because he embraced me before kissing my forehead. ‘I know you can do it, Domina. You have your Anchors and your magic. I’m already proud of you.’ I took a deep breath before Orm pulled me out of Alaric’s embrace and lifted me onto Vahin’s back as he spoke to his friend.
‘We need to go. Please ask Agnes to move Annika’s belongings to my bedroom and prepare the castle for the king’s envoys. We need to keep them ignorant of the upcoming rebellion, so make us look like the Crown’s humble servants.’
I saw Alaric’s expression darken.
‘Why am I moving your things there?’ He looked at me, but it was Orm who answered.
‘Because Annika told me she wanted that and … you are welcome to join us,’ he said curtly. Alaric’s throat bobbed while he looked back and forth between me and Orm. I smiled, reaching out from my space on Vahin’s back.
‘It would make me very happy.’ We leapt into the air, leaving Alaric behind with a baffled expression, and as soon as we were beyond earshot, I asked, ‘Are you sure?’
‘No, I’m not, but we are heading into a war. I may lose men today, and I thought that if fate doomed me to die tomorrow, I wanted to make sure I at least tried to make us happy. I hope it will work, but I can’t guarantee anything.’
‘I don’t want you doing something you aren’t ready for,’ I said, leaning back against him, and he sighed, kissing my cheek.
‘I won’t know if I’m ready until I try. All I ask for is a little understanding if things don’t go as we hope.’ I nodded, and we spent the rest of the flight discussing the formation patterns I’d worked on with his riders yesterday before we drifted into a comfortable silence.
I welcomed the change of scenery that riding Vahin brought. As I admired the mountain views and enjoyed the wind in my hair, Orm organised everyone into formation. We were closing in on the Barrier, and I could see the complex weave of its construction, including the strange purple lightning intended to prevent foul magic from crossing. However, the normally opalescent and semitranslucent curtain was so dull that even if it was still working, there was no doubt its magic was fading faster than any of us were willing to admit.
I’d never been so close to the Barrier and seeing the ancient creation of the archimages, even in such a state, was awe-inspiring. My gaze drifted to the wound in the fabric of the Barrier; the rift I’d created by collapsing the mountainside onto the wlok had so clearly sped up the deterioration of the spell. Then I noticed a golden dragon flying towards us—and I didn’t like his rider’s grim expression.
‘Sir, we need to abort this patrol. The swarm has doubled in size since yesterday and more are coming in from the other side of the Barrier. Two of our dragons barely escaped trying to assess their numbers.’
‘Doubled?’ Orm’s body tensed behind me, and I felt him tilt his head as he planned a new strategy. ‘Did any of the swarm try to move further towards civilisation?’
‘Yes, a few, but their drift patterns suggest they are waiting for more to arrive. The area they cover has already widened, and the Rift is essentially inaccessible, but we burned the few strays that headed towards the villages.’
‘We may need to break up the swarm and tackle them in smaller groups.’
‘Orm, you can’t break up the swarm unless you sacrifice dragons,’ I said, and he nodded behind me. ‘I know, but I can’t let the spectrae move deeper into the kingdom. People in thevillages have no protection and no weapons to fight the greater Vella. Fuck, I’d hoped I wouldn’t lose men today.’
He shook his head, and I remembered how distraught he was after the rarógs’ attack. ‘I think it is time to see if I’m as good as you think I am.’ I said it with a bravado I didn’t feel and I was proud that my voice didn’t wobble. Inside, I was terrified, but it wasn’t the time to show it.
‘Whatever happens, Little Flame, we will get through it together, and I will help you with my fire.’
‘I’m scared, Vahin. Last time I didn’t care. I was ready to die. But now I’m not and if I can’t control it … if I lose my grasp on the aether …’I shivered before a wave of calm washed over me. ‘Stop calming me, you big dolt. I have to learn how to handle this,’I told him, but Vahin didn’t listen.
