Page 97 of Oath of Betrayal
‘Orm … the crystal, I can feel its power. Please help me focus. I need to control the aether, but I feel so tired.’ Not waiting for a response, my hands danced in the air, creating the pattern Alaric had taught me. The shards vibrated on the ground, and a vortex of energy followed my stream of consciousness. I saw the small pieces leave the ground and fuse with the main crystal, but something felt wrong, tainted.
The crystal was being drained of its aether, weakening it, but I didn’t know how to break the link. I couldn’t get a grip on it, though I still tried yanking the thread of magic while it resisted me. Worse still, the aether defied my manipulation, and even with Orm’s help, my concentration slipped, my power erupting in a blinding burst of energy.
The chamber trembled, loose rocks and dirt falling around us as a wave of magic rolled through the air. Then the magic died down, and the crystal above me dulled. ‘I can’t,’ I murmured as Orm caught my shoulders, preventing me from falling. ‘No one can fix it.’
‘You tried, my love, but some things are beyond even your control. We will try again, maybe with Alaric, but right now, we need to go home.’
We chose the corridor that didn’t smell rotten, but it was a slow journey. Initially, I was too weak to stand, and Orm had to carry me. The further we went, the more damage we encountered. Roots punctured the walls, dry husks of once majestic trees. Many of them broke when Orm, with his bulky muscles, forced his way through several times. After an hour, wereached a rockfall that blocked the passageway; only small gaps remained, letting in little light and fresh air.
‘Now what?’ he asked, finally putting me down. ‘Now you’ll see what elemental magic can do,’ I told him with an exhausted smile, feeling like I’d aged a century in a single day. I dug my hand in between the roots and soil and the aether flowed through me as I reshaped the ground around me. The rocks shifted, following my unspoken command. Then, the light grew bright as the broken roots and rocks began disintegrating.
Soon, the debris gave way, dust streaming past us as I funnelled it behind us. I raised my face to the light, enjoying the rays of the evening sun that kissed the horizon before I stepped through the hole.
We were free, but the feeling of utter failure was overwhelming. I’d harboured hopes of fixing the Barrier, but now I knew nobody could. Even if it wasn’t my fault, it didn’t make me feel any better.
‘Vahin? Where are you?’
I hoped he wasn’t too far away to answer. We were much further west than I’d expected, but I could see the Rift and hoped the dragon could hear my thoughts. When a roar shattered the silence, I winced.
Orm sighed. ‘I’m blaming it all on you, my love. I will crawl through mud and worm shit for you, but I am not listening to the cranky old bastard tell me off.’ I sighed, knowing exactly what to expect, and as soon as he landed, Vahin didn’t fail to deliver.
1.Vile— female demons that mainly occupy marshlands and forests; can be dangerous for those who enter their territory.
Vahin berated me all the way back to the fortress. We learned that the other riders had returned after dealing with the spectrae, and during our time underground, Vahin had stayed close to the entrance and flew above it to keep an eye out for danger. He hadn’t worried at first, but when he’d been unable to warn Orm of a small landslide near the chasm, he’d landed and begun searching for us.
After that, Vahin had soon realised that the tainted aether and thick layer of earth blocked his thoughtspeech. Once he was done roaring to the heavens that I was an irresponsible woman with a death wish, he decided that if I worried him like that again, he would never take me anywhere or, even better, lock me in his lair until I grew wiser.
Orm was as silent as the grave during the entire exchange, only squeezing my hand in sympathy and smiling when I bent to press a kiss to my scaly Anchor’s neck.
‘I’m sorry. You know I love you and would never worry youon purpose. The situation just got a little out of hand,’ I said with complete honesty because, although Vahin’s berating was slightly amusing, the genuine fear hidden in the dragon’s heart was not.
‘Our connection will increase your lifespan. It’s difficult to extinguish a dragon’s flame, but none of that matters if you continually throw yourself at monsters, begging them to eat you.’
‘I know, but I had to try, especially when I saw the Barrier crystal. It wasright there. To not try would have been criminal. Vahin, I was so close. If I’d had the right—’ I stopped, realising that nothing would have changed the outcome, and leaned in to kiss his neck again. ‘I’m sorry.’
When we approached the landing field, I could see Alaric pacing back and forth. His relief was evident on his face when he saw the landing dragon, and as soon as Vahin had folded in his wings, Ari rushed towards us.
Before he had a chance to speak, I placed my hand on his chest. ‘Please, don’t. Vahin already told me his thoughts on my actions. Can we meet in my room later? In about an hour? We need to talk, but first I have to get this worm shit off me.’ I shuddered with disgust.
The dark fae turned towards Orm with a deep frown on his face. Unexpectedly, my tired warrior embraced him, pressing their foreheads together. ‘What the hell happened?’ I heard Ari ask, but I was moving away too quickly to catch the rest of the conversation.
‘Sweet mother of gods, what happened to you?’ Katja’s voice focused everyone’s attention on me. The passersby had already been sneaking looks, but my friend’s shout gave them an excuse to openly stare.
‘You should see the other guy,’ I said, hoping she wasn’t stopping me for long because my knees were threatening to give way, leaving me to sleep in the middle of the path.
‘What other guy? Were you wrestling in the mud? You look half dead.’
‘Katja … it was just a rough day on patrol. I’ll be fine as soon as I wash this crap off.’ I sighed, but she already had me by the elbow, dragging me off to the castle baths. I didn’t have the energy to fight her. With Agnes’ help, she had me naked and neck-deep in bath water before I had time to even open my mouth.
‘Katja, you are a miracle worker,’ I moaned, half asleep as the pain in my tense muscles dissolved. I could finally think clearly, even if my thoughts were a little sluggish, thanks to her dainty fingers massaging my scalp. ‘You don’t have to do this. The bath was more than enough. Whatever you mixed into the water is far better than any magic,’ I murmured with my eyes closed. When her fingers stopped, I smiled in gratitude.
‘Would you deny me the pleasure of making you feel good, Domina?’ a decidedlynon-feminine voice asked.
‘What the—how did you get in here?’ I turned around to mock glare at Alaric, ruining the effect with the biggest grin.
‘Katja was needed in the infirmary, and Agnes … I kindly asked her to leave,’ he said, resuming the sublime massage.
I lost track of time, drifting off into the sensual pleasure of Alaric’s fingers as they melted away every thought and care in my mind. I moaned quietly when his hand slid down my spine, pressing into a painful spot that suddenly eased under his touch. ‘Do something that wonderful again, and I will Anchor you on the spot. What did you press on? My body suddenly feels all tingly.’
