Page 56 of Oath of War
‘You filthy fae bastard,’ Ihrain sneered. Ari calmly walked towards him, stopping only to retrieve his dagger from the dead soldier’s back.
‘I promised you retribution the first time you offended my domina, but I intended to make your death swift,’ Alaric said, viciousness burning with crimson fire in his eyes. ‘Now I will delight in your suffering.’
Gone was the flirty rogue that brightened my day with his throaty laughter, replaced by a dark fae—cruel, vengeful, and deadly.
‘You can’t kill me! Your sister—’ Ihrain’s words turned into an agonised scream when Ari drove the dagger into his thigh.
‘Whatever happens to my sister, you will have no part in it,’ Alaric hissed, twisting the blade. ‘Youwilldie, Ihrain, and it will be slow. Painful. Beautiful.’ His grin was savage. ‘Do you know what’s most interesting about those who enjoy pain? We knowexactlyhow to inflict it without killing.’
‘Ari, we need to question him,’ Annika said, approaching us tentatively.
Alaric smirked, his shadowy tendrils pulling her gently towards him. ‘I don’t need him alive to question him, my Domina,’ he told her. ‘He’s a lying rat who’ll say whatever you want to hear to save his own skin, but the dead can’t lie to a necromancer, and he’ll soon happily answer all of my questions.’
Ihrain howled as Ari twisted the dagger again, the sound tapering into a pathetic whimper. When his eyes began to roll back, he was rewarded with a hard slap across the face, and the former royal apprentice cursed and spat. Tears flowed down his cheek as he tried to crawl away, but Alaric’s magic held him in place.
‘Just kill him,’ Annika said softly, her lips tight. ‘I don’t want ... I know he deserves to die, but don’t play with him. Please.’ Her voice was quiet but resolute, and I noticed her wince as Ihrain’s cries hit a higher note.
‘Why don’t you gather the horses for us, sweetheart?’ I said, giving her an excuse to escape the bloodshed. She hesitated but nodded, walking away.
When she was gone, I turned to Alaric. ‘What are you going to do with him?’
‘Kill him, of course,’ he replied, his voice a mix of venom and dark amusement. ‘But not before I’ve had my fun.’
I frowned. ‘Not when Ani’s watching—’
He placed a hand on my shoulder, his expression softening. ‘Of course not. Scum like him doesn’t deserve to see her face in his final moments. Besides, I need more time than it’ll take for Ani to return to satisfy this need. Once I grasp his soul, he’ll tell me the location of all the portals and traps he set for Annika.’
I nodded. He was right, and I wouldn’t deny him his vengeance. ‘Gag him and make sure he’s secure. We have cells at the mansion. Do it after Annika’s asleep. That will be easiest for everyone.’
Ari smiled, placing a hand on my cheek. ‘I will. I knew you’d understand.’
Ihrain thrashed and screamed as Alaric bound him, gagging him before Annika returned with three horses in tow.
‘Is he alive?’ she asked, frowning at his immobilised body on the grass.
‘Yes, Domina. I apologise for upsetting you. I will take him to the mansion for questioning,’ he said, bowing his head when she approached to pass him one of the horses’ reins.
‘Ari, I know you’re going to kill him. Just be quick about it,’ she said, biting her lip.
I lifted her onto the nearest horse, distracting her. ‘Come, Nivale. Our fae will do what he has to in order to find out what the bastard’s been up to. We have our own tasks—like tending to that gash on Ari’s side. And later, we’ll talk about what I think of him jumping out to shield me with his body.’
Alaric grinned as he mounted his horse. ‘As always, I am at your command, my lord. But—if I may be so bold—I will always shield you from danger. I have claimed it as my right.’ He glanced ahead. ‘Now, should we go home? I’m afraid the longer we’re here, the more likely we’ll have to face an enraged and anxious dragon if he doesn’t find us at the mansion when he arrives.’
I shook my head with a chuckle. ‘Dark fae—all sass and blades.’
Annika’s laughter broke through the tension, and for a moment, the weight of the night lifted.
1.Open.
‘Lord Commander, you’ve received a message from your brother.’
We’d barely stepped through the door to the mansion when the seneschal made his announcement. He extended a sealed missive, and I fought the growl rising in my throat as I glanced at it.
‘Get the baths ready, call Agnes to attend to Lady Annika, and bring us food. Has Vahin returned?’ I asked, the pounding headache in my temples preventing me from asking the dragon myself.
Is Reynard summoning me?I didn’t want to leave the mansion, not with Ihrain bound like festive sausage and Annika falling asleep in my arms. If I read that letter, I wouldn’t have a choice in whether or not I reported to him, so I ignored it for the moment.
‘Yes, my lord,’ the seneschal replied. ‘Your dragon has returned and is resting in his lair. I’ll make the arrangements—’
