“Fine, just don’t expect me to save your hide if you fall on your back,” she muttered.
“Same goes for you,” Anjani teased.
“There you have it!” Jax ended the verbal play-fighting, looking at us from beneath long, black eyebrows. His jade eyes glimmered with strength and eagerness to bring down our deadliest foe. “You’re not doing this by yourselves, Druid. We can’t put the fate of our world in the hands of six Druids who probably know ten spells between them, and a sentry. No offense.”
“Oh, wow, none taken!” I replied sarcastically.
“Hey, just looking out for the greater good here, along with your inexperienced asses,” Hansa shot back.
Draven pinched the bridge of his nose, and, for a moment, I thought he was trying to keep himself from bursting out with rage. Until I saw the corners of his mouth pull into a smirk, and I realized he was trying not to laugh. It was a beautiful sight to behold, making my heart swell.
“I’m perfectly fine with that,” he finally said, his voice lighter than usual. “Your assistance will be much appreciated.”
“And needed,” I chimed in, giving Aida and Phoenix a half-smile. I’d hug them later.
The allies all muttered and nodded their agreement.
“We’ll start planning our positions around Luceria then,” Tamara said, glancing at the others.
“Indeed,” Wren added. “We’ll have to agree on who goes where and make sure we cover all angles. That is a big and nasty castle.”
“I have a question.” Zeriel lifted two fingers in the air, looking like the kid at the back of the class who’d been waiting to ask the teacher a silly question.
We all waited for him to go on.
“What happens if we kill Azazel, then?”
“You mean after we kill Azazel.” Jax sneered at him.
“Well, okay, you go ahead and be optimistic.” Zeriel rolled his eyes and mockingly shook his head, prompting Jax to give him a painful nudge in his side. “Ouch! Okay, fine! What happens after we kill Azazel? Has anyone thought about this?”
A moment passed before Draven spoke, running his fingers through his hair.
“After Azazel is vanquished and Calliope is reconquered, the other planets will fall back into place. Once Asherak’s curse is dispelled, the head will fall and the body will flounder,” he said. “We’ll regain access to the passage doors and the other planets. We will take the cities back from whatever opposition we encounter. They will be weak without Azazel anyway or, even better, they’ll recover their Druid form and spare us the trouble of more fighting. After that, we will rebuild Eritopia, brick by brick.”
“Best to leave this part of the conversation for later,” Hansa said. “Let’s get the snake first.”
We all agreed.
Draven then reached beneath the table for a small blade and a porcelain bowl, in which he’d prepared herbs and crystal powders I hadn’t seen before. He placed the bowl on top of the map and looked at us.
“I found an interesting spell while I was looking through the Druid archives,” he said. “A blood oath that forms an unbreakable connection between the members of a group. Up until now we’ve been using something similar but less potent from the swamp witches’ book, to communicate.”
“It’s a telepathy spell, then?” I asked.
“Not exactly, and yet yes, it is.” He smiled. “It’s ancient Druid magic, rather primitive for that matter, but extremely powerful. It establishes a link between individuals’ souls. It will enable us to be aware of each other’s whereabouts at all times, and reach out without any additional spell-casting. It only uses one word. Telluris.”
“Telluris?” Tamara raised an eyebrow.
“Why does that sound familiar?” Phoenix frowned, trying to remember where he’d heard it before.
“You’ve probably seen it on the notes taken from your skin during visions,” Draven explained. “It’s an ancient runic word for ‘allies’. I will need to draw blood from everyone here in order to perform the spell. I call it a blood oath because it requires absolute trust. Should any of us think of betrayal, the others will know. After all we’ve been through with Sverik, I’m sure you all understand.”
The allies looked at each other. One by one, they reached one hand out with the palm up, waiting for Draven to make a small incision and squeeze a few drops of blood into the bowl. He went around the table and got a sample from each of us. He stopped in front of me, his gray eyes dark and hooded.
“It’ll only hurt a little,” he whispered.
“It’s okay.” I gave him a warm smile and put my hand out. I flinched when the blade cut through my skin, but instantly relaxed when his fingers pressed on both sides of the incision and dripped blood into the bowl. His touch had that effect on me. His gaze softened as we looked at each other for half a minute, before he continued preparing the spell.
He dripped his own blood into the bowl before setting the concoction on fire. A bright red flame burst out, and he placed his hand above it.
“Telluris!” he intoned as his eyes glowed red, and a golden light burst outwards from the bowl and washed over us.
I gasped as I felt my whole body catch fire, and looked at my hands and wrists. My veins flickered in an incandescent amber for a split second before I felt my soul bombarded with the presence of others. It was difficult to describe the sensation, but I could tell from the looks on the allies’ faces that they were experiencing the same thing.
We looked at each other for a while, feeling truly connected. I’d been able to get a sense of their emotions before, but they were clearer and louder in my head now. Our souls were truly connected. The blood pact had been made.
“This will protect and uphold the alliance,” Draven said, his eyes flickering black as he adjusted his own body to the connection. “We kick off tomorrow morning. Serena and I will sail to Marton, while the rest of you are to prepare and travel to your agreed upon locations around Luceria and wait for our signal. The same goes for you, Inon.”
The Deargh looked up at Draven, but said nothing.
“I will let you know when to take the volcanoes down,” he added. “Now that we are connected, all I have to do is say the word ‘Telluris’ followed by your name, and I will be able to speak to you directly. The same goes for everyone else here. That is how the spell works.”
We all nodded, and I felt a wave of relief wash over me. We’d passed another major milestone in our mission to take down Azazel. We’d brought the alliance together and established a clear plan of action.
It sounded extremely dangerous, but our chances of success seemed high.
With newfound confidence and strength, I watched Draven as he engaged in different conversations with the allies, answering questions and asking some of his own, making sure everyone knew what they were doing and occasionally glancing my way with an indecipherable expression.
All I had to do was figure out a way to stop Asherak’s darkness from taking over his soul, once we got to that point.
That’s all, I said to myself. Should be simple.
Aida
Once the meeting was concluded, our guests were invited to a late dinner and then shown to their private quarters. The Dearghs were obviously too big for any of the rooms, but they insisted on keeping watch outside anyway, positioning themselves at three key points outside of Stonewall and setting themselves firmly into the ground. They looked like massive slabs of stone, quietly watching over the citadel.
I left everyone in the grand hall to feast. I figured I could use some time alone to process the entire campaign against Azazel, and to adjust once and for all to the idea that those I loved were going to put themselves in harm’s way. As heavy as it weighed on my shoulders, I had to accept that Jovi and Field were strong and brave enough to see this through till the end. If anything, I needed to channel the inner-beast I’d unleashed during our escape from the mansion into a more permanent version of me.
I had to toughen up and?
??
I was suddenly swept off the stone floor, and found myself flying at a low altitude down the wide hallway leading outside.
“What the hell?!” I yelped, then realized Field had flown in from behind and taken me in his arms.
I held on tight, wrapping my arms around his neck as he gripped me close to his chest and shot toward the cloaking spell’s wall. The two little Bajangs I’d run into the other night were waiting there, grinning at us as we got closer very fast.
“Field, what are you doing?” I mumbled, barely able to utter complete words.
If a Bajang didn’t use a drop of their blood to grant us permission out of there, we were going to crash into the cloaking spell’s limestone wall. My heart pounded as the distance between us and said wall got alarmingly shorter with each second.
“Relax,” Field said. “I’ve got this.”
The corner of his mouth twitched, probably in amusement at my alarmed expression. My gaze darted back and forth between his face and the wall.
“Field, I don’t think we can—”
He whistled sharply, once, and the Bajang cubs stepped aside. I held my breath.
One of the kids bit into his palm and slapped it against the wall.
Only a couple of feet.
I nearly screamed, but instantly shut my mouth as the limestone surface rippled and we darted through it, unscathed.
“You crazy bas—” I started saying, but stilled in Field’s arms, mesmerized by the charmingly childish smile he’d put on.
He flew us out of the castle, then shot up and headed for one of the watchtowers in a tight arc. He held me tight, and I could almost hear his heart echoing inside my ribcage as we reached the top of the tower, where dim lights flickered beneath its wooden roof.
He put me down, then leaned against the circular stone balustrade with a satisfied smirk, his black wings retreating beneath his shoulder blades.
It took me a couple of seconds to catch my breath, my muscles vibrating and my legs shaking from the adrenaline. It was like that every time we flew together—not so much from the altitude or insane speeds, but from the proximity of our bodies.
I looked around and noticed he’d prepared a little picnic area in the middle, complete with food he must have snatched from the buffet downstairs, a couple of blankets, and candles. I looked out and took a deep breath, stunned by the incredible view, with the ocean sprawling on one side and the mainland unraveling its meadows and forests on the other side, beneath the night sky.
“I had the cubs waiting by the wall, in case you were wondering.” Field grinned.
“All to give me a good scare?” I lifted an eyebrow at him.
“I asked them if they wanted to play a prank on you, and they jumped at the opportunity. They’re quite obsessed with you, wolf-girl…”
The look on his face stirred all kinds of fires in me, especially a mixture of playfulness and arousal that I hadn’t experienced before. Field had this way about him of leaving me speechless and exhilarated, taking me from one extreme to another and making me enjoy every second of it. If anything, I could feel myself becoming addicted to the walking and talking adrenaline rush that was the Hawk.
“What’s this, though?” I asked, motioning toward the food and blankets.
“Well,” he said with a sheepish smile while scratching the back of his neck. “I’ve never really taken you out on a date. Not a proper one, at least. You know, candlelit dinner and all that. And given that we don’t know what will become of us over the next few days, I figured now was as good a time as any.”
He paused for a moment, his turquoise gaze soft as it settled on my face.
“I’d like to be realistic at this point and acknowledge that we might not make it out of this alive, Aida. And I want to make the most of the little time we have left together before we begin the siege.”
“No, no, no. Out of the question,” I replied, slightly alarmed. “I’m not willing to listen to any of this talk about death and—”
“Aida, listen to me.” He cut me off, taking a few steps toward me until I had to drop my head back to look in his eyes. “Don’t focus on the negative. Let’s enjoy this moment, now. Let’s just be with each other. What do you say?”
His voice was low and soft, making my heart flutter. I licked my lips almost instinctively, and his gaze caught the movement, darkening for a brief moment. I nodded slowly.
“Okay,” I replied. “What now?”
“Now, we eat.” Field smiled and motioned for me to sit.
He joined me, his face just a few inches from mine, and pointed at the blanket rolls on the left.
“We can even sleep here, if you’d like,” he added.
“Under the stars?” I asked, then looked up and remembered the small roof. “Kind of?”
He laughed lightly, beaming at me as he nodded. He looked so beautiful, the candlelight casting its amber glow on his face, accentuating his sharp cheekbones and the blade of his nose.
“Won’t it get cold?” I had no idea where these silly questions were coming from. His body so close to mine made me feel deliciously and hilariously anxious, shutting my senses down and turning me into a shy little wolf-girl who didn’t know what to do with a hot guy she’d been crushing on for years.
His eyelids came down, obscuring his turquoise gaze as it moved from my eyes to my lips, then back to my eyes.
“I can keep you warm. That won’t be a problem.”
And so, my heart skipped a beat and my toes curled in my boots as I found myself speechless before him.
We started eating, as I’d already skipped lunch. We didn’t say much for a while, just occasionally glanced at each other. I felt like I needed to fill that silence with something. The one thing I lacked was the skill to engage in an interesting conversation while being swept off my feet by his breathtaking bluish green stare.
“I wonder what this world will be like once we destroy Azazel,” I said. “Will they return to the old system of Master Druids leading the Kingdoms, or will they rebuild it under a diff—”
He kissed me. His lips pressed against mine and set off fireworks inside my head. I closed my eyes, blinded by the sensation, my breath stuck in my throat. He tasted sweet, with a hint of the fruit he’d just popped into his mouth.
He pulled his head back and brushed my cheek with his knuckles, looking right into my soul.
“Let’s talk about us tonight. You. Me. This,” he whispered. “Our future.”
I blinked several times, my brain refusing to function properly.
“Our future?” I croaked.
He nodded, giving me such a tender look that I feared I would melt right there and never return to a solid form. I sighed, pushing myself to glance into “our future”. What would I do? What were we going to do, once all this was over? Would we stay here, or move back to The Shade?
I had to admit to myself that Eritopia had been growing on me more and more each day. But what would we do here? Back home we had a purpose. I had GASP to focus on. It had been my ethos since I was a kid, watching Field and my brother sparring on the training grounds.
“I mean, what would we do after this is over?” I mused. “I’d see us going back to The Shade, to be honest. But, at the same time, I’m looking around here, at Calliope alone, and I’m thinking they’ll need all the help they can get to rebuild and establish an order. There will be chaos here after Azazel falls. There will be rebels and anarchists, because we both know there were plenty who joined his army of their own volition. Their population has been decimated by the wars.”
I swallowed another morsel of food, then washed it down with herb-infused water, looking up at the little patch of sky visible from where I sat.
“Eritopia’s kind of growing on me, too,” I added.
“You like it here, huh?”
“I think I do.” I chuckled. “Call me crazy, but it’s beautiful, despite the horrors that have befallen it. The hills seem endless. The fruits are absolutely d
elicious. Most of the creatures we’ve met are pretty cool.”
“So how would you see yourself staying here?” he asked, his voice low.
“I don’t know. I mean, I wouldn’t want to be the only one staying. It wouldn’t make sense. But maybe if we open a GASP center here, we could help the Eritopians. Maintain the balance. Bring in some of our technologies and help them move past this dark age they’ve been stuck in for so long. I’m pretty sure their Druid magic combined with our jinn and witches would help them progress.”
He didn’t say anything. I gave him a quick sideways glance and saw him looking at me, his expression impossible to read, glazed in the warm glow of the candlelight.
“We could do a lot of good here with a GASP base. And we’d be able to go back to The Shade whenever we wanted. I’m sure Corrine, Ibrahim, and Mona would figure out a way to make the passage easier. Or maybe the Druid can find a more permanent spell for travel. Or a portal. I don’t know, just winging it here,” I babbled on.
Again, Field kept quiet. I looked at him and felt my core expand, a warm light pouring through my veins. The look in his eyes was so soft. So loving. I exhaled sharply, my ribcage swelling with all the emotions I’d been experiencing toward him.
“What do you think?” I managed to ask.
“I think I’m in awe of you,” Field replied, blinking slowly. “And I think you’d be perfect at running a team of your own if we set up a GASP base here…”
“We?” I echoed, smiling hopefully.
“You didn’t think I’d let you do anything all by yourself, did you?” He cocked his head to one side, an eyebrow raised. I shrugged in response. I needed to hear him say it. “Aida, you’re stuck with me. Sorry.”
I squashed a giggle as he shifted forward, cupped my face with one hand, and took my mouth in another dazzling kiss. We kept our eyes open, gazing into each other’s souls. His tongue worked mine with delicious technique, sending sparks through my limbs as I instinctively moved closer to him. His body heat seeped through me, his spare arm snaking around my waist and holding me tight.
“Field,” I murmured against his lips.