Chapter Thirty

B efore any of us can get to him, he’s crashing into the stone base of the cavern with a groan, and the Void beast stands over him, mouths open, ready to take a bite.

No, he is MINE! I will not fucking lose him! I feel the wind whip around me as my magic fills the air, and my eyesight sharpens even further to the point where I can see better than if it were daylight.

“Stop!” I yell, “do not harm him. He is mine!”

To my utter amazement, the beast stops just short of taking a bite out of him and lifts its massive heads up to me; its eyes meet mine, and there’s an intelligence in them that is far more than a mere beast. It completely ignores Storm as it steps over him and makes its way toward me with slow and careful steps.

Storm groans as he moves his head, his face scratched and bloody thanks to the fall and yet he still tries to pull himself up as he sees it approach me.

“Farren,” his painfilled voice comes out as a croak as he reaches a hand out for me, still trying to move his broken and battered body in my direction.

“It’s okay. I promise,” I tell him and then search for Loki, who looks like he’s seconds away from coming for me. “Fix him.”

“It’s okay,” Zev says firmly.

“She’ll be okay,” Killian adds.

I watch as they all reluctantly start to head towards Storm, their eyes moving back to me every few seconds.

My gaze moves back to the beast. It stops only a few feet from me, curls its two front legs and kneels, lowering its head like it’s bowing to me. I feel shock hit me from Killian and Loki and realise I’ve opened up the bond lines. I’m kind of glad that I have though because at least I know that I really am seeing what I am.

Still kneeling, the beast's eight eyes, on both heads, flick up to me, and it whines, regret filling its eyes. I have no idea what’s happening right now, but I’m going with it.

“Can you understand me?” I ask.

It nods slightly.

“Please rise. We aren’t here to hurt you. We want to take you home; I can take you back to the Void Realm if you will allow me to,” I explain, hoping that I don’t have to use short sentences for it to understand me.

“What’s she saying?” I hear Storm ask, and I’m not sure why he can’t hear me, but I am incredibly relieved that he sounds stronger. I desperately want to go to him, but I have to do this first.

The beast nods his heads, and I’m taking that to mean that he wants me to take him home.

“I need to touch you to take you back to the Void Realm. Will you hurt me?” I ask.

It immediately starts shaking its heads back and forth in quick succession, an almost horrified look in its eyes. Well, okay then.

I glance over at the others to find Storm propped up and looking a lot better than he did, thank god. They’re all staring at me in utter shock, apart from Zev and Killian, who have that knowing glint in their eyes.

“I’m going to take him home now. I’ll be back.” I say and then reach forward, to touch the surprisingly soft fur of the Void beast and call my magic forward at the same time to take us into the Void.

I don’t bother waiting for the guys to respond because I don’t want any of them to try and come with me. For now, the beast is being compliant and even apologetic to a certain degree with me, but I have no idea how he would react if any of the others come near us, and I am not risking any of them. The beast may be a victim of circumstance and have suffered abuse in our realm, but if he kills one of mine, then I will not hesitate to kill him, and I do not want that to become an option.

“Wait!” I hear Loki yell, but it's too late. My magic wraps around the Void beast and me and pulls us into the familiar embrace of the Void.

My Void vision, as I’m now calling it, activates, and I’m surprised when I can see the Void better than I have ever been able to. Maybe it’s because I now know that it is actually a Realm and not just something I can travel through, and now I have that knowledge, I’ve been granted the gift to see it more thoroughly.

The landscape is truly unique, I thought everything would just be black and grey, but I couldn’t be more wrong. The plants and trees that we’re surrounded by are burgundies, mustard yellow, deep purple and navy, all dark and rich colours that paint a stunning landscape.

“I cannot thank you enough,” a booming voice makes me jump, and I turn to look at the Void beast, the only creature it could’ve come from, sure my face is showing my shock.

“Was that you?” I ask.

“Yes. I can talk here. I can’t talk in the Fae Realm.” He explains and then bows his head, his eyes sad. “I am so very sorry for what I did to your mate, and I thank you not only for bringing me here but also for granting me the lenience that I do not deserve.”

I decide not to correct him in regard to the mate thing. I did, after all, call Storm mine. “You’re welcome. Everyone deserves a second chance, and I can’t imagine how frightening it must’ve been to find yourself in the Fae Realm.”

He nods again, and howls start sounding through the surrounding forest. Suddenly I find myself surrounded by similar beasts, I remain ready in case they decide to attack, but a small bundle comes charging towards the beast I brought back.

“Daddy!” I hear him call out just before it crashes into his father, and my lips stretch into a broad smile. It’s the cutest fucking thing.

I’m now even more glad that we brought him home instead of killing him; he didn’t deserve that.

“Thank you for bringing him home safe,” a female voice sounds in my head, and I nod.

Watching as they all start to walk away, I’m surprised when there’s a sound of shock before all eight of them, even the pups, turn back to me and drop to their front legs, all bowing their heads. I have no idea how to react and stand in shock until they rise again and all disappear through the forest so that only the beast I brought back is left.

“My name is, Laikynn. I have a feeling we will meet again very soon, Bellator Regina,” he says, with a knowing glint in his eye before he disappears completely.

Why do things keep saying mysterious shit and then disappearing on me before I can ask any of the questions that I’m clearly going to have? I allow my magic to surround me and then step back out of the Void, I need to know they’re all okay, but Storm especially, I nearly lost him.

As soon as I step back into the cavern, I slam my eyes shut, blinking rapidly as my eyes tear up from the sharp sting of the light. I feel magic wash away from my eyes, and I cautiously open them again, grateful when the light doesn’t burn them anymore. Surprisingly there’s only one more witch light in here than there was before, just enough to light the cavern up better.

The horses seem to have made their way down into the cavern, clearly having realised that the fight is over and most likely fed up with being stuck in the tight tunnel leading here. My eyes skip past them and land on the guys, they are all relatively okay, and Storm is even standing up, which means that Loki has worked his magic on him. Relief colours their features as they realise that I’m back, but I have a singular focus on Storm.

My steps are purposeful as I walk straight up to him. At the last second, I change my mind and decide that he needs to be on the same level as me for the conversation, so I jump. His eyes go wide, but he doesn’t hesitate to catch me. My legs go around his waist as his hands go under my arse to keep me up. Surprisingly the others stay absolutely silent.

“Let your wings out,” I demand.

“Farren, I know they remind you of something bad, and I never want to be the reason that you are triggered again. I will regret that for the rest of my life.” He says roughly.

I grit my teeth. My emotions are running pretty fucking high, thanks to the absolute fear of nearly losing him and the fact that it was my fucking fault; I was almost the reason he died, and I am not fucking okay with that.

“Open. Your. Wings.” I growl.

The muscle in his jaw ticks at my tone, “No.”

“Oh shit,” I hear someone mutter.

Irrational anger starts to grow, “Fucking open them.”

“Fuck you,” Storm growls back, his eyes flashing along with his horns.

“Bitch,” I hiss back.

“Erm Farren,” someone tries to interrupt, and I completely blank them. This is fucking important.

His wings suddenly shoot from his back, arching wide, and I wait for the fear that would usually come at the sight of them, especially since he’s angry, but there’s nothing, just awe and an overwhelming need to touch them.

“There!” He yells, “Are you fucking happy now! I didn’t want to fucking trigger you!”

I slam my lips on his, shutting him up before he can continue his rant. He growls, tightening his arms around me as I feel his magic brush against mine in the most delicious way. I loosen the hold on my magic and watch, fascinated as our magics slam into one another, and the Bond I share with Loki and Killian snaps into place with Storm. His tongue dips into my mouth as he kisses me hungrily, and I return it with just as much passion. I've been thinking about kissing him since I first laid eyes on him, and it far exceeds my expectations. My heart is practically exploding in my chest with just how right this feels.

His hands grip my arse tightly, pulling me closer to his stiff cock and making me moan. I want to carry on, I don’t want to stop, but I have something important that he needs to know. I start to pull back and then weave my hands and pull his head back as his lips try to follow; my cheeks hurt from the size of my smile, but I reign it in.

“I am not scared of you.” I say firmly, and the feral look that was in his eyes flees, “you pulled me out of that panic attack. I trust you. Please don’t ever hide who you really are from me, Storm. I fucking hate it.”

He studies my face, and I let all my emotions show and hope he can fucking see them. Finally, he nods, “Are you sure?”

“Fuck yes, I’m sure. I love your wings. You’re right. The first time I saw them, they reminded me of something, and when you approached me angrily in the locker room and your wings came out, it did trigger me. But I know you. I know you are a good person, and I know you would never hurt me.” I glance over his shoulder at his wings, watching them move lazily behind him. “They don’t scare me, and now that I can see them properly, they couldn’t be further from the ones that do trigger me.”

I’m not lying. Storm’s wings are perfectly formed, they’re black, but they have very subtle dark red designs on them, and they’re beautiful.

“Fine,” Storm starts and then his voice gets firm, “but you need to promise me that if they ever do start to give you flashbacks, you tell me before it gets to the point that you can’t.”

“I promise.”

“Are you guys going to come down now?” Rival calls up to us.

I frown and look down, sure enough, we’re at least ten feet up in the air, and I hadn’t even realised, especially since Storm is keeping us steady with such ease. He looks at me cautiously, probably waiting for me to freak out.

My grin is full of dirty intent, “So, do you think you could keep us flying if we were naked?”

He chokes, and we drop slightly as the shock makes his wings stutter. I hear the guys groan beneath us, clearly having heard my words.

I tap Storm’s chest, “Maybe we’ll build up to that.”

He growls and pulls me closer.

“Guys, come on. I want to make sure Farren’s okay myself!” Killian calls up, interrupting, and Storm sighs heavily, lowering us to the floor.

As soon as I’ve stepped out of Storm’s arms, Killian’s tail whips out, wrapping around my thigh and making me stumble into his chest. He pulls me close, burying his head in my neck.

“You scared me,” he whispers, “did you just bond with Storm?”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper back and then add, “and yeah, I’m pretty sure I did.”

“Good,” he replies, letting me go, and I find myself pulled into everyone’s arms. Even Zev pulls me in.

“That was fucking insane,” he mutters.

“Welcome to the team.” I tease.

Storm’s eyes suddenly widen, and I realise that my bonds are open. He glances over at Kill, who doesn’t say anything but just nods, confirming what Storm’s asking him. His eyes collide with mine, and a breathtakingly beautiful smile crosses his face. I guess I don’t have to worry that he will be mad at me for the bond.

My eyes catch on Loki, who immediately started pacing as soon as he let me go. I open my mouth to ask if he’s okay, but he starts talking before I can get anything out.

“What the hell was that?” he asks but carries on before anyone can clarify what he’s talking about; he points at me, “Her eyes were doing that all black and gold thing that happened last time we were in the Void, the wind was blowing around her like she was the eye of a freaking storm, and she said a whole bunch of stuff to the Void beast that I couldn’t understand, but it seemed to and it fucking bowed to her, it bowed to her right?”

“Yes, it bowed to her,” Killian replies, much calmer than Loki.

“I was speaking the same language I did in the Void?” I ask, and everyone nods, “huh.”

“What the fuck was that?” Loki asks again, throwing his hands up into the air.

Killian and Zev share a loaded and knowing look.

“That was the beginning of destiny,” Zev states, and there’s no mistaking the truth in his voice.

No one speaks. Loki’s mouth drops open as he finally stops pacing and just stares, his gaze pinging between Zev, Killian and me.

He scrubs a hand through his hair, “Fantastic, that answer was super mysterious and gave absolutely no answers whatsoever.”

I can’t help but chuckle at the exasperation in his voice. “It’ll all work out, and we’ll know what it means eventually when the time is right.”

“That was very insightful of you.” Reaper compliments, and I grin.

“Alright, we’ll leave that for now.” Storm agrees.

“What now?” Mayhem asks, “what did the scroll say again?”

“The same portal that brought us here should appear and take us back,” Storm replies.

“Thank fuck. I want my bed.” Zev grumbles.

“Whoa, guys, look!” Rival suddenly exclaims, and we all turn to see the green portal finish materialising and the horses calmly walking through it.

We all start to walk towards the portal, and I’m slightly surprised that it hasn’t pulled us in like it did when it brought us here. I suppose that could be because no one will want to try and escape going back to the academy, but some people are likely to try and get out of being pulled into the Warrior games.

I don’t know about the others, but I am more than ready to get back to the academy. I have several things that I want to look into, and I have the fallout from the death of my father to deal with as well. That I’m not looking forward to at all. I highly doubt that he’s left anything to me, which is more annoying than anything else because he has many books that he shouldn’t have, books that were banned or supposedly lost in the wars and ones that, with him gone I could’ve had full access to and maybe even find out some real answers about my gifts.

I’m walking between Rival and Storm, and I try to hold in my reaction when Rival reaches out his hand and threads his fingers through mine, holding them tightly. He and Mayhem are the quieter ones in the group and the ones that I know the least about; I’m going to change that as soon as we get back to the academy, I may not know them as well as I’m getting to know the others, but they are just as important to me. We all need to get to know Zev better, too, especially since he’s going to be coming into the games with us, and I know with certainty that this wasn’t a one-off.

Storm’s wing reaches out and wraps around my shoulder, seeming to be similar to Killian’s tail in their need to touch me whenever I’m near. I’m not complaining in the slightest.

We’re a couple of feet away from the portal, Rival’s horse having just walked through when it snaps shut.

“What the fuck?” Reaper exclaims.

“Did we fail?” Zev asks, looking just as confused, which is not a good sign.

“No, we can’t have. We did it in the time frame, and the Fae Realm gave us gifts to show we were on the right track,” Mayhem frowns.

“That was only our interpretation of it though,” Rival replies.

Before anything else is said, a second portal appears, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

“Everyone back up!” Storm suddenly yells, and we immediately stop our approach. “It’s the wrong fucking colour. It's purple. That doesn’t lead back to the academy.”

My eyes widen, and I find myself being pulled away from the portal by Storm and Rival. Our efforts prove useless though, as we all start to be dragged back towards the purple portal, there’s nothing we can do to stop it, and I feel Storm’s wing tighten around me as my hand grips Rival’s tighter as we finally breach the portal, and I’m blinded by purple light.

We better all still be together when we come out the other side, or heads are going to fucking roll. Fuck.