Chapter 22

Béke Day Five

Thirteen males waited for us in the cave where Izidora had been chained. Drazen and I had rushed from the strength competition to move them while the streets were still packed and Fae and Félvér busied themselves with food and drink. These thirteen were all pure-blooded Iron Fae, and I had no qualms about killing them – not that it would have stopped me had they been Félvér. These males had raped and scarred my mate, and they would not live to see another day.

Under the cover of darkness, Izidora and I slipped from a hidden exit of Ryza Citadel and onto the streets of Radence. The night air was like a slap to the face, and I knew without a doubt that by the time we returned in the morning the ground would be covered in snow. The cloak I had gifted Izidora was pulled tightly around her, the rare white fur trapping every bit of heat she needed to stay warm.

Maybe I should see if Rares has a way to fix that rib of hers that always aches in the cold.

"Let me know if you need to stop and warm up, sprite."

Her aquamarine eyes shone up at me from beneath the steel gray hood of her cloak. "I'll be fine. Where are we going anyway?"

I steered her down a side street, toward a nondescript building a dozen blocks away. "Do you trust me?"

She stopped in her tracks, somewhat hidden in the shadows between two stone buildings. "You're making me nervous. What is going on?" She chewed on her lip while she waited for my reply.

I cracked my neck, then blew out a long, slow breath. "Do you remember my first promise to you?"

Her brows furrowed as she stared up at me. "That you'd spend the rest of your life making up for the pain I'd endured?"

I nodded. "This is one of those ways I am making it up to you." I snatched her arm and continued leading her toward the building. "But I need you to trust me. I know this isn"t going to be easy for you."

That thread that tied us together hummed at our proximity, but I wanted her closer. I wanted her to know I would burn this fucking world down for her, and that she was the light in my life. But before the night was over, she was going to descend into the dark with me. Our inner demons would be let out to play, and Izidora would reclaim some of that power that had been stripped from her at the hands of those males.

The arm I was holding onto drifted from beneath her cloak to wrap around my waist, and I released it, pulling her closer instead as we neared the building. "I love you, sprite."

"I love you, Ruslan." Her voice was as soft and silky as the open sky above us.

The heavy iron doors were unlocked, and I pushed one open a crack, just enough to allow Izidora and myself to slip through them into the darkness beyond. Izidora threw bubble lights into the air, and they scattered, illuminating the space around us.

The entrance to the tunnels beneath the Iron Realm looked like any other warehouse in the city, save for one key difference – an intricate metal box in the center of the space holding a wheeled contraption on rails.

"What is that?" Izidora breathed, circling the box, her curiosity piqued.

"It's a cart like the miners use to enter the mountains in the Iron Realm, but this one has been modified to carry people instead of gems. It has straps so you won't fall out when we move with magic," I explained, joining her beside the cart and placing my hands on her shoulders. She leaned into my touch, and my heart leaped at her affection.

She was so close to accepting our mating bond.

"And where does it go?"

"To Vasvain."

The air around us dropped a dozen degrees, and Izidora went deathly still and utterly silent. My keen Dragon sense picked up on her racing heart, and the scent of her fear filled my nostrils. I spun her to face me, then crouched down so we were at eye level. Her beautiful jewel-like eyes were wet and filled with trepidation, and the shallow rise and fall of her chest showed me exactly how close she was to falling apart.

"Vasvain?" Her voice was barely a whisper, and her pink pout began to tremble.

My hands massaged her shoulders as I tried to soothe her. "When we face our fears, they no longer have power over us. That is where true freedom lies, in the space after fear." A lone tear fell from her eye and trailed down her cheek before I caught it with my thumb. "The first time I saw that spark of fire in you, I wanted to grow it into a wildfire that consumed everything in its wake. Day after day, I've watched you step into that inferno and stoke it even higher until you've become a force to be reckoned with."

She drew a serrated breath. "So we're going there so I can face my fears?"

"Izidora, we are going to return to Vasvain so you can reclaim all the power you lost at the hands of the males who abused you. I tracked down every last one of them, and they await us in the cave where you were chained, ready for you to kill them."

Her mouth popped open, and she blinked at me for a few moments before regaining her composure. "You really did that?"

"I would do anything for you, sprite. I'd burn this whole fucking world down to avenge you and enjoy every moment of suffering I inflicted. You are everything to me, Izidora, and I fucked up by not checking on you all those years you were kept there. But now, I get the pleasure of helping you become powerful on your own, so you never have to suffer at the hands of another male again."

The words poured out of me with such conviction that Izidora threw herself into me as they dried up, her mouth more desperate for mine than I'd ever felt before. I welcomed her touch, her tongue, her nails scratching my scalp as she arched into me, needing to be closer. I unclasped the cloak from her neck and let it fall to the floor alongside mine, keeping her warm with my body heat as I crushed her against me. The scent of her, the feel of her, the taste of her, was enough to drive any male mad, but I would gladly lose my mind if it meant her being mine.

Izidora pulled away, breathless, pupils blown out as she stared up at me. "I don't have any weapons."

"I have everything you need already there." I nipped her bottom lip as I kissed her one last time, then directed her to the cart. She hopped onto one of the front seats, then looked at me expectantly. The wood was smooth beneath my fingers as I climbed in beside her, pulling a fur over our laps. I strapped both of us in, ensuring the blanket was secured too, before tapping into the well of black fire that slumbered in my chest.

"It's a long journey, and we need to move quickly. I know you don't like going fast, but I promise I've got you." Draping an arm over her, I pulled her into my chest. Her arms circled my waist, and she leaned into me a moment before I lowered us onto the track beneath the city.

The metal rails lined up with a loud clack, and all that was in front of us was darkness. "If you want to throw up your bubble lights, you can. It might give you something to focus on as we go. Ready?"

"Ready," she breathed, her petite body tense against mine. A halo of little white lights surrounded us, brightening the space and revealing two parallel lines that seemed endless as they disappeared into the distance.

"Hang on," I warned, then pushed my magic out, sending us flying down the tracks at a breakneck pace. Izidora released a small scream, but as the moments passed and we did not crash, she quieted. My thumb stroked her shoulder as I held her, and I did not object to how tightly she clung to me, her small hands fisting my clothes and gripping me like I was her lifeline.

The pace was too fast for us to speak, wind whipping in our eyes and ears as we rushed beneath the earth. After a few minutes, other tunnels began to flash by on our left and right, leading to other parts of the Agrenak Mountains. The Iron Realm had been preparing for a continent-wide war since the last one, digging this massive network of tunnels that only those gifted with earth magic could use.

And the other realms had no clue.

Within a few days, tens of thousands of soldiers could travel from the Iron Realm to the outskirts of the Crystal Realm, Night Realm, and Day Realm, with dozens of caves dug into the deepest parts of the mountain range filled with supplies and places to rest and recover. The cave in Vasvain where Izidora was kept was one example of this entire hidden network.

There was no doubt in my mind these tunnels would be put to use in the coming months, especially if Izidora chose me. Kazimir had tried and failed to win her back, and after his display over the last few days, I knew he would wage a war merely because he needed to feel like his dick was still big.

Izidora's empath magic could have swayed the rulers of the Crystal and Day Realms to our side without bloodshed, but Kazimir and the Night Realm's obsession with my mate would leave rivers running with blood across északi.

The lack of a communication network across this vast continent would make surprise attacks easy for the Iron Realm, and we'd be able to wipe out entire armies before they knew we were already upon them. Once Izidora and I were installed as rulers over all of it, the Félvér, Telivér, and Fae of all races would be free to live where they wished, and with the powers of the Mages, I'd be able to seamlessly communicate with all the nobles across the realm, keeping the peace from the palace I'd built for Izidora.

Lights in the distance signaled our arrival at the first stop where we'd need to change tracks toward Vasvain. I slowed our pace until my ears echoed with the silence of the lonely mountains. Izidora's small fingers untangled themselves from my clothes as we crawled to a stop. She shook out her hands as I lifted mine to manipulate my magic, guiding the square of earth beneath the cart to turn before rolling the cart forward and resetting the stone. Eternal flames burned around us, magically enhanced to never go out, and I allowed Izidora a few more moments to gather herself before pushing down the next set of tracks.

"How far do these tunnels go?" she asked, her eyes wandering over the rough stone tunnel and the torches that cast deep shadows around us.

"Everywhere under the Agrenak Mountains," I replied, easing us forward and allowing her to ask the questions I knew still swirled in her beautiful brain.

My curious little sprite.

"Really? How long did it take to build them?" She tucked a lock of chestnut hair behind her ear as the wind whipped it about.

"Nearly a century." I wrapped her up beneath my arm again and turned up the speed.

"And I'm assuming the other realms have no idea?" she shouted, her words ripped away by the roaring of the wind as we flew along the tracks.

I nodded, increasing our pace. Izidora's white bubble lights winked out, bathing us in black before she brought them back to life, making them dance in the darkness in front of us. Those pinpricks were our only guide, and it wasn't until more eternal flames appeared in the distance that anything other than Izidora's light and the endless void filled the space around us. Slowing once more, we rolled to a stop in the middle of an open space. The area on either side of the tracks had been carved high and wide with enough space to fit several hundred soldiers. Off to one side, pushed against the stone, there were a few carts like the one that ferried us here, and next to them was a pile of unlit lanterns and sacks of grain.

On the opposite side, a heavy iron door waited, silent and solemn. It was as if it too knew the magnitude of this moment. After all, it had witnessed me and Drazen drag Izidora's former captors, in chains, from these very tracks to the peak of the highest mountain in északi.

I parked the cart on the tracks, since we'd be using it again to return to Radence, and hopped over the side, reaching my arms up to lift Izidora from it. Her nails dug into my shoulders as she balanced herself against me, and when I placed her gently on the ground, she did not release me immediately. I slipped my hand in hers, giving it an encouraging squeeze as we walked toward the looming door. The smell of her fear increased with every step forward. Fear was not the only scent that filled my nostrils; excitement blended in, creating an intoxicating mix that pulled a smirk to my mouth.

I flattened my hand on the smooth metal, and with a scraping groan, it slid open, revealing the slab of stone that would carry us thousands of feet upward. We paused on the threshold, and beside me, Izidora sucked in a shuddering breath.

Turning to her once more, I leveled a serious gaze on her. "These males will not hurt you, Izidora. I will be with you the entire time. You are not alone, and you will never be alone again. It's time to be free."

Izidora nodded once, a firm, determined gesture. Then she braided back her hair, revealing her bright, aquamarine eyes that held so much love. She was the most exquisite female I'd ever laid eyes on, and in that moment, a fire burned in her eyes that made me proud to be her mate.

"I love you, sprite. Step into the darkness with me."