1. Zephyr

1

ZEPHYR

The acrid stench of blood and feathers fills the air as I tear through another Strix, its dying screech piercing the night. But I barely register it. My gaze scans the sky frantically, searching for any sign of Adelaide. The chaos around me fades into the background as I focus on finding her, my heart pounding with a fear I have never experienced before and didn't know was possible. I fear one thing. One man. My father. So this is… new and irritating as fuck.

Gone. She's gone.

The realisation hits me like a physical blow, and for a moment, I can't breathe. Rage and fear crush my lungs, squeezing out every last shred of air left, threatening to tear me apart from the inside.

How could I let this happen?

I was supposed to protect her. It was the one thing I swore to myself I would do, and I failed spectacularly. The self-loathing that washes over me is almost paralysing.

It freezes me.

I replay the moment in my mind, seeing Adelaide lifted into the air by these fucking monstrous creatures. The look of terror on her face, her hand reaching out to me as she was carried away. I should have been faster, stronger. I should have done more.

The full weight of the darkness inside me roils, begging to be unleashed. It whispers promises of vengeance, of tearing apart anyone who dares to touch what's mine, because Adelaide is mine. But that will level this university to the ground, and that is something that will get my arse kicked all the way back to the Dark Fae Kingdom, where dear old dad will rip my skin off in strips.

"Zephyr!" Corvus's voice cuts through my spiralling thoughts. He's beside me in an instant, his fangs bared, and clothes splattered with blood. His eyes are wild, a mirror of the panic I feel. "Where is she?"

"They took her," I snarl. The words taste like filth. "These fucking Strix snatched her and took off with her."

I see the same fear and rage I feel reflected in Corvus's eyes. For a moment, we're united in our desperation, our need to find Adelaide.

"Why are they still here?" Ignatius appears, a wall of flame clearing a path through the chaos. His eyes are wild, reflecting the inferno around us.

"Good fucking question," I grit out, glancing around, but I can see they are in a holding position now. Not attacking unless attacked. They are keeping us here.

Zaiah materialises next, his expression completely shattered. The djinn's white eyes are clouded with worry, his form shimmering with barely contained power. "I can't sense her," he says, his voice tight with worry. "It's like she's been blocked."

"Or dead," I say without thinking.

Corvus shoves a hand hard against my chest. "Don't. Just fucking don't!"

But it's hard not to.

The implications of that send a chill racing through my already icy blood. Someone beyond powerful is behind this. Someone who knows exactly what Adelaide is. The thought of Adelaide in the hands of someone who wants her power and who might exploit it, makes me feel physically ill.

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to think past the panic and rage.

"Where the fuck are the senior staff?" I mutter.

"Another good fucking question," Zaiah spits out.

"And where are the Order?" Ignatius adds, absolutely fuming. Like, literally. He has smoke coming out of his ears.

"Corvus," I say, ignoring them. "You need to get airborne. See if you can spot where they took her."

He nods, understanding the gravity of the situation. "Way ahead of you." Without another word, he shifts, his form blurring and shrinking until a bat takes wing, soaring into the sky. I watch him go, a part of me wishing I could follow, to search the skies myself. But I know my skills right now are best on the ground, in the forest where nature is my bitch.

I turn to Ignatius and Zaiah, seeing the same panic in their eyes that I feel. "We're going after her on foot. I can track her through the forest using my magick."

"Lead the way," Zaiah says, his form shimmering as he prepares to bend reality to his will.

Ignatius nods. "Whatever it takes," he says, his voice uncharacteristically grim. That sends an even bigger gust of fear blowing over me. He can usually find the best of a bad situation with his eyes closed in that peppy, upbeat way of his.

Could really use some of that right now.

"Let's go." We plunge into the dark forest, the sounds of battle fading behind us. With every step away from MistHallow, I feel weird, conflicting emotions. Relief to be actively pursuing Adelaide, but fear of what we might find.

I reach out with my senses, feeling for any trace of Adelaide. It's like trying to catch smoke with my bare hands, elusive and frustrating. All I know is she went this way. But they could've ducked and weaved and turned back on themselves at any point. There is nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Yet.

As we move, I remember Christos's words. Vesper. He knows exactly what she is, so if he does, so do others. This situation has gone from extremely bad to potentially worse. My soul aches, knowing she is lost right now. I hate it and like it at the same time. When did she become so essential to me? Well, that's easy. The second I laid eyes on her in the library. I knew it in my blood, in my essence. She is mine. Ours. The thought of never seeing her again, of failing her, is more than I can stand, and it makes my skin itch.

The forest grows denser, older. The trees are ancient, their gnarled branches reaching out like claws. An oppressive silence falls over us, broken only by the crunch of our footsteps.

The Fae part of me recognises this place, feels the old magick that permeates the air. It's wild, untamed, dangerous. Under different circumstances, I might have revelled in it. Now, it only serves to heighten my anxiety.

Suddenly, I feel a shift in the air. A familiar energy that makes my skin crawl. I hold up a hand, signalling for the others to stop.

"Watch out!" I yell, just as a group of vampires melts out of the shadows, their eyes glowing with bloodlust.

"What the fuck?" Zaiah hisses, his hands already weaving complex patterns in the air to dispel any magick that comes our way.

I don't hesitate. The darkness inside me surges up, and for once, I let it. Shadows coalesce around my fists as I slam into the first vampire, feeling bones crunch beneath my knuckles. The violence feels good, an outlet for the storm of emotions raging inside me.

Ignatius roars, a tornado of flame engulfing two more vampires. Their screams are cut short as they're reduced to ash. The fire elemental's face is a mask of fury.

Zaiah's magick warps reality around us, trapping another vampire in a pocket dimension. The air shimmers and bends, the unfortunate vampire's screams fading as they're pulled into nothingness.

But more keep coming. They're relentless, driven by a fanatical loyalty to whomever their master is. It could be anyone, but vampire followers usually means a vampire master…

"Fuck," I mutter as I dodge a set of razor-sharp claws, a chilling thought occurs to me. "Randall Black."

"What?" Ig shouts as he slams a flame into another zealot. "Are you sure?"

"No, but…" A vampire attacks me from behind, jumping me and trying to break my neck. It won't kill me, but it will irritate the fuck out of me, and it will hurt like fuck. I slip out of his grasp and into the shadows, watching him fall to the ground in a clumsy heap before Zaiah tangles him up in wisps of smoke so that Ignatius can blow him up.

But for every vampire we take down, two more seem to take their place. They're like a hydra, endless and overwhelming. We're powerful, the three of us, but even we have our limits.

"We need to end this," I growl, feeling my control slipping. The darkness inside me is clawing to get out, but I know I'll take half the forest with me. This plane, this semi-earthly plane, isn't designed for the full strength of my power. "Now."

I reach deep inside myself, tapping into the wellspring of Dark Fae magick that is my birthright. It responds eagerly, surging through me like a tidal wave. The air around me grows heavy, charged with power.

"Duck!" I shout to Ig and Zaiah. That's all the warning they get.

Then I let it all go.

A wave of pure darkness erupts from me, washing over the clearing. It's like a piece of the void given form, absolute and all-consuming. The vampires caught in its path scream, their bodies disintegrating into nothingness. Trees wither and crumble, the earth shrinks away from the touch of my power.

And this isn't even a quarter of what I can do.

For a moment, I lose myself in it. The darkness is seductive, whispering promises of more power, of vengeance against those who took Adelaide. It would be so easy to give in, to let it consume me entirely.

But Adelaide's face flashes in my mind. Her smile, her laughter. The way she looks at me like I'm more than just a prince of darkness. It anchors me, pulling me back from the chasm.

When the darkness recedes, only the three of us remain standing. Well, I'm standing. Ig and Zaiah are somewhere. The clearing is decimated, looking like a scene from the apocalypse.

I sway on my feet, momentarily drained.

Zaiah and Ignatius pop out of a pocket dimension, probably the safest place for them, and look around.

"Whoa." Ignatius steadies me, his touch searing hot. The difference to my cold power is disconcerting. "Zephyr, man. You slayed."

I snort, already pushing away from him. "No shit." There's no time for weakness, not when Adelaide needs us. "We need to keep moving."

Zaiah approaches. "That was intense," he says.

"Let's hope we don't need to see it again," I mutter, already focusing on picking up any trail that might lead us to Adelaide.

The forest seems to close in around us, shadows deepening. I can sense the land is conspiring against us, trying to keep us from Adelaide.

But I won't let it. I won't let anything stop me from finding her. She's become a light in my world of shadows, a beacon I didn't know I was searching for until I found her.

And now she's gone, taken by forces we don't fully understand. The thought of her alone, scared, hurt, angers me that someone dared to take her from me.

"Hold on, Adelaide," I whisper into the darkness. "We're coming. Just hold on."

As we push deeper into the forest, I make a promise. I will find her; I will save her, and anyone who stands in my way will face the full wrath of the Dark Fae prince.

Because Adelaide is mine.

And I protect what's mine.