Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

I wound through the sky on my windrider, dodging blasts of ice and water, dropping below a blue Pegasus who charged through the sky with his horn dipped low towards me and whirling around to hound after him instead. The horse-like creature kicked out with his hooves and his feathery wings beat against the violent storm of wind that twisted around us.

My blood lit with the thrill of the hunt as the Fae in Pegasus form whinnied in alarm, the woman riding him shifting in her saddle and drawing back a bow.

She balked as she met my stormy gaze, recognition flaring in her expression before she let her arrow fly.

I jerked aside, the arrow skimming my cheek so closely that I felt the brush of the feathers lining its shaft as it carved through the air past my ear. I drew a dagger from my belt and flung it, catching the rider in the throat and grinning wickedly as she clutched uselessly at the wound.

She began to topple sideways and I shoved to my feet, balancing on the thin body of my windrider and urging it to move faster.

I leapt from the saddle, crashing onto the Pegasus's back and causing him to neigh furiously as I lunged for the rider, catching her hand just before she could fall from the sky towards the chaos of the fighting below.

Her eyes widened, some form of gratitude forming there even as she choked on her own blood, dying at my hand. I reached out and snatched the blade free, yanking it sideways and letting her blood spill over my hands and the flank of the Pegasus before releasing my hold on her and thrusting her from me.

I tipped my head back, breathing a prayer to Aquarius in thanks for the offering of blood before reaching for the hum of Ether which flowed through all things in this world and beyond.

The raw power of the universe spilled through my bones as I formed a connection to it, a heady breath rattling my lungs as I offered up the blood I'd spilled as sacrifice. Power consumed me, the rush of dark magic sinking into my veins, making me ache with the need to release it.

I spun the dagger in my grip, my other fist tight on the saddle as the Pegasus bucked and thrashed beneath me, throwing himself into a roll through the air in an attempt to knock me free.

I clung on, bracing a boot on his wing as he spiralled and raising the dagger again.

I drove it down, aiming for the space between his ribs where I would find his heart, but he shifted before I could land the blow, his wild whinnying becoming a stream of curses as he returned to his Fae form, naked and wild with fury.

We plummeted through the sky, our bodies colliding, his fist slamming into my jaw and wheeling my head aside with a ferocious strength.

I swung my knee into his side, my hair whipping around me in a cloud of pale pink, the strength of our collision forcing us apart as the ground rushed nearer.

"Eat dirt, you unholy bitch," he snarled, shifting twenty feet from the ground, his Pegasus form returning and his wings snapping wide so that he could catch himself on an updraft and save himself from death.

I threw my arms out, whistling sharply, my life racing down in a count of seconds before the roar of my windrider filled my ears, the magical contraption bound to me, linked to my magical signature - the essence of who I was as a Fae - and chasing me through the sky.

I slammed into it, cursing as my grip slipped and the breath was driven from my lungs by the hard metal of the contraption, but I held on, throwing my leg over it once more as I directed it towards the stars again.

My head whipped around as I locked my focus onto the blue Pegasus, now charging at a legion of Skyforgers as they descended from Ironwraith and I hurled my dagger after him, striking him in the flank.

He whinnied in agony, wheeling around, and I fought to keep my gaze locked on him as my veins burned with the flood of blood magic which was still desperate for a point of release.

The wound became a target, his blood a magnet for my dark power of Ether. I threw my hand out, drops of the blood I'd spilled flying from my fingertips and speeding across the sky towards him.

The moment they met with the wound on his flank, my breath stilled in my lungs, my connection to his power complete and his end written in the stars themselves.

I coiled my fingers into a fist and pulled, power rushing through my ears like a building storm which only I could feel, his blood halting in his veins, heart racing in panic as its chambers emptied out until, with a violent crack, his lifeforce was wrenched from him and was sent careering into me.

The rush of pleasure that spilled through me at his demise was blinding, a moan of ecstasy rolling up the back of my throat as power resounded through my bones before slipping away again.

I blinked, forcing my focus back to my target, my gaze snapping to The Forge ahead of me just as Dalia and Moraine sped through the warring Fae in the sky to re-join me.

"That's it?" Moraine asked, beating her powerful wings, the silver feathers now splattered with blood.

"That's it," I confirmed, leaning low on my windrider and urging it to speed between the bloodshed towards our destination, my bloodlust sated and the point of my mission clear.

Dalia dropped low, a bottle in her hand and a wicked smile on her red lips as she tipped it up and let it fall over the Raincarvers below, soaking them in a highly volatile concoction of faesine and wicker oil before blowing a flame from her lips and letting it fall into the flammable concoction.

She threw me a wink over her shoulder, knowing I was scowling at her without needing to check because I'd told her in no uncertain terms to contain the gifts of her Order form before setting out on this mission.

"If Dragor sees-" I snapped, but she only laughed as my words were cut off by a tremendous explosion as her flame met with the faesine mixture and a cluster of Raincarvers were torn to pieces.

"Dragor sees what he wants to see, Vesper ," she called, taunting me with that name, clearly having heard him growl it into my ear. "You should know that better than anyone. Besides, it's not as if he doesn't know I'm a Chimera – breathing fire doesn't make me a Flamebringer."

I ground my teeth, glancing up at Ironwraith, the enormous mass of land floating far above us, blocking out the sight of the moon and the stars alike. There was no way of spotting any of the Fae who might be watching us from its jagged cliffs, yet in my soul, I felt Dragor's eyes following us.

No. He was watching me . Always waiting for me to fail, for my weak blood to show itself. But I never had before, and I wouldn't now.

I focused on The Forge and pushed my windrider to its limit, dodging through the battling Fae and leading my unit of three towards our target. The Raincarvers had made a mistake in stealing from us and I was here to make sure they never forgot it.

An explosion of ice magic nearly knocked me from my windrider but I swerved, riding the blast of power before lurching back on course and dropping from the sky like a falling star.

Moraine tucked her wings, speeding for the ground, racing me to our destination and cursing as I beat her to it, my heels digging into the dirt to force my windrider to a halt.

I dismounted, Moraine landing beside me, shifting so that her wings disappeared in a pulse of silver light just before Dalia caught up to us, skidding to a halt too.

My two friends drew close either side of me, Dalia brushing the strands of her short, black hair away from her eyes with tattooed fingers before tossing her windrider skyward with a long whistle.

I followed her lead, commanding my windrider to shoot away from me and setting my attention on the looming brick building before us.

The doors were barred against our entry, guards clustered around them, bearing weapons and urging us closer with jeering taunts.

"That's the Sky Witch?" one of them sneered, his gaze fixing on me as I slowly unsheathed my sword and began walking towards them at the front of our group of three. There were ten of them, pity I didn't have time to indulge in a fair fight – it might have been fun. "She's five foot nothing and about as terrifying as-" His mouth fell slack as I stepped into the glow of the bobbing amber Faelight cast above their heads, illuminating my features and forcing his eyes and those of every other Fae surrounding him onto me and me alone.

Lust was such a stupid, fickle thing.

I ran my thumb over the hilt of my sword, feeling for the inverted Laguz rune, shaped something like a number seven, though the angle was far sharper. Madness, confusion, despair. This was my favourite sword for a reason. One cut, one taste of blood for the Ether in payment for the magic and insanity swiftly followed.

"Be mine," one of the guards grunted foolishly, the power of my Order making him dumb with lust. It was the truth of me and yet it wasn't at all – simply what I was beneath the confines of my flesh. Yes, my face was something to behold, my body a model of seduction, and yet none of that should have made Fae stupid with desire. The power which caused their minds to fog was all in my blood – the blood of a Succubus, a master of temptation.

I smiled at him, a pretty, wicked smile which I followed with a savage swipe of my sword the moment he took another step.

The spell broke like shattered glass, the Raincarvers flinching out of their stupor, but I was already among them, swinging my sword and cutting them open. Two fell dead instantly, three more took wounds which began to fester. I called the dark magic of Ether to me again, feeding the taste of their blood to Laguz, the rune drenching itself in the sacrifice I offered and turning them against themselves.

I lurched back as an axe swung for my throat, ducking beneath the blow and swiping the legs from beneath a female who screamed like a banshee as she fell.

The sharp hiss of three arrows flying in quick succession announced Moraine's involvement in the battle, three Fae falling dead before knowing what had killed them. And then Dalia was there as I threw myself onto the Fae I had taken to the ground.

She drove a punch into my side, hard enough to make bones crack, and I hurled my forehead into the bridge of her nose, shattering it with a spike of victory. She swore wildly, hot blood spraying us where Dalia danced between the Fae standing over our battling forms, cutting and slashing with her blade, carving them open and moving too fast for them to return the wounds.

One fell as the Fae I grappled with struck me again, his blood splattering me, though I didn't flinch.

I dropped my sword, my opponent too close to make use of it, her fists driving into me with brutal efficiency.

She threw her weight to the side, rolling us as I snatched a dagger from my belt. Her fist collided with my face, cracking my skull back against the ground, but my dagger had made it to her chest in the same moment.

More bodies fell around me as the Raincarver blinked down at me in horrified realisation of her own demise, her life slipping from her in a breathy exhale while I watched the light fade from her eyes.

"So slow tonight, V," Dalia taunted, grabbing my forearm and heaving me upright, the body of my kill toppling to the dirt with the rest of her unit.

I scoffed lightly, pushing to my feet, reclaiming my sword and turning to the entrance to The Forge. One of the guards I'd cut with the power of Laguz was throwing his head against the heavy door with a series of sickening thumps, the madness sinking deep within his bones.

I stalked towards him, grasping the back of his fighting leathers and whirling him around to face the fighting Fae at our backs.

"Go kill something," I purred, pointing at the closest unit of Raincarvers. "There's a good boy."

I shoved him away from me, not bothering to see if his insanity had accepted my suggestion as I shoved my blood-slick hair away from my face. I shouldn't have left it down for the battle, but I was addicted to the feeling of the wind racing through it and I didn't care for much else in this wretched world.

"Is he here?" Moraine asked, stepping forward to work on the door.

"Yes," I replied, lifting a hand to the vial of blood which hung from my neck, the few drops warm within my fingers, urging me on. The spell I'd cast on it would lead me directly to the man who had bled to fill the vial and there was no doubt in my mind that he was contained within the bowels of this building now that I stood before it. "The tip off was good."

I ignored the relief which settled over me at that fact. Dragor's fury would have been beyond compare if the Fae we sought wasn't here after all of this effort had gone into retrieving him.

"Wait," a male voice called out from behind me, and I turned, my sword raised for a fight, though I lowered it a fraction as I found a Skyforger hurrying to join us. "Prince Dragor said you were in need of my help."

The man was brutishly tall, his body powerful beneath the tight-fitting battle leathers, dark hair falling forward into his eyes which blazed with a darkness that instantly put me on my guard. He was dangerous in all the ways that counted, and I immediately disliked him as he spared me little more than a glance before looking to Moraine and Dalia. There weren't many Fae who could dismiss me so easily on first sight and though sometimes I loathed the way idiots fawned and panted for my attention, I found I disliked it more when my allure failed to draw a reaction at all.

"We need no help," I sneered, bristling as he drew closer, his height imposing, presence domineering.

"No offence, but I don't answer to the Sky Witch," he scoffed, the title I'd earned in fury and bloodshed sounding like a joke on his lips. "I answer to the prince."

He finally looked to me again, turning his head so that the glow of the Faelight still blazing above us illuminated his features and I blinked at the sharp cut of his jaw, the strong brow, the blazing, honeyed brown eyes which seemed to grab hold of me and lock me in place.

My lips parted on a jagged gasp which I cut short with a force of will, blinking again as I reminded myself that a face was only a face. I, of all people, knew that beauty should be nothing to covet for beauty's sake alone.

"What are you?" I spat, my eyes roaming over his features, hunting for flaws that weren't there. He was…breath-taking.

His gaze skimmed over me briefly before turning away again.

"Not interested," he replied, and my cheeks burned at the flippant dismissal. He hadn't even paused when seeing me for the first time – a feat not many Fae could claim, thanks to my nature.

"I mean your Order," I snarled, suspecting an Incubus because what other than a creature designed for sex and lust could look like this god of a man?

"Well, that's classified, sweetheart," he replied, stepping forward to take over from Moraine who had drawn her blade and abandoned the door.

"The fuck did you just call me?" I growled, tightening my grip on my sword.

"Who are you?" Dalia demanded, and he offered her a dark smile before throwing his weight against the door and smashing the damn thing open.

"Cayde Avior," he replied, his name ringing a bell, though I was certain I'd never laid eyes on him before. I wouldn't have forgotten.

"Well, Cayde ," I snarled. "This is my mission, not yours, and I don't need your fucking help." I shouldered past him and he let me, a low laugh following me into the darkened interior of The Forge.

"Just following orders, sweetheart. Go ahead and pretend I'm not here if it makes you feel better."

I was really fucking tempted to stab him for daring to use that pet name with me again, but a resounding boom sounded from within The Forge, jerking my attention back to my task.

This asshole wasn't worth me risking Dragor's wrath, and if the prince felt the need to check up on me, then I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of finding me lacking.

"Done," I growled, jerking my chin at Dalia and Moraine so that the two of them fell into position on my flanks, and I swept away into the warmth of the building, leaving Cayde to follow or fall back. I didn't care which.

I ground my teeth as I fought to ignore the sting of anger which nagged at me while Cayde's footsteps trailed us into the darkened building.

I paused at the sight of a set of large, double doors to our left which clearly led into the main portion of The Forge but as I wrapped my fingers around the vial of blood at my throat, I found myself drawn right instead.

A narrow staircase stood there in the shadows, the pull of my blood magic telling me that the Fae we sought was down them.

I took the flight of stone stairs which curved away below the building, delving beneath the workspace which I assumed lay through the doors on the left.

Cayde's presence was like a nagging wound to my pride which I fought to ignore as he continued to hound us through the shadows. Dragor hadn't shown this level of mistrust in me for years. What had I done to make him doubt me?

I chewed on my tongue, my fist so tight around the vial of blood which hung from my neck that it was a wonder the damn thing hadn't shattered. But the magic held true, my footsteps unfaltering as I descended the stairs. It was so hot in here that it became harder to breathe, the blazing furnace of The Forge leaking heat into the walls and thickening the air to the point of stifling. The lands of Stormfell to the north were never hot like this and I found myself missing the crisp air of my homeland as we moved further into the muggy space.

"This way," I muttered, a shriek echoing up from the dark passage which ran beneath The Forge, urging me on.

The walls were tightly packed, the thin corridor only wide enough to allow us to walk in single file, metal doors marred with rust lining the wall on our left.

Dalia and Moraine moved into tight formation at my back, and I refused to so much as glance around at Cayde as he continued to follow us into the dark, though I could feel his eyes pinned on me.

I halted sharply at a door which was almost impossible to spot in the gloom, nodding to Dalia as I hefted my sword and braced for a fight. She threw the door wide, and I spat a curse at the sight revealed in the greyish light of the room beyond.

There was Ford – the asshole I'd been sent in to retrieve, covered in blood and strapped to a table like a fucking slab of meat.

"Dead?" Moraine hissed, her fear only apparent to me because I knew her so well.

If we had failed in retrieving him then Dragor's wrath would be swift to follow our return.

I swore, sheathing my sword and striding into the room, sparing a glance for the vials and vials of venom which had presumably been taken from Ford before he'd died. Basilisk venom to be precise, potent and deadly, a biological weapon coveted by all sides of the war.

He was one of ours, but he'd been kidnapped almost a month ago, our spies unable to locate him until now.

"Fuck," I cursed, reaching the near-naked Fae and pressing my fingers to his throat so I could be certain.

My gut coiled with a fear I refused to admit to myself as I thought of what Dragor would do when he found out I'd failed.

"Warm," I gasped. "Thank Libra – he's alive!"

"No shit," Dalia breathed, hurrying over to help me cut him free.

Ford groaned as I rolled him over and slapped him hard enough to force his eyes open.

"We're here to get you out," I growled, making him look at me. "You'll be alright."

One look at the wounds carved all over his body made me think that wasn't so likely, but all I needed was for him to stay alive until we made it back to Dragor. The Reapers could fix him if they agreed to do so, and the prince held enough sway with them that there was a good chance they would.

"The pain," Ford hissed, reaching out and grabbing the front of my fighting leathers, his eyes not seeming to really see me. "I need the pain."

"I know," I replied tersely.

Basilisks replenished their magic through pain and they needed magic to produce venom, so it wasn't hard to figure out what had happened in this room.

"They milked me dry," he wheezed, clinging to me so hard that his weight threatened to topple me. "Teats and teeth and cock."

"Gross," Dalia said, and I shot her an irritated look.

Yes, it was fucking gross, and he was currently hanging from my neck like a star-damned necklace.

"You," I snapped, turning to glare at Cayde who was casually leaning against the doorframe, watching our interaction. "Put those muscles to use and carry him."

"Are you going to say please?" he drawled, not moving an inch.

"How about I carve your balls off and make you eat them if you refuse?" I hissed, jerking free of Ford and drawing a dagger.

"Now, now, play nice, sweetheart," Cayde said, his tone anything but threatened and I bared my teeth at him, taking another step his way.

"V," Moraine murmured, so low it was hardly audible, but I heard the warning.

I didn't make idle threats, but this asshole was here on Dragor's command and I did answer to the Prince of Storms.

Cayde stalked past me, a breath of amusement slipping from him before he hauled Ford's half dead body into his arms.

"The teats," Ford whimpered, clutching at his nipples and making my upper lip curl back with distaste.

"Let's just get him the hell out of here," I commanded, turning my back on all of them and striding into the corridor once more.

I almost slammed straight into a figure who lunged from the darkness, a black mask pulled low to conceal his face, pitch black eyes widening in surprise as he jerked away to avoid the collision. I swear there was a glint of red in them for a moment too.

"Raincarvers," I barked, informing the others who were still trapped in the room at my back, unable to make it around me as I raised my sword.

"Wrong," the man growled, recovering faster from the sight of my face than most managed and swinging a blade at me so quickly that I almost didn't parry it in time.

"Is that the Sky Witch?" another male groaned from beyond him, but I couldn't spare the moment it would take to look away from my opponent as he swung for me again with another savage strike of his blade. "I'd fuck her so good that she'd never look at another-"

I flung a dagger, hitting the stupefied asshole in the thigh and making his declarations fall away to cries of agony while the bastard fighting me swung for my head with enough force to rattle my bones as our swords collided again.

The corridor was tight, too narrow to allow either of us the room we needed to fight effectively, and I was forced to block and parry far more often than I should have liked. This motherfucker was one hell of a fighter, a true challenge that I relished meeting.

Dalia, Moraine and Cayde with the barely conscious Ford in his arms made it into the corridor as I forced my opponent back, but there was no room for them to join the fight.

I twisted beneath my attacker as he swung for my head again in a furious, brutal strike, using my momentum to slam my boot into his chest and sending him crashing back into his companion who let out a wild curse.

I expected him to lunge for me a second time, but instead he backed up further, yanking something from his pocket and twisting it sharply in his fist.

My gaze caught on it for just a heartbeat but that was all I needed to recognise it.

They weren't Raincarvers. That was a Flamebringer weapon. And I knew exactly what happened when it detonated.

"Run!" I bellowed, turning and sprinting back towards the stairs, the others following my command without question, racing ahead of me as the Flamebringer hurled the device straight at us.

It hit the wall, clattering across the stone floor, the seconds ringing in my ears, the knowledge that it wouldn't be enough time to escape pounding through my skull as I sprinted as fast as my legs would carry me.

" Shift ," Cayde's rumbling voice barked ahead of me.

Dalia and Moraine had made it to the stairs, and my eyes widened as a tiny black snake hurtled through the air after them, launched from Cayde's fist in their direction – Ford in his Basilisk form. It was the smallest size he could take, but I'd seen Basilisks on the battlefield and they were monstrous, as large as a building when they wanted to be.

Moraine caught him, her wild eyes meeting mine as she paused for all of a breath, halfway up the stairs where she might have a chance of survival.

"Go!" I bellowed, my death racing for me, but they didn't have to suffer the same fate.

I was out of time, my fight having drawn me too far in the wrong direction, but they could make it.

Pain ripped through her eyes before Dalia caught Moraine's arm and yanked her away. My one salvation in the face of my death was that the only people I had ever cared for in this forsaken land of war and ruin would survive this.

The device bounced against the floor at my back for the final time and I couldn't help but look around as it exploded, fire tearing from it, filling my vision, the last thing I would ever see-

Strong arms banded around me and then there was nothing but black as I was thrown to the ground, a huge body covering my own, a heated breath against my neck.

The scent of him overwhelmed me, the feeling of his flesh driving mine into the ground awakening every piece of my being. I met his honeyed brown eyes as fire exploded around us, the wild glow of it lighting the corners of my vision, but it couldn't reach us, the darkness that enveloped us somehow shielding us from the power of the blast.

I blinked up at him in shock as I found my heart still beating – racing now as he held me tightly in his grasp and I realised that I wasn't dead. I wasn't even injured.

"What are you?" I demanded for the second time and his lips tilted in a hint of amusement.

"A Drake. Meaning my wings can't burn," Cayde replied dryly. "I guess it's not so classified after all. But you're welcome – you know, for the part where I saved your life."

And without another word, he released me, letting me fall back to the cold, stone floor as he stood and strode away after the others.

I pushed myself to my feet, snatching my sword from the ground and staring at the heaped rubble which now blocked the passage beneath The Forge. I supposed I should be glad that the Flamebringers had only used a conduit filled with a small amount of fire magic – no doubt a larger explosion would have brought the building down on all of us.

"You're marked!" I yelled at the heaped rubble, knowing the Flamebringers would hear me from the other side of it. "Death will find you the next time our paths cross."

"I look forward to proving you wrong – witch!" one of the bastards called in reply, his laughter haunting me as I turned and ran after the others.

We had retrieved our package. Whatever business the Flamebringers had with the Raincarvers, I wanted nothing to do with it. All I knew was that their arrival in this place couldn't be a coincidence and it couldn't equal anything good. So it was time to get the fuck out of here.