35. Rowan

Chapter 35

Rowan

M y chest seizes as I stare down the shaft of the crossbow, its deadly point aimed squarely at Kai’s heart. Collin's face, once so familiar and comforting, now burns with a toxic mix of triumph and self-righteousness that sends tendrils of fear through me. Kai tenses, his arms still full of a trembling Ellie, and his attention on the auric steel.

If the mercs dipped one set of arrows in poison, they probably dipped them all. That weapon in Collin’s hand, it’s more treacherous than even he knows.

“Collin, what are you doing?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

His brows narrow, a cold smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Stopping a trio of traitors and deserters, it seems."

Kai shifts, trying to put Ellie down behind him, but Collin swings the crossbow to track Kai’s movement.

“Don't even think about, well, whatever it is you are thinking,” Collin orders Kai. “You might have had the rest of the Spire fooled into worshiping your perfection, but I’ve always known better. And it seems I was right, doesn’t it? ”

"You don't understand," I plead, my palms slick with sweat. "We weren't deserting. We were just-"

"Just what?" Collin interrupts. "Accidently lost your way? Were always intending to head toward the Eryndor forces and not away from them? Do you truly imagine I’d not figure out what you and Ellie were up to? One thing about you, Ro, you’ve always been predictable. Soft hearted.” He jerks his chin toward Kai. “Now golden boy here coming with you?—That’s something I didn’t expect. To be honest, your cunt isn’t so exciting as to risk all this for. I guess Grayson here is more desperate than I gave him credit for.”

A growl rises up Kai’s throat, but he doesn’t dare move. None of us do.

“You know what the commandant might do to Ellie, Collin,” I say softly, trying to ignore the sting of the words he’d just thrown at me. Collin was always jealous. Possessive. Prone to say things in the heat of the moment and smart enough to know exactly which words to weaponise. But beneath that, he was never truly unreasonable or heartless. Just volatile. And he’s always cared about me, in his own way at least. I draw a breath, leaning into that bit of truth. “I need Kai to help me get Ellie safely away from here, and then we’ll return. I mean, where else am I going to go? I’m an alchemist and my entire life is at the Spire. My mother is the commandant and my aunt is the queen of Eryndor. It’s not as if I’d ever dreamed of doing anything with my life but keeping us safe from the fae and their draken beasts. There is just nothing to be gained for anyone by Ellie suffering.”

Collin shifts his weight, the severed shackle chains clanking dully. I guess I’d done a better job on his chain than I thought. He certainly had me try working the iron a lot, and it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Especially with Collin helping me with my migraines, using his magic to help keep me together. We’d not become friends again over the past few days, but we’d been… allies. I thought we still were.

“You know me, Collin,” I press. I can tell he is thinking. Thinking is good. Thinking is better than reflex condemnation we can’t turn back from. “Can you really imagine me deserting? Really. Can you? ”

Slowly, Collin shakes his head.

I let out a slow breath but don’t dare move. We are on fragile ground. “Exactly.” I give a soft, self-deprecating laugh and touch my scar to remind him of my past. Our past. “Plus, you of all people know how much I hate wolves.”

“You wouldn’t commit treason,” he acknowledges after a moment. He takes a step closer but the crossbow never wavers. "But you are good at lying to yourself. At finding a justification for whatever it is you want to do—even when deep down, you know it’s wrong. But yes, I don’t think you are truly trying to desert.”

“I’m glad. Thank you for?—”

“- So here is what I’ll do for you,” Collin continues, interrupting me once more. “We are going to turn around and go to the commandant together. Tell her you and I were in this together all along. I'll vouch for you, keep you safe."

“In what together?”

"Grayson is literally carrying a would-be deserter in his arms. Hells, he might have convinced her to go. Certainly she’d have never turned thought into action without him. Grayson is a traitor. And we will turn him in as such.” Collin lifts his face, the moonlight catching the fiery resolve in his eyes. “Think of it. The two of us together bringing in the Spire's golden boy, unveiling him as a deserter. Two enchanters. Star crossed mates. There is a poetic justice in it, actually. And Ellie?" He shrugs. "I suppose, if she is that important to you, you can say that she was Grayson’s hostage. No one would question it, not given their size difference."

Bile rises in my throat as I realize he is serious. No, not just serious, but eager. Just the anticipation of bringing Kai down is intoxicating him.

Kai rocks back on his heels, opening his mouth to speak, but Collin jerks the crossbow in his direction. "Not a word from you. We can bring you in alive or dead just as easily.”

I swallow hard, my mind racing. "Collin, please. You know this isn't right. We've known each other since we were children. This isn’t right. This isn't you. "

“It is right,” he snarls. “It’s the truth.” He draws a breath, as if to summon patience that has been strained too thin. "This is our chance, Ro. Don't you see? We could have everything we've ever wanted. Power, respect, each other."

He steps closer, close enough that I can feel his breath on my face. His free hand comes up to brush a strand of hair from my cheek, and I flinch at the contact. Beside me, Kai goes rigid, but he's helpless to intervene without risking Ellie or me. My breath stills, a chill rippling across my skin, as if the temperature has plummeted in an instant.

In the distance, swords continue to clash and an owl hoots an angry call. Beneath that, beneath the sound of my own pounding heart, I swear I can hear the low, menacing growl of a wolf stalking between the trees. I shudder.

“You don’t have to be scared of me, Ro—I forgive you,” Collin says. “Your fling with combat grunts?—it’s water under the bridge. You were stressed and impressionable, and they had you trapped. I’m not angry with you anymore. I… I love you too much to stay angry at you. Maybe that’s my fatal flaw, but there it is. Whatever happened before doesn't matter. We focus on now. On our future. You and me.” Collin murmurs the last words as he trails his fingers down my neck. "Just like we’ve always been.”

I try to pull away, but his grip shifts to the back of my neck and tightens painfully.

"Collin, stop,” I pant, gripping his wrist. “I don't want this. I don't want you."

His eyes flash with anger, and suddenly his mouth is on mine, his lips crushing against my own. I struggle against him, but he's stronger, his hand now tangling in my hair to hold me in place.

I bite down on his lip, hard, and he jerks back with a curse.

"You ungrateful little bitch," he snarls, his hand shooting to my throat, fingers digging into my flesh. His grip is punishing, bruising me as his hand tightens around my windpipe.

Kai tosses Ellie to the ground and lunges forward, but Collin swings the crossbow back to him. Right into the middle of his chest. "I said don't move! "

Tears leak from my eyes, blurring my sight. I tear at Collin’s hand with my nails, leaving bloody gashes, but he doesn't even flinch. The world narrows to his snarling face, the bruising pressure on my windpipe, the growingly agonizing fire in my chest.

Just as the forest starts rippling at the edges of my vision, a massive shape bursts from the trees. A wolf, large and furious, leaps into the air and comes down on Collin, its powerful jaws clamping down on his arm.

Collin screams, the crossbow falling from his grip as he's dragged to the ground.

I scramble back, my heart pounding so hard I fear it might burst from my chest.

The wolf rakes his claws over Collin, shredding flesh and spraying blood.

Collin's screams turn guttural and wet as the wolf gouges deep furrows from Collin’s brow to jaw, destroying the once handsome face.

I jam my fist into my mouth, biting down on my knuckles to keep from screaming or running or doing anything to attract the beast’s attention. My heart races, bile surging up my throat.

Just as I'm certain the wolf is about to rip Collin's throat out for good, it releases him and steps back with an angry growl. There is a bright flash of light and suddenly there is no wolf. Instead a fae male stands in its place, chest heaving and hands dripping crimson. “I promised Rowan that she will take you down,” the male snarls down at where Collin struggles to crawl to safety. “That is the only reason you still live. So she can be the one to end you.”

The male turns, his honey golden eyes catching the moonlight.

Logan.

I step back, only to hit a hard chest as a hand comes to cover my mouth. “Don’t scream, chaos,” Kyrian whispers into my ear. “Please.”