Chapter 41

41

RAEGAL

W e shadow weave one by one into the small town of Wymondale in the East District. It's late, but there are still villagers going about their business and stumbling drunkenly out of the whorehouses and inns.

Jasiel and I have barely had chance to speak to each other since he returned from visiting the town in the district where Eretreya's mother was reportedly born. I was eager to know what he'd found out. Right now, however, we have other important matters to deal with.

Our intelligence suggests that the girls are being held in an outbuilding at the back of a woodman's yard. He lives at the outer edge of the village, where it's quieter and the girls are less likely to be seen and heard. On first appearances, he appears a normal law-abiding member of his community, but when you dig a little deeper, you discover he lost his son to our war. His son died fighting for us at just nineteen years old. He also was openly vocal about our presence here in Asen when he'd had a few too many drinks at the local inn. We'd had a couple of our men stake out the yard to watch the comings and goings and to see if they could spot any signs of the girls. They'd had no sightings of the girls, but they had seen various men coming and going from the property. We will just have to trust that our source is reliable and that the girls are here.

We surround the property, camouflaged by the trees surrounding the home and workshop. I reach out my hearing and, sure enough, I can hear two heartbeats coming from the old wooden outbuilding. They beat steadily and strong so it would appear the girls are unharmed. Jasiel signals from across the yard for him and two of his troop to move in closer. He looks over his shoulder and gives me the signal that says everyone is in place and we are ready to strike. A loud, high-pitch whistles rings across the silence of the night and everyone moves simultaneously, some breaking into the house where the rebels are and Jasiel and his men ripping the door of the old outhouse off its hinges and striding inside, their shadow magic ready to attack. A few seconds later, Jasiel sticks his head out of the hut and beckons me over. I move towards the hut and when I enter; I am relieved to see two girls huddled together on a pile of blankets on the dirty wooden floor. Jasiel is crouched down in front of them, talking softly and reassuring them we are here to take them to safety. Knowing they are in expert hands, I make my way to the main house, where my soldiers march a solid man out with a receding hairline and eyes as wide as saucers. They drag him to me and force him to his knees in front of me. I release my shadows, holding them within the palm of my hands, and he gulps nervously. My shadows snake out and wrap around his body, hurling him off his feet and into the air. I pull him closer to me as he fights the tight grip holding him prisoner.

"You will answer for your crimes and then will journey to Shadow Valley for trial." I hiss as he wriggles where he dangles in the air, completely at my mercy.

"Search the place top to bottom for any intelligence," I order my men. The two girls are being given the once over by our healer and Jasiel joins me at my side. They don't look like they've been mistreated, but it's better that we check before we attempt to escort them back to the valley.

"Raegal!" Her voice screams in my head and I stagger back, almost losing my tight grip on the prisoner. "Raegal, I need you!"

I blink as the realisation hits me. I can hear her in my mind. "Cursed gods," I mutter. "Jasiel, take him," I urgently order my friend.

"Everything okay, Commander?"

"Take him. I need to go now. Eretreya is in danger," I inform him as I release the terrified looking woodman from my shadows and Jasiel takes a hold of him.

"How do you know she's in danger?"

"Because she called for me in my mind," I tell him, watching as my words hit home. His eyes flash wide.

"Gods, she is your true blessed mate," he exclaims, the colour draining from his face. "Raegal, you realise what this means?"

"Of course I do!" I snarl. "That my every instinct is to protect her from everything whilst she is the one thing that could finally redeem me in my parents' eyes." I glance around us to make sure none of my men are listening. "She's in danger. I must go to her."

"Go. I'll take charge here," Jas says, ushering me away with his hand. "Do what you need to do."

I waste no more time. My shadows whip around me at lightning speed and I tell my magic to take us to where she is. When my shadows disperse, I search my immediate surroundings. There is no sign of her, but I know she is here. The minute my feet touch the ground, I feel her. I left her in my bed, so how is she out here in the forest between the valley and Hestwalde?

My shadows guide me deeper into the forest and every step I take I know I'm getting closer. I can feel her. Gods, she is my true blessed mate. To be gifted one was a rare and wonderful thing and mine happens to be a possible night blood. The irony.

Mutts. I sense mutts.

I see movement from the corner of my eyes and move in that direction. When I come through the trees into the clearing, I freeze in my tracks, greeted with a pack of mutts. Standing in a circle looking outwards, protecting two slumped female bodies.

Panic races through me when I see her unmoving form. Please be alive. The thought that she is harmed or worse, dead shreds my heart.

Ours . My shadows scream, urging me to get to her as quickly as possible.

The mutts show their teeth and growl at me in warning. They are protecting them. The realisation of what this means doesn't go amiss.

"I'm not here to hurt them," I say softly, holding my hands up to show I have no weapon to hand. "You can smell my scent on her. She is my true blessed mate. I would give up my life rather than see her hurt. Let me through and I can heal her."

The mutts warning growls quieten as they listen to me. I can only hope they understand that I'm no threat to the girls.

"I just want to heal her. I swear, I mean no harm," I say to them, cautiously taking a step forward. When they don't attack, I take another slow step and then another and the larger mutt that seems to be the pack leader lowers his head and sniffs my way. The beasts' nostrils flare as he scents her on my person. "Please let me through to her. I don't want to use force, but I will."

The mutt releases a slow rumble and then, to my surprise, it moves backwards, keeping its eyes on me but allowing me to take a step inside their protective circle. It never takes its eyes off me as I drop to my knees beside Eretreya.

"Eretreya, it's me. I'm here," I whisper as I lift her body from where she lays slumped across Saveya. What in Asen are they both doing out in these woods in the dead of the night? I pull her body onto my lap and search for any injuries. The alpha mutt stalks around the other side of Saveya's body and it nudges her side with its nose and releases a slight whimper.

"Did she get bitten?" I ask, noticing an open wound on her torso.

The mutt lets out a grumble that I take to mean I am correct.

I scan Saveya's body and breathe a sigh of relief when I see her chest and rise and fall. She is alive. I search her body for signs of the venom in her veins, but I can't see any trace of it. The mutt comes round to where I'm holding Eretreya on the ground and it nudges at her hand. I grasp her hand and turn it palm upwards, terrified I'll find a bite wound, but her palm is clear.

"I don't understand," I tell the alpha. "She was bitten, but she lives."

The mutt releases a rumble as if getting inpatient with me and he nudges at Eretreya's hand again, placing his nose against her palm it inhales deeply and whimpers. I take her hand and inspect it again, and this time I hold it to my nose.

"Venom," I say, and the mutt's eyes meet mine and it lowers its head in what I take to be confirmation.

I look from Eretreya's palm to Saveya's wound and my eyes widen.

"She healed her. She removed the venom!" My mouth hangs open at the realisation.

The mutt lowers its head again and backs away slightly, never taking its eyes off me. It looks to Eretreya and whimpers.

"I'll take care of her, I promise," I tell the creature. "She is safe with me."

Satisfied with my words, the mutt sits down beside me and looks at me as if to say, well, come on, get on with it.

I gaze down at the face of my mate, and I'm hit with so many emotions. She is mine. Meant for me. True blessed mates were chosen before birth by the gods. It is a rare and precious gift. Blessed mates can speak to each other in their minds, and they sense when the other is nearby. It explains why my shadows were so obsessed with her from the moment we met. Arawn is testing me, giving me the one woman who could offer me the chance to make things right with my family and making her my mate.

"She's wiped herself out. She needs rest," I say, placing my hand over Reya's heart and feeling it beat in a tired rhythm. "I know what she needs." I stroke her pale cheeks. I want her to open her eyes and offer me some snide remark, but she remains silent. I lift her into my arms and my shadows reach out to raise Saveya from the cold earth.

The mutt walks to my side and rubs against my leg and grumbles.

"I'll take care of her, I promise. You know where she will be," I reassure the beast before my shadows take us back to the valley. I decide to weave to my private quarters first, and I carefully place Reya on my bed. I then weave to the infirmary and hand Saveya over to our head healer. I ask for total confidence and advise him she was bitten by a mutt but that she is clear of the venom. Our healer reels in shock at my words but swears he'll keep his silence.

I then shadow weave to the Obsidian mines in Trynn, almost scaring to death the poor night watchman who's nodding off when I appear out of nowhere.

"Lord Commander. Is it inspection day?" he asks me, hurrying to his feet and wiping the drool from his mouth. "I thought we weren't due one for another month?"

I shake my head in response as I stride past him and into the vast warehouse that stores all the mined crystals waiting to be shipped out.

"I need a large supply of obsidian, and I need it now," I advise him as I scan the rows and rows of crystal slabs until my eyes fall on the familiar black crystal. My shadows flow out of me and grasp hold of a large slab, and I bring it towards me.

"I can have it cut properly and delivered to you, sir," the watchman offers, chasing after me as I head out with the large crystal slab floating behind me.

"No need," I inform him, reaching into my pocket and placing a bag of gold coins on his desk. "This should more than cover it."

"Yes, thank you Commander, this is very generous," He bumbles as he looks into the bag of coins and sees just how generous I can be.

I nod my head in response as my shadows cloak me in their magic and we weave back to my bedroom. I check on her immediately, placing my hand against her forehead and checking for any fever. I am clueless as to how the Night Borne are able to heal those bitten by the mutts, and I don't know what the aftereffects are for the Night Borne either. When I heal others, I ingest the poison and while it doesn't affect my body, it does deplete my energy. Eretreya has never used her powers before, so it will drain her energy resources completely.

I turn my attention to the slab of obsidian, wrapping it in my shadows and shaping it into a half cylinder shape that will lie over her on the bed and hopefully help to restore her energy. I place it over her and then I lie beside her on the bed and wait. What were they both doing out in those woods, and why did the mutts attack Saveya if she was with Eretreya? I feel an idiot for not joining all the dots sooner. The way the mutts were behaving after her presence in the woods, the way they followed us back to Terleigh and the attack on the village. I think because it was so nonsensical that there could be a Night Borne living undetected on Asen that even with the all the evidence mounting it seemed crazy. The remaining question is, was her mother of night blood as we suspect, or was it her father? And more importantly, how did they survive and make it to Asen?

A knock at my door jerks me awake and I glance out the window to see the sun has risen. Glancing to check if there has been any change with Eretreya, I climb off my bed and stride over to the door. I pull it ajar to find Jasiel there.

"Come in," I tell him, urging him inside and closing the door firmly behind me.

Jasiel pauses mid-stride when he sees Eretreya on my bed. His eyes taking in the obsidian tomb like structure she sleeps under.

"So, she is Night Borne then?"

"She is," I reply as I come to stand beside him at the foot of the bed.

Jasiel nods his head as he processes this. "Her mother moved about a lot. When I asked about her in Hesden where Reya had said she was from, no one knew of her, apart from a very old lady of ninety turns of the seasons, who says she remembers a girl of that name as they were in the same class at school together."

I blink. "Ninety?"

"Ninety," he replies.

"So that would mean-"

"That Reya's mum came to Asen around the time of the Night Realms collapse," Jasiel says, finishing what I had been about to say.

"She would have had to possess some power to create a gateway into another realm and survive here long as she has."

Jasiel looks at me and his expression confirms where my thoughts are heading. "Like those of a royal."

I frown. "The princess—the Dukes betrothed." I shake my head in disbelief. "How ironic."

We both stare at her sleeping form. My mate wasn't just any ordinary Night Borne. She was the heiress of the Night Borne throne. A queen without a kingdom to rule. If there's a slight possibility that the realm is still there, and the sunstone crystal still grows there then she is a threat to our people and the king wouldn't hesitate to use her to destroy the Night Realm once and for all and her with it. If she knew who she was, she'd hate me and my kind even more than she already does. She'd see us as the reason her family and her realm are gone.

"What are you going to do?" Jasiel asks me, no doubt understanding the weight on my shoulders.

"She's my true blessed mate, Jas. There is nothing I won't do to protect her. I'll destroy worlds for her if it keeps her safe. Nothing is more important than her now. I'll claim her at the reaping, wed her and give her my mark and then no one can touch her, including our king."

He nods his head and sighs. "She's going to hate you even more when she finds out the truth, you know?"

I smirk. "Don't I know it, but if it keeps her safe, I'll handle her anger and her hatred. Better that than she isn't safe. Besides, she might hate me, but she feels this thing between us, and she craves my touch just as much as I crave hers."

Jasiel places a hand on my shoulder and grins. "I couldn't think of a better woman to keep you on your toes and put you in your place, brother."

"I'll take her kicking and screaming rather than hand her over to the mercy of the king. She's mine now, and no one will harm a hair on her head and if anyone tries, I'll strip the flesh from their bones, slowly and painfully. How are the two females?" I ask him, remembering that when I'd left her here last night, it was to rescue two of her kind.

"They are fine," he assures me. "Thankful to be rescued, and they are resting at the mansion. We have let their families know they are safe and sound."

"And their captors?"

"In their cells, awaiting trial."

"Go get some rest," I tell him. "Will you check on Saveya? And update me if she wakes up. I'm still intrigued about how they both came to be out in the woods and how they got out of the valley undetected."

Jasiel chuckles. "If anyone could do it, it would be your mate. She's a resourceful young woman, that's for sure."

He's right. My mate runs headfirst into danger and never thinks about the consequences afterwards. Whilst I admired her strength, it also means she puts herself in dangerous situations. I'd failed once to protect someone I cared for and I won't let it happen again.

Jasiel leaves us and I join her back on the bed, lying on my side to watch her. I'll have to remove the obsidian tomb before morning when she wakes as to not alarm her. Gods, she is beautiful, and she is mine. I'm not sure how she'll feel about being mine, but there is no way now I'm letting her go now.