Damrion and I exchange a glance.
“The abandoned mining town down the mountain.” I glance at our brothers. It fits the description—though the description leaves much to be desired. The mine was shut down decades ago. The town died quickly after it closed.
“Faen,” Reaper growls as if he’d forgotten about it.
“If they’re using it, it’d explain why the forest around here is suddenly full of their varulv.” Dax’s brows furrow as he contemplates the possibility.
“Ja,” I agree. “It’d also explain how they were able to get so many of them here undetected even before their portal was operational. They’ve been in our backyard for months.”
We never could figure out how they managed to slip past us the night they attacked Eitr. We have every road leading up the mountain under watch. We have for years. But they came pouring out of the woods right up to the walls without anyone noticing.
"Malachi.” Damrion’s voice cuts through the silence like the crack of a whip. "Rouse every warrior in Eitr. We're going to bring her back."
Malachi hauls himself to his feet, but Rissa calls out before he even takes a step.
"Wait." She shifts in Dax’s arms. "There's something else. The Forsaken are after something specific—something they think Abigail has seen or knows. Something she's willing to die to protect."
My heart clenches, my stomach twisting as everyone falls silent, processing this. What could be so important that she’d risk her life to defend it?
“It doesn’t matter,” I growl to myself and everyone else. “Whatever they want, they aren’t getting it from her. Not while Damrion and I still draw breath. And she isn’t dying for it, either.”
Damrion nods in agreement, his gold eyes burning with steely resolve. "Agreed,” he snarls. “If it’s important enough that she’s willing to let them torture her rather than give it up, I’ll let this world burn before I let them take it from her.”
Chapter Nine
Abigail
Ilie on the cold, hard slab, my gaze fixed on the ceiling of the cavern. Water drips onto my cheeks, mixing with the tears that stain my face. Or perhaps all of the dampness is tears. I don’t know.
My entire body aches, each breath bringing more pain. It seems as if I've been here for years, stuck in a hell of their making, though I know it hasn’t even been a full day.
The Forsaken have stopped tormenting me for the moment, but it’s only temporary. They're afraid if they push too hard, they'll kill me, and then they'll never get what they want. I almost wish they’d get it over with already.
I don’t know how much more of this I can take. Every new vision is a fresh hell. Every whip of dark magic pure agony. If Adriel and Damrion feel even a tenth of what they’re doing to me through the bond, it’s going to destroy them. And I’m too exhausted to keep the barriers in place for long.
Footsteps sound on the cavern floor, drawing closer. I flick my gaze toward the sound to find the same Forsaken who has been in charge of my torment walking toward me, his yellow eyes locked on my face.
My hands curl into fists, defiance and wariness shooting through me.
"Are you ready to cooperate, Seer?" he asks.
"Go to hell," I spit.
No matter how many times he laughs, the sound still sends chills down my spine. There’s nothing human in it, nothing warm. "Hell doesn't exist, Abigail. But I can make you wish that it did."
He lifts his hand, his fingers curled as if to call his dark magic. I brace myself for another round of torture, but it doesn’t come.
A loud noise booms through the cavern, followed by an inhumane scream that dies in silence as quickly as it began.
The Forsaken leader pauses, his head whipping toward the entrance to the cave.
My heart pounds against my ribcage, fear and a desperate kind of optimism fighting for dominion. I try to suppress the surge of hope rushing through me, but I can’t. I cling to it, praying to any God who will listen that Adriel, Damrion, and the Fae have found me.
A second later, a bright Light blazes to life outside the cave, burning through the dark. Chaos erupts, the sound of fighting and the screams of dying Forsaken growing louder.
A sob of relief rips from my throat. They’re here. The Fae and the Valkyrie are here! Adriel and Damrion are out there, fighting for me.
The Forsaken leader sneers, rage contorting his misshapen face. But he can’t hide the flicker of fear in his yellow eyes. He knows what that bright Light means.
"They're going to kill you," I say, smiling for the first time in hours.
"Go ahead," I spit back, defiance swelling within me despite my fear. "If I die, I'll die knowing that you'll never get what you want."
“Perhaps.” He lunges toward me suddenly, one pale hand shooting out to wrap around my throat. “But do you think they can reach you before I sever your bond with your mates?” He smiles, a cold, terrifying smile, as he squeezes, cutting off my air supply.
There is no doubt in that smile, no lie. He’s absolutely certain he can do what he says—sever the bond between me, Adriel, and Damrion.
Terror surges through me, vast and infinite, the need to protect my mates and our bond overriding everything else. I lash out, and pure, bright Light blazes to life inside me in a way it hasn’t since I burned the Forsaken and varulv out of Eitr.
All day, I’ve tried to reach it to defend myself, and nothing. But in this moment, for my mates and our bond, it surges through me in a brilliant burst—as hot and wild as the sun.
It radiates outward, engulfing the Forsaken.
But he doesn’t burn like he should. He merely lights up, glowing the way the Fae do when they’re channeling Magn.
I stare in horror. Why isn’t he burning? What twisted magic could possibly protect him from this?
A furious roar echoes through the cavern before I have time to consider the problem further, and my heart soars.
