Her brother.
Taryn hurled herself at his chest, buried her face against his neck and shuddered as she sobbed.
He was still for a moment and then his arms carefully closed around her, the touch meant to comfort, but all it did was terrify her.
She broke free again and paced away from him, clawing her hair back from her face as she breathed hard and fast, chanted in her head that it was over. She was safe now. Free.
Free
.
She was free.
She needed to fly.
“Who took you from me?”
Who indeed?
She looked back over her shoulder at her brother, recognising him this time. Her precious brother, his face bloodied and chest streaked with crimson that dripped from dark slashes. The darkness in his eyes pleased her now, the hunger to maim and kill—the same darkness and hunger that beat in her heart.
“Slavers,” she whispered, filled with a ridiculous fear they might hear her and come for her again, might find her here.
That fear turned to hope a moment later. She snarled and willed them to try and take her, to come and see what her brother would do to them. He would make them pay. The increasing darkness in his eyes warned that she was speaking her thoughts aloud and they pleased him.
He already wanted to kill those who had hurt her, and she would give him more cause to want their blood on his hands, would weave a lie to draw him to her side.
“They took the sword… I only stole it because I wanted power like you… I was going to use the sword to get it,” she muttered and his face darkened at the mention of the blade she had taken from him. “I wanted to be powerful too. I was going to give it back. I wanted to be like you.”
She fell to her knees again and scratched at the earth, feeling that maybe she was already like him.
Mad.
“I kept track of it… but I lost it… the second male who bought me hid it.”
“Second?” Tenak snarled and came to tower over her again, a formidable sight as his eyes glowed with violet fire. “How many…?”
She was glad he couldn’t finish that sentence, because she was finding it hard to keep the memories at bay enough to spin her web and catch him in it as it was. It wouldn’t take much to push her back over the edge.
“Six,” she whispered and fought the faces of her owners as they came to her, pushing them back down inside her, refusing to look at them or those of the people who had traded her. “There were six before I escaped.”
Escaped.
When the elf was there.
The elf.
She looked down at her dirtied bloodied hands. At claws that had marked him. He would be coming for her. She was sure of that. She was sure that he had been hunting for her since their paths had crossed again three lunar cycles ago.
Taryn lifted her eyes to Tenak’s face and he hunkered down in front of her, his steady violet-to-white gaze so warm and soft, so beautifully familiar and comforting now that she wanted to cry.
She tensed when he reached for her, but then she was in his arms, held gently against his bare chest, his warmth seeping into her, and all she could do was rest there and let him be strong for her.
He growled low in her ear. “I swear… together we shall make all of Hell pay for what they have done to you.”
Gods, that sounded dangerously appealing.
Taryn sat with her head against his shoulder, her eyes fixed on the black mountains in the direction she had come, her bones vibrating with awareness that urged her to move faster, to accelerate her plan.
The elf was coming.
He believed her responsible for stealing the blade and attacking the elf kingdom seven long centuries ago, killing thousands of his kind. He could never feel anything for her other than hatred, and she had been fine with that, because it had meant he would never end up at the mercy of her brother.
But now she had delayed too long and her dragon instincts warned that he was closing in on her, and when that happened, the future would grow clouded and uncertain.
Both for her.
And for the
Taryn hurled herself at his chest, buried her face against his neck and shuddered as she sobbed.
He was still for a moment and then his arms carefully closed around her, the touch meant to comfort, but all it did was terrify her.
She broke free again and paced away from him, clawing her hair back from her face as she breathed hard and fast, chanted in her head that it was over. She was safe now. Free.
Free
.
She was free.
She needed to fly.
“Who took you from me?”
Who indeed?
She looked back over her shoulder at her brother, recognising him this time. Her precious brother, his face bloodied and chest streaked with crimson that dripped from dark slashes. The darkness in his eyes pleased her now, the hunger to maim and kill—the same darkness and hunger that beat in her heart.
“Slavers,” she whispered, filled with a ridiculous fear they might hear her and come for her again, might find her here.
That fear turned to hope a moment later. She snarled and willed them to try and take her, to come and see what her brother would do to them. He would make them pay. The increasing darkness in his eyes warned that she was speaking her thoughts aloud and they pleased him.
He already wanted to kill those who had hurt her, and she would give him more cause to want their blood on his hands, would weave a lie to draw him to her side.
“They took the sword… I only stole it because I wanted power like you… I was going to use the sword to get it,” she muttered and his face darkened at the mention of the blade she had taken from him. “I wanted to be powerful too. I was going to give it back. I wanted to be like you.”
She fell to her knees again and scratched at the earth, feeling that maybe she was already like him.
Mad.
“I kept track of it… but I lost it… the second male who bought me hid it.”
“Second?” Tenak snarled and came to tower over her again, a formidable sight as his eyes glowed with violet fire. “How many…?”
She was glad he couldn’t finish that sentence, because she was finding it hard to keep the memories at bay enough to spin her web and catch him in it as it was. It wouldn’t take much to push her back over the edge.
“Six,” she whispered and fought the faces of her owners as they came to her, pushing them back down inside her, refusing to look at them or those of the people who had traded her. “There were six before I escaped.”
Escaped.
When the elf was there.
The elf.
She looked down at her dirtied bloodied hands. At claws that had marked him. He would be coming for her. She was sure of that. She was sure that he had been hunting for her since their paths had crossed again three lunar cycles ago.
Taryn lifted her eyes to Tenak’s face and he hunkered down in front of her, his steady violet-to-white gaze so warm and soft, so beautifully familiar and comforting now that she wanted to cry.
She tensed when he reached for her, but then she was in his arms, held gently against his bare chest, his warmth seeping into her, and all she could do was rest there and let him be strong for her.
He growled low in her ear. “I swear… together we shall make all of Hell pay for what they have done to you.”
Gods, that sounded dangerously appealing.
Taryn sat with her head against his shoulder, her eyes fixed on the black mountains in the direction she had come, her bones vibrating with awareness that urged her to move faster, to accelerate her plan.
The elf was coming.
He believed her responsible for stealing the blade and attacking the elf kingdom seven long centuries ago, killing thousands of his kind. He could never feel anything for her other than hatred, and she had been fine with that, because it had meant he would never end up at the mercy of her brother.
But now she had delayed too long and her dragon instincts warned that he was closing in on her, and when that happened, the future would grow clouded and uncertain.
Both for her.
And for the
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