Page 129 of Commanding Flame and Shield
Lana snarled a warning, two new blades in her hands. Fae had palmed her knives as well, legs braced in a fighting stance. Adrastos continued, unfazed, “As I said. Hear her out. That’s all I ask.”
“Fine,” I gritted the word through clenched teeth.
And then she was there, appearing out of nowhere. Not as though she jumped, but as though Alvara had been standing in front of him glamoured, and the glamour was lifted. He shoved her forward, and Aren and I both lunged to catch her. The male vanished as I wrapped my arms around her, and Aren wrapped his body around us both. A physical shield between us and our enemy. The others charged forward, despite Adrastos’ jump.
Adrastos’ voice lingered in the air, “Alvara, my sweet, do take note. The medicine you were given tonight is in no short supply. Should you shirk our proposal, our next meeting will not be so civil.”
Lana hissed, and a shield of air barreled forward. I could have sworn a laugh rang out in the distance.
I pulled her away from me to look at her, scouring over her face. There was no blood where there had been. Only the stains along the neck of her hoodie—my hoodie—proved she had been struck at all.
“Are you hurt?” I lowered my eyes to lock on hers. She blinked and shook her head.
“No, they didn’t touch me. Didn’t do anything.”
“Anything?”
“We…talked. Well, Adrastos talked. He made me eat dinner.”
I glanced to Aren, whose eyes were as wide as my own. “They want analliance?”
She nodded, still looking dazed. “Yeah. There’s…a lot. A lot to discuss. But I-I just want tosleep.”
“Of course, Ally. Let’s go upstairs.”
“Not here. Grayshell. It’s not safe here—crawlers, or something. Adrastos warned me they would come here.”
“Ally—”
“Grayshell.”
I breathed in the smell of her, but it was different. Simpler. Not quite as sweet. More…human. “Ally…your magic?”
She held out her arm, where it looked like she’d beenbranded.AA 21.19. “Adrastos swore on his life it would be returned before the timer finishes.”
“Can she—can she go to Grayshell like this?” I looked up at Aren, pleading silently.
His face was solemn, but he nodded. “She’s still an ascended soul. Just empty of energy. We’ll have to take her. Same with the Westerlunds, should they accompany us.”
“Thank you for the invitation, brother.” It looked painful for Marcus to peel his eyes away from Ally. “But I think we need to get to Westerlund. Hold my mate. Our families. Pray. Fill in the hierarchy about what happened. Send us word about what’s to come?”
Aren gave a quick nod, and Marcus mimicked the motion to his brothers. They vanished.
I wrapped Ally in another hug, feeling her warmth against me. She nuzzled her head into my chest, pulling the hood up over her head. I laid my face on the top of her hair and breathed in deeply.
“Are you ready?” A subtle nod. “Okay. Hang on tight.” No giggle or nudge. She just wrapped her own arms around me and gripped my back through the layers of clothes between us.
The moment our feet landed in Grayshell, she released me, and looked up to me. “I need Saraya.”
“You said you weren’t hurt?”
“To try to look at whatever is in my blood. They’re going to weaponize it. The drug. The drug that took my gifts.”
“Shit,” Alec swore behind me, and sprinted out of the hall.I’ll bring her to Ally’s room. Go.
Alvara’s grand bedroom had somehow accumulated more books since I’d seen it last. How, or when she’d had a moment of time to read any of them, I wasn’t sure. Between our own missions, and the dozens of callings she had vanished to, there hadn’t been much in the way of time to relax. Or research, if that’s what the leather-bound volumes had been for. As we walked into the room, she waved a hand towards the bathroom. Nothing happened, and her lips parted in surprise before she shook her head. She glared down at her fingers as though they’d betrayed her. I suppose, in a way, it probably felt like they had.
“You want a bath?”
