Blood Before Sunrise

leave me vulnerable to Faolan’s influence. She said she trusted me. She’d just have to keep trusting me.

I caught Moira’s eye and brought my hand to my temple to indicate what I was attempting to do. She nodded once, and since I couldn’t detect her pushing into my thoughts, I had to assume she read me loud and clear.

“I feel you, Darian!” Faolan’s voice sliced through the silence. “You can’t keep me out, no matter how hard you try!”

Wanna bet, motherfucker? I was going to do everything in my power to ensure he’d messed with my mind for the last time.

As the snow fell around us, collecting on branches and bushes, blanketing the tall stone structures of The Ring, a calm fell on me as well, covering me with a warm composure that this would all end just as it should. I don’t know where it came from, whether it was divine intervention or maybe even Fate itself. But one thing I knew for sure: I was going home, and soon.

Moira caught my eye and smirked-a deadly expression if I ever saw one. She took off through the trees, around the ring of stones to the opposite side. With two Guardians against one fanatic, Faolan didn’t stand a chance.

“I’ll kill her!” the asshole shouted to the sky. “Come any closer and Brakae will die.”

Could he actually kill the woman he loved? Sort of pointless if you ask me. His love for Brakae had been the source of all his bitterness. Why would he kill her when everything he was about to do would ensure that they could be together forever?

I wanted to answer him back, let off a string of curses and snarky comebacks just to taunt him. But I kept quiet, fortified my mental barriers, and waited.

“Do you doubt me?” Faolan kept at it, showing his crazy like a poker hand. “I’ll do it, Darian! I’ll cut her traitorous heart from her breast!”

If I played my own hand right, I’d have him unraveled in a matter of minutes. He’d been slowly losing his mind since we’d arrived in O Anel. All it would take to send him over the edge was a few mind games of my own. And I’m a quick study. My silence was pushing all the right buttons, edging him toward the point of no return. I needed Faolan off balance, unfocused, easy to tip.

A strangled cry reached my ears, turning my blood to ice. From the sounds of her screams, Faolan had gone to work on Brakae with the ferocity of the beast he was. And worse yet, his own silence while he took out his frustration on her made me realize that maybe I’d given myself too much credit. It was going to take more than the silent treatment to maneuver Faolan into a position of disadvantage, and I’d risked Brakae’s life in the process.

When Brakae’s screams finally echoed off into silence, I took a deep, steadying breath. The sensation of her presence was no longer calming but made me so jittery that the dagger shook in my hand. She was alive, but obviously damaged. Damn him. I’d never longed for someone’s death as much as I longed for his. My knees shook as I shifted position, and above the crunching of my feet in the snow, Faolan’s ragged sobs rose to cover the sound.

“How could you make me do this?” he cried. “You’ve done this, Darian! This is your fault!”

I’d never heard anything so…pathetic. Faolan was tortured by love and obsession to the point that he’d lost all sense of right and wrong. What he’d done to Brakae had been necessary to that part of him obsessed with merging the realms and eradicating what he felt had kept him from happiness. The racking sobs coming from the ring of stones now were those of blinding grief and heartache.

Shit. No point trying to push his buttons; Faolan’s switchboard was already pretty well lit. Only one thing left to do. I took a page from Brakae’s book-and surrendered.

Chapter 29

I wanted to run to her, the urge to both protect and avenge a burning acid in my limbs. Was this how Tyler felt when my safety was threatened? Did his instincts urge him to the point that he’d charge out to meet the enemy head-on? Of course they did. Add love to the equation, and that impulse was probably even stronger. I wondered, after all that I’d done, could he love me still?

Faolan’s influence poked at my brain, searching for a way past my mental barriers. I took Moira’s words to heart. Faolan was strong, but I was a Guardian and just as strong if not stronger than my enemy.

“Slowly.” A flash of silver tears glistened in his narrowed gaze before trailing down his cheeks. He held Brakae’s whimpering form close, her arms hanging limp at her sides. “Don’t do anything foolish, Darian. I will kill her.”

No problem there. Any sudden movement was bound to bring him to his breaking point. And I had no intention of seeing that up close and personal. “I’m not interested in seeing her killed, Faolan.” I slowed my approach to a near shuffle, my movements tedious and precise. “I’m standing here right now because I want to keep her safe.”

“She’s not dead.” The words seemed more self-reassuring than meant for me. “You have no idea how precious to me she is. How much I love her.”

Then why the hell did you cut her up, asshole? “I know you do,” I said, inching closer. “This isn’t exactly the way to show your love.”

Faolan pointed his dagger at me, the blade stained with Brakae’s blood. “You love deeply. So you should know the pain I feel. Your love freed me from stone. And the symbol of your love will merge the realms, putting an end to this separation once and for all.”

That didn’t sound good. Though I didn’t know what he was talking about, I wasn’t going to ask. I couldn’t close the gap between us fast enough. Every shuffle of my feet felt like another mile between us. The concentration of power surged around me, the energy emanating from the ring of stones, Brakae’s magnetic pull beckoned, and Faolan’s influence still searched for a way to control me. My hands began to shake the closer I came to the vortex of energy, my teeth chattering so hard, I had to clamp my jaw tight. It was like walking into the eye of a tornado, the swirling winds of power whipping at my body as I breached its barrier. The short sword weighed down my arm, testing my strength as I fought to keep hold. But it slipped from my fingers, landing in the snow at my feet with a muted thump.

I didn’t even try to pick it up. Why would I need a weapon? I wasn’t here to fight… I was here to bear witness to something. My thoughts clouded, a familiar peaceful haze blanketing me.

“Come here, Darian,” Faolan said.

I closed the distance between us with an eagerness that fired a flight reflex somewhere deep inside me. Run! Common sense shouted while my brain answered, Why? My gaze drifted from Faolan’s silver stare to the woman he held in his arms. Her dark hair cascaded over his arm, and he cradled her as if she were fragile and might shatter if he but shifted in any direction. I knew her. Her name…

“Darian.” Faolan’s warning tone cut through my thoughts. “Pay attention.”

Okay. “I’m sorry.” Why did I feel the need to apologize?

“We’re about to begin, and you have to focus.”

Focus. Yes, I was supposed to be focusing on something right now. I had a mission in this place. Something I was meant to protect.

Faolan snapped his fingers, and I lost my train of thought. I shook my head, trying to clear the fog from my brain, but something held my mind in a strong grasp. I couldn’t do a damned thing to help myself.

An unspoken command had my arms stretching out, and with gentle care Faolan eased the burden of the woman’s weight into my arms. I knelt slowly, spreading her out at his feet as seemed appropriate for some reason. Tears streaked down his cheeks as he looked on her pale face, and I realized this woman must have meant a great deal to him. Her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, and gory, bloody paths oozed from her arms and neck. Someone had taken a knife to her, and, from the looks of it, had enjoyed what he’d done.

The woman’s lids fluttered before opening to reveal beautiful blue eyes. Memorable in both color and the intensity of her stare, I sensed something in this woman that called to me.

“Raif,” I whispered, wondering why that name would come to mind.

A hand gripped my own, squeezing hard for how frail she looked. “I trust you,” she murmured. “And I’m sorry I