He pushed the worry aside for the moment. The mate bond, even the partial one they’d established, provided her with the best protection he could give her. For the moment, he had to focus on capturing Dar, not on trying to understand the male’s thought process.
Harley made an aggravated sound. “Maybe mating me was a bad idea. I’ve endangered you.”
“No. It was the right one.” Calan pulled her closer and stared deeply into her eyes. “The only one. With the bond I formed with you, I am with you, a part of you. You can communicate with me, anytime, anywhere. I won’t let him touch you.”
She grinned. “I just need to call out to you, and you’ll race to my side on your ghostly steed?”
He chuckled. “Yes. I will come. Nothing would stop me.”
The teasing smile on her face faded. “And if he gets to me first?”
“You can’t die, Harley.”
“But he can tempt me, can’t he? Make me angry enough so I give in to my darker side. Every time I act on my rage, I lose a little bit of myself.” She touched her chest. “You didn’t heal me completely, did you? Because I still feel the darkness inside me. It’s just calm now.”
He focused on his mate’s stricken face and didn’t know what to say. She was right. Acting on her anger, causing pain, and relishing another’s misery opened her to the damaging effects of the same chaos Dar had ingested. Chaos was everywhere. The power lived in anything disordered or violent—thunderstorms, earthquakes, floods, and even in the shadows. It lurked and waited to disrupt the natural order of the world, but through the fairies, it had a vessel to cause the destruction it sought.
“Dammit, tell me the truth.”
He sighed. “No, I didn’t heal you. I can’t. I can only be your shield and your strength.”
She shook her head and slipped out of his arms. “And I’ll take you down with me if I fall, won’t I?”
“You’re not alone in this fight, my mate. I am with you always. Together we will endure.” He grasped her hand, stopping her from turning away from him. “You promised to live for me. That includes holding on to your honor. Now more than ever, you need to remember your vow.”
She raised her chin. “I will keep my promise to you, but—”
He kissed her before she could tag on any qualifier. Her renewed oath eased his anxiety. He would trust his mate and help her exactly as he’d promised to do. He didn’t care if she clung to his strength or used it to maintain her purity. As long as he could hold her in his arms, nothing else mattered.
Calan pulled away from her sweet lips with a jerk, but not because he wanted to. The day was slipping away. Each one that passed without finding Dar was one more his siblings had to suffer.
“Come, Harley.” He tugged her with him. “I want to meet your brother before I begin my hunt for Dar.”
“I’d like that.” She flashed him a smile.
Eyes focused on the path ahead, he led his mate out of his living tomb. He looked forward to the day it sealed for all time along with the damaged barrier. Soon. By the gods, soon his hell would be but a memory.
He stopped at the entrance, released her hand and plucked the blade from the shelf where it had sat for a thousand years. Whether Dar had left it or the angel, Calan didn’t know. It had been the first thing he’d noticed upon waking, and it had acted as a reminder of his failure every day of his incarceration. He couldn’t help but think if he’d followed Dar that day, he would’ve been able to stop him. He’d made his choice, though. So had his siblings. Their endurance would be rewarded. Calan would make sure of it.
He lifted his wrist to his mouth and bit, exactly as he’d seen his father do before each Unseelie was condemned. Harley gasped, but he ignored her distress and allowed his blood to drip onto the blade. Each drop sizzled and popped. Sparks danced along the length. He murmured the ancient words he’d heard Arawn utter, and the dagger vibrated in his grasp for a moment before stilling. He nodded. It was done.
He took Harley’s hand.
She stared at the weapon, apprehension in her eyes. “What is that?”
“The dagger Dar used to curse the Huntsmen.” And the one Harley might’ve faced had her life taken a different course.
She stepped in front of him. Intelligent blue eyes focused on him. “You have to transfer it back to him.”
“Yes, the curse was designed for the fairies. The Huntsmen have only been a substitute. They were never meant to bear the weight of it.” He sighed, sadness welling. “My siblings have been slowly losing their minds, and as each becomes unable to meet the requirements of the curse, the barrier to Hell thins. Soon, it’ll crumble completely.”
She swallowed hard. “Then we should finish this before it does.”
“Yes.” He led her forward.
The weaving path to his cell consisted of low ceilings, tight corridors and crumbling walls. He took in the destruction and quickened his pace, forcing Harley into a jog. The evidence of deterioration matched what he’d felt while he’d hung from his chains. He didn’t have much time to find Dar. Too many of the Huntsmen had fallen under the stress of the curse.
He stopped at the main door and stared at the beam holding up the roof. It sagged under the weight of the earth above.
He faced Harley and pointed to the ceiling. “Is that how it looked when you arrived?”
She nodded, her brows turned down.
He wanted to yell at her for endangering herself or maybe hold her tight, grateful that she had. He settled for grabbing her shoulders. “Yet you came inside?”
“You needed me, and I needed you.” Harley shrugged out of his grip. “Let’s go. We’re wasting time.”
A smile spread at the evidence of
