Roarke has a temper – one I never knew about. In a strange way all these little things are making it harder and harder for me to respect his space. The quiet man who gets all the girls’ attention while offering the world nothing but his power is becoming a completely different person. More. So much more. Damn sexy, protective and powerful, confident and in control, caring and considerate, this man’s list just keeps growing. I want to chuckin’ kick myself for taking this long to notice.
“Where is Eydis?” Leon demands, a calm kind of quiet to his tone that sets the hairs on the back of my neck on end.
Roarke doesn’t react.
“She’s dead,” I answer because Roarke clearly isn’t going to.
“How?”
“That’s not something that someone like you needs to know,” Roarke growls.
Crap. He wasn’t this bad when three women were trying to skewer us with arrows. Enter reasonably-hot-mortal, and I have a whole different kind of Roarke to manage. Plus fresh limitations on his ability to use his power around me.
“The border is failing. You do realize that the people out there have no idea what’s in here?” Leon asks, an edge creeping into his tone.
“And?” Roarke begins. He might be about to say more, but I push forward and elbow him before he can.
“What he means is,” I say, having to shout to get my voice to carry over the stream and the storm. “Will you please share your knowledge?”
Leon smiles at me. Roarke grabs my shirt and tugs me back behind him so fast that I almost fall on my ass.
“Eydis was tracing the springs. She’d made some progress, trying to ascertain which had been bled dry and why. We’ve managed to shore up three of the lesser springs close to the border, worked enough magic to keep them out of Lithael’s hands. Mortal magic is not something he was anticipating. However, three springs are not enough to hold the border in place, especially if this spring dies.”
“This spring?” Roarke pushes.
“The Origin of your Silvari kingdom,” Leon clarifies.
Confirmation, then. Whether Roarke previously believed in the Origin Spring or not, it’s definitely real and definitely here – somewhere.
“I have fifteen powerful mages at my disposal, and we have a decision to make. Use our power to hold the border up for a short period of time – perhaps long enough to eliminate the source of this threat, or use our magic to set the forest back on fire.”
Back on fire?
Meaning, the magical fire that destroyed the estate so badly it took a few thousand years just to get the grass to grow.
This world would be gone, the trees, the life. The Silvari people wouldn’t know what to do; they wouldn’t have anywhere to run. Most of them live in the damn trees.
Silva would be destroyed.
Roarke lifts his weapon.
I rush to get in front of him once more, trying to stop him from moving. I know murder is on his mind.
“Shade,” he growls.
“Roarke,” I counter.
His eyes burn into me for the barest second before turning that intensity back to the man behind me.
“Is the border failing?” I ask.
Roarke nods, not taking his eyes off Leon.
“How?” Even as I’m asking this my bigger question is, why didn’t you tell me? Followed by a sharp stab of pain from one temple to the other.
“We’ve definitely talked about it,” Roarke answers automatically before shouting across to Leon. “The border’s been weak for years. Things have always escaped, and we’ve always dealt with it,” he says. “The Springs aren’t just being bled dry – the Masters are being murdered. There’s a bigger problem fueling all of this.”
“I can’t help with that,” Leon says, “but if you have a plan to restore the springs, I can help with that. I can hold the border. I can control the mortal side. If you don’t have a plan, if your Crown Lithael marches a single Saber onto mortal soil, then we will set this realm on fire.”
The threat slams into me, stopping the breath in my lungs. Roarke surges forward. I throw my shoulder into him, putting all of my energy into stopping him from jumping the damn stream and drawing blood.
A part of me wants to let him – this mortal mage doesn’t stand a chance – but the majority of me wants more answers. A solution. To use this guy to our advantage. Roarke sidesteps me, and I almost end up in the mud, but I spin in time to see him reach the edge of the water at Saber speed.
Yep – Leon is dead.
Roarke jumps – but a magicked wind slams into him, knocking him back so hard that he lands on his ass in the thickening mud. Leon smiles, his fingers twirling around the hilt of his sword.
This is crazy! I think, pushing my wet hair back from my face, but the heavy rain just tugs it forward again.
These two are practically on the same team – they both want Lithael dead, and clearly, I was wrong about the mortal’s abilities.
Roarke springs to his feet, and Leon draws his sword.
Someone is going to die – which I can’t just stand by and watch.
“Stop!” I shout, putting every ounce of energy I have into getting the word out above the wind and the rain and their stupid male brains.
The effort explodes pain through my temples and into the back of my eyes. Bile rises in my throat, but they’ve both frozen, and they’re looking at me. So, I swallow it down.
“Do you want to set fire to this realm?” I demand, my words boiling with anger as I stab my finger towards Leon. He hesitates so I add, “Answer
