Rhysand
My heart beat erratically in my chest as I watched the attack on my people, my home. Hybern's feral creatures attacked the dome Az and Cass had erected, punching hole after hole through the shield as they poured in, dumping the soldiers they had carried across the sea.
Rage swelled with a ferocity that overwhelmed me. Rage at myself, at the mortal queens, and most of all at Hybern. I hadn't wanted to show those useless fools Velaris, but if the only thing keeping us from the second half of the Book had been my reputation, I never would have forgiven myself.
Now though, not only had they attacked the very people I'd spent my entire existence protecting, but they had attacked my mate. If they thought I was a monster before, they hadn't seen anything yet.
Aelin's wicked smile lit a fire beneath us, and my court ran, splitting up to defend the vulnerable districts of the city. My wards had already been raised, but they did nothing to defend against the bastards who were already here. Hybern soldiers were everywhere, laughing at the screams of my people, laughing as they dragged them out of buildings and homes.
Blood dribbled down the cobblestone streets, a sight I had sworn I would never see. A thunderous boom rocked the other side of the city, where art and theater thrived in peace and joy. It was the Rainbow of Velaris, and it was being destroyed because of those fucking queens.
Snarling, I raced toward the Rainbow, which was already bathed in blood. I shot a quick glance over my shoulder, watching as Aelin blasted Attors out of the sky with streams of fire. Rowan protected her back, sweeping soldiers into the river, freezing and pulling them from the sky with whips of ice cold wind.
Never had I been more grateful to have such a ferocious mate, fearlessly throwing herself into battle without hesitation, all to protect innocent lives. She was far more than I deserved.
Cass and Az defended the city from above, launching red and blue arrows from the skies. Wherever they flew, Attors died. They had discovered a more effective use of their shields.
Twin shields of red and blue, smaller than what had encased the city, sizzled as they merged, slamming into soldiers and aerial forces. Flesh and wings tore, bone melted and cracked -
Until all that was left were hands encased in stone gauntlets, bouncing along the cobblestone.
But there were countless more. Too many. This wasn't a fucking attack, it was an extermination.
Not if I had anything to do with it.
I misted soldiers as I ran to where a large mass of the creatures had converged, right in the beating heart of the city. Fire, not the wildfire of my mate, was rippling, black smoke staining the sky -
Across the river, thunder boomed again. Relief rushed through me when I realized Amren had emerged. Her slim hands pointed to the soldiers as they fell as if their own wings failed them. They slammed into the streets, choking, clawing and shrieking, just as our people had done.
Satisfied my court was here, fighting, I winnowed to the edge of the Rainbow as Hybern's soldiers rounded its farthest corner. They spilled onto the river avenue, past countless cafes and shops, and they didn't see me until it was too late.
My Illyrian blade cleaved through their heads, one after another. The ones out of my reach were misted, consciousness shredded, screaming in terror as my dark claws tore into their minds. Dozens went down in my wake, but more still came.
Across the square, a young female, blue-skinned and wingless, held an ancient rusted bit of pipe raised above her shoulder. She stood her ground in front of her storefront - people crouched inside the shop, sobbing.
Five winged soldiers circled her, laughing at her and her impromptu weapon. I growled as they played with her, taunting her and those who she protected.
Despite this, she did not falter. She held the line, determination in every line of her body.
Half a thought had the males attacking her nothing but pink mist.
The shopkeeper sobbed in relief. More thunder boomed.
Yielding to the dark power that was embedded in my very body, in my bones and breath, I slaughtered the Hybern soldiers and his disgusting creatures. Time held no meaning, my entire focus on defending Velaris, on destroying the Hybern scum.
Darkness slammed into their bodies, their armor, destroying them from the inside out. Airborne soldiers misted in midair, raining minuscule pieces of their corpses atop the once pristine streets. I allowed my darkness to consume every part of me, feeling no sympathy for any who had and would ally themselves with a monster, who would attack my people.
Dozens of soldiers were felled, slaughtered against the cobblestone. Hybern blood and gore decorated the rooftops, the streets and the bridges. And I didn't stop, the screams of soldiers a song in my blood.
Until the screaming of my people stopped, and Hybern's creatures whirled, fleeing for an unknown reason. There were still hundreds of soldiers alive and fighting, but one by one they were picked up by their winged companions, beating a hasty retreat towards the cliffs at the edge of the city.
Running towards the Sidra, I opened my mind to the court. What happened, why are they fleeing?
None of them answered.
And that's when I saw it.
One soldier rose up above the others holding something ... someone. A lax body with flowing, golden blonde hair.
Desperately, I reached out through the mate bond. Where are you?
The Attor was flapping, frantic, and I could see the blood of the innocent coating his gray skin. I sent shots of darkness to wrap around him, but he was quicker, nimble, even with the burden he carried. He soared higher, away from me, my power - from the rest of my court.
And what he carried, it couldn't be. If it was - he could take her. He could fly back to Hybern - to his king. Tearing her from my life.
WHERE ARE YOU?
Still no response, and the Attor was getting away. With each heartbeat, it flew higher and higher, closer to that mass of fleeing soldiers.
WHERE-
I almost sobbed with relief when her voice reverberated through my mind. Until I computed her response.
Where I need to be, Aelin said to me.
No -
No, I didn't care what she was doing. I couldn't bear to have her torn from me. Whatever she needed to do, she could do it with me at her side, protecting her back.
AELIN.
I flinched as she slammed up a mental shield of bone-melting wildfire against my voice; against me.
My darkness billowed from me as I rushed through the city, devouring any soldiers that were left. Eyes glued on the horizon, I winnowed to the edge of the city, barely comprehending that my brothers had arrived next to me, as Aelin was flown into the center of the writhing mass -
A mass of hundreds of Hybern's soldiers, monstrous creatures with armor that defended them against magic. I froze, prepared to winnow to her, when another pulse rocked the foundation of the city. Only this time -
I knew the source.
A heartbeat later, a burst of wildfire fiercer than I thought possible erupted from the heart of the writhing mass. Towering waves of fire, the height of a small mountain, rushed over the gathered soldiers, reducing them to nothing but ash. The city illuminated by the fire one moment, so hot I could feel myself sweating from a half mile away. The next it was sucked back, and all that remained was the small figure of my mate, alone on a cliff of ash.
I didn't think as I grabbed Rowan next to me, winnowing us to our mate. Az and Cass behind me.
Our boots were quiet upon the field of ash, dust blowing it around us in a haze. Only a single figure shining through it. Bright light encased her, as if the ash were physically repelled from her presence.
I was panting, trembling as I approached her. A hand, my hand touched her face, tilting her chin up to meet my gaze. Turquoise ringed with gold.
I leaned forward, pressing my sweat-coated brow to hers, releasing a shuddering breath. My lips met hers in a ghost of a kiss, as I whispered against her lips, "Please never do something like that again."
Pulling back slightly, my thumb still stroking her cheek, I basked in her light. Reminding and reassuring myself that she was here, she was safe.
She grabbed my hand, holding me close, as her lips quirked up in a sad smile. "I can't promise that, my love," she murmured, so softly even my fae ears barely caught the words.
Rowan brushed past me, enveloping Aelin in a fierce embrace before Az and Cass did the same. My hand still firmly grasped her own. All of us needed to hold her, ensure that she was whole. I breathed in the sight, heartbeat finally slowing as I refused to take my eyes from my mate, my Goddess.
And I desperately tried to ignore the soul-deep sorrow and grief that had pierced her eyes when she had spoken.
+++
We didn't return to the House of Wind until the black hours of the night. We hadn't stopped to rest after that brief respite on the clifftop. For hours we'd worked, along with the rest of the city to heal, patch up what we could.
I'd confirmed what we'd feared, that Hybern had used the Cauldron to decimate my wards, and we'd known the Queens had told him what they had seen of Velaris. We'd gathered in the living room as the clock chimed three in the morning, coated in dirt and blood, limp from exhaustion.
Velaris was secure, but desolation thrummed through my court at the knowledge Hybern now knew about the city. Worse than that was knowing he could use the Cauldron to take down my wards at any time. The safety of this place and these people had felt guaranteed for so long, and now that it wasn't ... it left us all on uneven footing.
Once we'd determined there was nothing more we could do tonight, we dispersed to clean up and get some much needed sleep. Tomorrow we would plan our retaliation.
Now, I sat in my large tub, the water clean and frothy with bubbles, having already drained it twice after it became cloudy with dirt and blood. The room was dark, and I could only stare at the water, hands bracing my temple. The weight of today's events was a heavy, immovable force pressing down on my shoulders.
If I couldn't protect my people, what good was I?
I startled as a warm body slid into my lap, jolting me free from my thoughts. A completely nude Aelin looped her arms around my neck, staring into my eyes as she traced the lines of my face. She brushed a thumb over my lip as she spoke quietly, "It is not your fault."
I could only stare, entranced by her eyes. "Isn't it? I handed this city over to them. I said I was willing to risk it, but ... I don't know who I hate more: the king, those vile excuses for queens, or myself."
She brushed the hair out of my face, grasping my jaw firmly so I couldn't look away from my words. "Them. Always them. We cannot comprehend what the evil we are faced with will resort to, and there are days that they will win. They will win, and you will always question what you could have - should have done," her voice broke, and my heart shattered at the memory of all my beautiful female had lost.
With the conviction of centuries she did not yet have, she carried on, voice burning with the strength of a thousand suns. "The only thing that matters is that we don't stay down. We get up, and fight back, protect those who cannot protect themselves. That is what we have control over, and that is why we will prevail. Together."
I blinked away the tears that threatened, staring in awe at this magnificent female. Unable to respond to her words, I gripped the hand at my jaw, clutching her tight. "You shut me out," I breathed. "You - shielded against me in battle so completely I couldn't find a way in."
"I'm sorry."
I let out a bitter laugh. "No, you're not. You knew what you were doing with that shield ... With what you did to those Attors ..." I shook my head, the feeling of pure terror nearly overwhelming me once more. "You could have been killed."
"I may not be sorry for my actions, but I do promise to always do what is best for you, for your people," she murmured.
I buried my face in her shoulder, speaking into her skin. "I hate that I can't even scold you for defending my people. I want to throttle you for putting yourself at risk like that, for leaving me behind, but ..." I pressed a soft kiss to her neck. "I don't deserve you."
Her soft hand stroked my hair again. "I'm the one who doesn't deserve you, my love. You deserve everything. You deserve to be happy."
My brows furrowed at her words, but before I could rebuke them, her lips met mine, and I shuddered against them. How quickly I succumbed to the spell she put me under.
Our slow, languorous embrace became heated as she shifted in my lap, straddling me. I groaned as I felt her wet heat press against my hard cock, unable to resist rocking up against her. Grabbing her hips, I pulled her down more firmly against me, luxuriating in her moans as she rocked against my lap.
My kiss turned plundering, the slow, seductive movement of her hips stoking the fire in me higher and higher. Her wet body was pressed completely against me, igniting flames across every inch of flesh she touched. My hands roamed over her legs, back, around to her breasts, as if they could devour her by touch alone.
I finally broke our kiss, dipping to lave kisses across her exposed neck as my hands firmly cupped her breasts, teasing her already pert nipples with my thumbs. Her head tilted back on a moan, allowing me further access to her delectable throat. One of my hands dropped, pulling her hips more harshly to mine as I thrust roughly against her.
"Fuck, Rhys -" she gasped out.
I continued my upwards movements, hitting her clit precisely with every thrust. Even in the bathwater, she was utterly soaked, the temptation to drive into her tight heat engulfing me. I needed this - needed her, to ground me, to show me there was light left after today.
"I need to feel you, Aelin - I need you," I groaned against her neck.
Her hand snaked down in response, positioning the head of my cock against her opening before sinking down without further provocation. We moaned in unison as her tight heat completely encompassed my length, gripping me hard. She barely paused when I was sheathed entirely, lifting her hips to rise before sinking back down.
I snarled in pleasure as she moved, slowly and sensually unraveling me with the rolling of her hips. Water splashed around us, the view of her stretched around my girth distorted and erotic beneath the surface. Her silken heat was hell and heaven at once, and I never wanted to leave.
The drag of my cock against her walls had my breath coming faster, everything within me consumed by the vision of my mate riding me. She moaned when she came down at a different angle, hitting a sweet spot within her, and my control snapped.
Grabbing her hips firmly, I held on as I thrust into her, pounding up from below. Her breasts moved with the force of my thrusts, and I leaned forward to capture a rosy peak in my mouth. I slammed her down onto me as I fucked her hard and fast, desperately chasing the high of release.
Adjusting my grip on her hips, I slid my thumb to rub hard and fast on her clit, growling when I felt her pulse around me. Our movements were jerky, feral as we raced towards the cliff. Desperate in our need for oblivion. She shuddered as she came, clenching me impossibly tighter as she climaxed.
"Mine," I snarled as I fucked her through it, prolonging her pleasure as much as I could. I roared as my orgasm ripped through me, the force of it so strong it blacked out my vision.
I was panting as I came down, clutching Aelin firmly to my chest, still buried deep inside her. For long minutes, we remained there, limp with satisfaction, comforted by each other's presence.
As always, My Goddess was right. All we could do was get up every time we were knocked down, and refuse to give up the fight. I could do that, and I would. Hybern would regret the day he targeted my people, my mate.
I would prevail.
As long as I had Aelin next to me, I could face whatever was coming. She was all that I needed.
She was everything.