The green haired elemental glanced over my soulmate’s shoulder towards me and then pulled her hand from his face, cupping it in his own. I raised my brows, he had always been an intelligent little bastard.
Riley gave her a sad smile. “We went south when you disappeared. Hoping to find any trace that would lead us to where you were. We never believed the queen’s tales…that you betrayed us all.”
Xi finished for him. “When word of Deirdre murdering any fae she thought was associated with you and hanging them on the gates, we knew something went terribly wrong and that we had to return. But we were too late—” Xi choked. “We thought we lost you forever and when the shifter king found us we were prepared to join you in death. Except he offered us a home and the promise that he would find you, that you were alive.” She glanced up at me and smiled. “Thank you for delivering on your promise, my king.”
My voice rumbled with emotion. “It was my pleasure. Shifters enjoy a good hunt.”
“If you call nearly dying half a dozen times hunting, fairy boy.”My beast snorted
Remnant looked over her bare shoulder at me. “If you have been searching for me all this time then when was the last time you were home?”
Tyr raised his hand and shot a glare in my direction. “I can answer that. It’s been fifty two years and thirty six days since he was last home. I should know since he tied me up before leaving us all behind…again. Insistent that he would find you on his own.”
I flinched but held Remnant’s startled expression, the same question rolling in her thoughts that she always had but still hadn’t had the courage to ask me yet.Why?
Our bond was becoming harder and harder to temper, especially since The Under, when she unintentionally claimed me.
I held her stunned emerald gaze. “Like I said before, little umbra. You’re worth it. Every minute of it.” I grinned. “You didn’t make it easy, though.”
Riley’s knowing gaze turned on me. “She found you, didn’t she?”
I flashed my fangs at him.
"I knew it." He laughed, along with Xi who shook her head with disbelief.
She held my gaze for a moment longer. “I don’t understand you, but I am grateful.” She said softly and my heart sputtered at the vulnerable sound.
I grunted. “You are most welcome.”
She searched my face for another moment before turning back to her friends. “If you were there…then you must know. It was me. I destroyed them…killed them all.”
Xi’s hair fell back over her face when she shook her head. “We do not blame you for what happened in Morta, Rem. Deirdre did this. The goddess curse her putrid soul. You loved her and she betrayed you, betrayed all of us—the people she was supposed to protect.” She touched Remnant's chest with her hand. “We know your soul Rem, that you would have taken their place if given the choice.”
Remnant’s eyes snapped up and her mood darkened. “Then you don’t know what my soul is capable of.”
Both Xi and Riley stiffened, as if startled to see the stirring darkness revealed by her but I wasn’t. It was a part of her and it made her all the more beautiful. Whatever she was capable of, it would be a masterpiece when released. For the good or for the bad of us all.
At that moment, the sky suddenly turned black and the warm Finlandia sun disappeared.
I snarled, stepping towards the scent of my soulmate in the darkness.
Chapter 49
IstoodquicklybumpingintoEmon’s chest as I threw a shield of shadow over Riley and Xi who had stood with me. Drawing my sword from the shadow void, I looked up where the sun should have still been shining. My eyes widened at the massive dark swarm.
“Are those—”
“Spy crows.” Both Emon and Tyr snarled together, their deadly fangs had extended, claws were unsheathed, and their eyes flashed bright with a predatory gleam.
They were feral shifter gods. One a glowing sculpture of bronze, the other a tattooed masterpiece of muscle, and they flanked me as if I was their sacred honor to protect.
Except I didn’t need protection.
Averting my gaze I watched the dark swarm of birds, squawking above us. Up close, spy crows were a medium sized bird, all black, except for their beaks which were brightred with sharp sawing teeth. My nose wrinkled with disgust when the frantic beat of their wings brought with them the stench of rotten earth.
I touched the shifter king’s arm, drawing his attention back down to me. “They are searching for the city.” I breathed.
He nodded. “Tyr, sound the alarm. Fortify the wards. They shouldn’t be able to see the city but I’m not taking any fucking chances!”
