With the determined expression crossing our daughter’s face, that was an exact replica of her mothers when she faced impossible odds, Riella nodded.
Feeling a sudden weight on my booted foot, I looked down to see the pookah's rabbit ass perched just so. Its ears twitched, feeling my narrowed gaze, it turned its soft black bunny nose up at me and hissed.
Resisting the need to drop kick the little shit, I prayed for the hundredth time today that whoever would steal my daughter’s heart, it wasn't going to be this fucking vermin.
"Eww," Riella laughed with a sudden look of disgust on her face as Blaithin coughed buckets of drool onto her outstretched hands. But instead of it splattering to the ground it moved and shifted until becoming one solid object the length of my daughter’s arm balancing delicately in her grasp.
Remnant inhaled sharply. "A bás fang." Shadows swirled instantly around Riella's hand to cover it in a coat of darkness, a protection from the lethal weapon—a soul destroyer.
I knelt next to my bewildered daughter. "Riella. This is a rare gift. But it is also very dangerous. One scratch from this fang will end not only the life of another but also completely destroy their entire existence…it will end their soul." Looking up at the cub and her mother, I nodded. "You honor us. I thank you for your gift in keeping my cub safe."
"Yes thank you, Sadhbh," Remnant whispered, beckoning Riella to her, "Bring it here my little chickadee, I think I have the perfect solution for your gift."
Riella moved with careful steps holding the sharp glinting white fang like a sacrifice in her hands—now weary of its presence.
“She’s learning,”I sent to Remnant.
“Perhaps.”She answered back, shadows swirling up from the ground, forming a long slender pole. With inky like tendrils it extended out to the bás fang, plucking it from my cub’s hands and braiding around it so that it anchored at the very top.
"It's like my spear!" Riella clapped her hands together.
Remnant nodded, tying off the shadows. "A perfect tip for your lethal spear."
Glittering gold and green eyes blazed up at my soulmate, "Thank you."
Chuckling darkly, I stood to my full height and danced around our daughter whirling her new weapon like a magic wand, her crown sparkling with each movement. Even the cù-sìth cautiously backed away from her excitable waving.
I tilted my head, a small smirk playing across my lips. "Goddess help me, I have one female in my life that prefers dangerous beasts over flowers, and another that has taken to enjoying dangerous weapons that can destroy souls over toys."
Remnant snorted next to me. "Would you have it any other way?"
I was in front of her in seconds, my hand threaded in her hair, tilting her head back ever so slowly so that she could meet the ferocity in my gaze. "Never," I purred, kissing her lips softly, loving the sexy little inhale she made when my lips touched hers.
Low growling and barking drew our attention back to the giant sand barricade. Shaking her head, I released my hand from my soulmate's hair just in time for us to watch as the sands parted and the silver path extended into an oblivion of light, what-ever was beyond this barrier was too blinding to be seen from here.
The death hound turned to us, whimpering softly.
"I think she is telling us it is time to go." I said grimly, the stench of the Vagari stronger now than ever, the smell of cinder and ash adding to the death decay. The hairs on the back of myneck rose and I growled darkly towards whatever impending doom we would face next. "We need to be prepared."
Riella stilled her movement, tapping the spear down loudly on the silver path, her face comically serious as she faced the wall. "I am ready, with this spear I shall protect what I love." Turning toward us, her eyes swirled like fireworks bursting in the sky. "All that I love."
Nodding to my soulmate, I roared. Shifting into my panther and snarling into the blazing abyss, I raced towards my daughter who laughed as shadows plucked her from the path and settled her onto my back. Her tiny body immediately wrapped around me warmly, her spear lowering like a jabbing lance in front. All those years of her riding a water dragon in The Under assisting her with our charge.
Beside us, Remnant ran, jumping onto her shadows, and racing them against my powerful sprint, straight for the opening to the Vagari.
Behind us the cù-sìth mother and her pup howled. Not a death omen but a warning for all those who dared to fuck with our little family.
We were coming.
Chapter 26
Thelightwasn'tlightat all.
It was fire. Pure uncontrolled fire and it was raining down from the sky in a torrential storm. In front of us, hundreds of grotesque yellow eyed beasts that seemed to be drawn from a faeling’s goddess damn nightmare screamed, skewered, and fucked each other in a chaotic swarm.
“Hang on tight, my cub!”Praying to the goddess and her worthless hide that Riella could hear me along our bond. A bond that all shifters had with their cubs. She had astonishingly bonded with me while in healing sleep the very day Jar told me she was mine and ever since that day, she filled a piece of my heart that I never knew was missing.
Unable to avoid our path colliding with the monsters bathing in a deadly foray of fire and blood, I roared right before we were submerged into the chaos. Riella screamed and flattenedher body along my sleek bounding frame, whether she heard me or not, it did not matter, her hold was locked tight. Small hands dug tightly into my hide and her bitty booted heels dug straight into the space between my ribs. Darkness descended, coating us in shadow to shield our daughter from the spitting fire above.
