Deciding Her Faete (Beyond the Veil Book 2) (13 page)

“Oh, Goddess, thank you!” April sobbed before she swayed alarmingly.

Donovan reached out, and pulled her up and onto the bed with him, wrapping her in his arms. Jason moved swiftly from where he sat on the bed opposite, to nestle himself against April’s other side. The two of them held her tight as she continued to sob.

“It’s okay, baby,” Jason murmured to their mate. “We’re here.”

Donovan’s body ached, and when he reached for his wolf, he was relieved to feel his beast there, pacing in anger at what had happened to them. “I heard you chanting, April.”

“Your tattoo held the incantation that saved you,” Corrine replied as she moved to place a hand gently on Donovan’s arm. “My sister must have foreseen this, too, and wove the spell into the ink on your arm. In the moment you needed it most, it resettled itself into the words April needed to bring you back from the Shadow Realm.”

“We saw Ilyra in the Shadow Realm,” Donovan said. April lifted her tearstained face to look at him, her eyes wide with shock. “She helped us get back to you.”

Jason pressed a kiss to April’s cheek and nuzzled close to her neck. “Your mom wanted us to tell you that she loves you and that one day, you will see her and your father again.”

April hiccup-laughed, a sound that Donovan found adorable, and he pressed her even tighter against his chest. Then he remembered the second part of Ilyra’s farewell message they were to bring back with them.

Donovan looked at Corrine. “Your sister had a message for you, too. She wanted us to tell you that time is growing short. Your fate is bound to them, and you must act soon.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Gabe all but snarled. “Whose time is running short, and who is the ‘
them
’ that your fate is fucking bound to?”

Donovan winced. The air around them thickened as Gabe’s dominance filled the room.

Corrine swallowed visibly and turned to stare at the Alpha. “
My
time is running short, and the ‘
them
’ that she is referring to,” Corrine hesitated a moment then stood tall with her head high, “are my mates.”

Chapter Twenty

“No!” Kheelan screamed and threw the glass sphere he held in his hand across the room, watching it hit the wall and shatter. That window into the Shadow Realm was useless to him now anyway. “You said they would be trapped in the Shadow Realm, Frederych. You said they would die!”

Frederych seemed unfazed by his outburst as he continued to examine the human corpse on the table in front of them. Finally, he looked up. “You saw them escape? Hmm, that should not have been possible. How curious. The poison I infused into your Fae guard should have left them to die in the realm beyond.”

“Then
how
did they escape, you imb—” Kheelan was furious, but he had to remember that making an enemy of Frederych was not in his best interest, so he reined it in. Also, the man did manage to mostly patch him up from that traitorous bitch, Corrine’s fatal stab wound, so he hadn’t been completely useless, and not all of the experiments they’d tested on the filthy humans had proven worthless. He no longer had to administer a healing patch daily.

His strength had returned, in fact, and he had never felt better with all the added touches Frederych had performed, but all of it was still only temporary. He had intended to recapture April, drain her of her powers, and transfer them onto himself before he killed her, thus allowing himself the ability to heal. Taking her mates away from her would have just been a bonus, a prelude to the misery he had in mind for her. Clearly, he had overestimated Frederych’s abilities and wondered if he could have found someone stronger to assist him. Then suddenly, the possibility that his enemies had found someone stronger hit him. “Do they have one of
your
kind aiding them?”

“Impossible.” Frederych scoffed at his accusation.

It irritated Kheelan that the other male had no fear of him. Fear would have been a much better motivator when it came to working under him.

“Oh? Why do you think that is impossible, Frederych, if I managed to find you, after all? Or have
you
perhaps betrayed me?”

Frederych didn’t look in the least bit affronted at Kheelan’s accusation. If anything, he looked bored. “First of all, my people have no interest in
your
kind or the human realm. My interest in your research is singular. Secondly, if any of
my
people found out that I was working with you, doing what we’re doing, then we’d know it already.” He wiped the blood from his hands on a rag, after which he flung it dismissively near the corpse on the table—another failed experiment.

“How can you be certain of this?” Kheelan asked. He wondered how that bastard could be so calm in the face of his crumbling plans. He’d spent years helping Alefric rise to power, and now, with his beloved King dead, he concentrated on his own rise. He wondered if perhaps it should have been Alefric assisting
him
to power all along, and he wasn’t going to let some group of animals stop him from becoming whom he now knew he was meant to be.

“My people are not subtle, Captain.” Frederych looked squarely at Kheelan and said, “If they knew we were here, we’d both be dead already.”

That should have given him pause, the emotionless way the other Fae talked about their destruction, but he was too far gone in his rage to worry about that. Reysken’s betrayal of him would only be avenged once his spawn was wiped from all the realms. He would not stop until she and the rest of the meddling animals were dead. And then he’d make sure that all shifters knew that their place was firmly under the foot of his boot heel and nowhere else. He would also deal with that royal brat, Eyrica, once and for all. Where his King had failed he would not.

“Frederych! Gather the men. We are going through the Veil tonight, and we are going to end this once and for all. Then I will take
my
rightful place on the throne.”

****

Jason felt a sense of relief to be holding onto April once again. When he’d woken up in that frozen wasteland, he thought he may never see her again. It had been torture to think that he and Donovan had left April alone to fight against Kheelan. He was still having a difficult time processing the fact that he and Donovan had actually seen and spoken to April’s long deceased mother.

He’d barely even been paying attention to the rest of the people in the room, but when Gabe snarled in response to Corrine’s time running short and the fact that she had mates, he felt the sharp stab of his Alpha’s pain trickle down the link they shared.

“Mates?” Gabe repeated through gritted teeth. Jason could see the veins bulging in his neck and his wolf was dangerously close to the surface.

It was awful feeling this pain and confusion coming from their usually stoic leader. He wasn’t the only one confused about Corrine’s declaration, but Jason’s thoughts were derailed when a sharp pain lanced through his chest.

“Jason! Donovan!” April cried out as they collapsed once again. Jason clutched his chest. He could feel the blood begin to drip from his nose. He tried hard not to scream out in the wake of all the pain, trying to spare April as much as he could.

“What’s happening, Corrine?” April asked frantically. “I thought the spell in the tattoo healed them?”

“Damn Kheelan! Yes, the spell my sister cast brought them back to us from the Shadow Realm, but mortals were never supposed to set foot there. It has taken much of their energy from them, and the original poison is still in their system.” Corrine looked from Erica to April as Ben and Leo helped Jason back onto his own cot. “April, you and Eyrica will have to work together to heal them. I think now that they are no longer being pulled into the Shadow Realm, your healing powers will work on them. Their bodies will need time to help you push out the poison, however.”

April placed one hand on Jason’s chest and her other on Donovan’s, while Erica focused her healing powers on the bites. It felt like she was attempting to draw out the poison through the entry points while April repaired the damage already done. Jason felt something trickling from his nose again and ran the back of his hand across his nose to wipe away some of the blood, but when he looked at his hand, it was covered in some dark, inky substance instead. The pain in his chest was subsiding slightly, but he felt exhausted, his eyelids heavy.

“Poison,” he heard Corrine say to his left. He hadn’t even realized that he shut his eyes. “She’s filtering it out of their bodies.”

For the next couple of hours, he remembered drifting in and out of consciousness, April, Erica, and Corrine, vigilant at his and Donovan’s side. Finally, when he heard Donovan’s voice, Jason opened his eyes slowly.

“There he is. We thought you’d sleep all day, you lazy bastard.” Donovan’s cheeky smile was a welcome sight, but it couldn’t hide the dark circles under his brother’s eyes and the blatant look of exhaustion that must have mirrored his own. Jason felt like he’d been run over by a semi-trailer, but at least he felt normal beat-to-hell and not poisoned-and-dying-beat-to hell.

“He’s lying of course. Donovan’s only been awake for a few minutes himself.” April’s sweet voice was music to his ears. “How are you feeling, baby?”

“Better I think, or at least getting there,” Jason replied, slowly sitting up and then swinging his legs around.

“Gods, it’s good to see you both up and without the black goop leaking out of you,” Gabe said as he walked into the room and strode over to a tired looking Corrine.

Just as Jason stood on shaky legs, Leo rushed into the room. The expression on his face clearly showed that he wasn’t bringing good news.

“Gabe, the patrol on duty says we have company in the woods on the southern border of the property.”

“Who?” Gabe asked, his facial expression quickly turning into that of a stone-cold predator.

“Fae! A group of armed Fae and they are headed straight for us.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Instinctively, Jason and Donovan positioned themselves in front of April as Gabe barked out orders. She could see them struggling through their weakened state to stand tall in front of her, and she found herself facing two muscular backs this time, reminiscent of the first night she’d met Jason. She’d laugh if the current circumstance wasn’t so dire.

She placed a hand on each of their backs. “Please don’t ask me to sit this one out.” They both turned to face her. “I won’t listen anyway,” she added with a weak smile.

“Defense only,” Donovan said, though he looked none too pleased. “You will be nowhere near the front lines, you understand me, April?”

She nodded. The last thing she wanted to do was be responsible for making them lose focus while trying to protect her. Every part of her screamed to beg
them
to sit this one out, but they would never listen. Their duty to their pack and their overwhelming need to protect her would easily win out over her concern for them. Instead, she offered an alternative.

“You can tap into my energy. Erica explained how mates can share their life force, how they were even able to channel some of her power and feed her their strength when she was weakened.”

“Will that harm you in any way?” Jason asked. He and Donovan had both turned to look at her again.

“No,” she replied with confidence. Erica assured her that it was safe. They’d only be stronger together.

As they all headed outside to defend their territory and to finally put an end to Kheelan’s reign of terror, Gabe filled Donovan and Jason in on the information he got out of the Fae guard they had “captured”
earlier. Kheelan had obviously instructed the guard to get caught in order to infect Jason and Donovan with the poison. They had also managed to get out of him that the humans were all being held at the same location where they had kept April. The Fae scum even bragged about the fact that many of them had been experimented on and did not survive, just before the poison had consumed him and turned him into ash.

April sent up a silent prayer to the Goddess, hoping that her coworker Dee had not been one of those unfortunate experimented on victims.

A few minutes later, more wolves gathered at their side as they reached a large clearing in the forest behind Gabe’s property. April could sense, however, the rest of the pack remained hidden behind and all around them in the forest.

Gabe’s phone rang. “Fifty,” he said after he hung up the call.

Donovan seemed surprised. “He comes into our den with only fifty men?”

But then she saw the group being led by Kheelan into the clearing. They stopped a healthy distance away and like the sea parting for Moses, they all parted for Frederych. Kheelan flashed a wicked smile in her direction as the vile Freddy got down on one knee and placed his palms flat on the ground.

It didn’t take long to see why Kheelan thought he only needed fifty men.

The ground beneath her started to shake, but unlike the earthquake Erica had caused where she could have brought down her entire palace, this one was controlled. Frederych was manipulating the earth, and bending it to his will.

The Fae charged at them while Kheelan stayed to guard Frederych. The ground remained unsteady, all but where Kheelan’s men stepped. The battlefield became a mass of chaos as swords collided and the sound of flesh being torn apart resonated in her ears. She got a chance to see just how lethal Erica and Corrine were with their blades while she threw her powers from her in short bursts of energy in an effort to destabilize some of the attacking guards. Only fair to even out the playing field, she thought.

A face in the crowd stood out to her just then. The other guard she had blasted out of her way when she broke free of her captivity came charging toward her. She sent a targeted burst of power in his direction, but he sidestepped the blast and she herself fell victim to the shaking ground, landing on her back. Another guard appeared and pinned her hands above her head.

April struggled to break free of his hold as she kicked her legs out toward the one she recognized. He smiled smugly and poised his sword to strike at her chest, but then she heard her name being called.

Donovan
.

The guard never had a chance to strike. His arms were ripped from his body before Donovan whirled around to catch the guard’s falling sword. He ran the sword through the Fae’s heart, and April watched as his body turned to ash. Her hands were freed as well after Donovan tossed the sword to Jason who was standing behind her, and he immediately decapitated the one restraining her. That Fae turned into two separate piles of ash, one for his body, and one for his head.

“Behind you,” she yelled at Donovan as another Fae guard charged him. Donovan faltered slightly, and so did April from the shaking ground. She saw the sword pierce through his arm. “No,” April yelled again, only, this time, she let her power out in front of her, feeding it and some of her strength to Donovan, who quickly and expertly dispatched his attacker. She turned to Jason and sent him the same energy as he battled and dismembered his own assailant.

Satisfied that she was safe for the moment, Donovan and Jason ran back into the center of the fight, but not before each of her men planted a swift kiss on her lips. When it was Donovan’s turn, however, she quickly healed up his wound. She could feel their strength returning and sent them even more of her energy.

“Right,” Erica began as she came up behind her and pulled her farther back from the battle and the shaky ground, to where Corrine was currently waiting for them, “It’s time to end this. The three of us are going after Kheelan.”

“What about Frederych? He’s too powerful.”

As if on cue, the Fae goon showed them all just how powerful he was when the ground began to crack open. Flames burst forth from the cracks, burning some of the wolves. It was shocking to see the range of control this mysterious Fae had upon the elements. His powers felt somehow different from anything Erica or Corrine had shown her.  April heard a tortured yelp of pain. Her first instinct was to run and heal the fallen wolf, but Erica held her back. “If Kheelan dies, they’ll have no one left to follow.”

Erica was right, of course. They needed to sever the snake’s head to ensure that this would be their final battle.

“We’ll worry about Frederych when Kheelan is dead,” Corrine added before she turned to look at April. “I need you to let us take care of the physical fight with Kheelan, April. You’ve just barely begun to wield your sword, and while I have no doubt with practice you will become a fierce warrior, Kheelan has had more than one lifetime to learn how to kill. Your powers are your greatest strength, and a smart fighter always uses their advantage. That’s how you stay alive.”

April hated that her aunt was right, but there was no room for pride in a war. She would attack where she could do the most damage. Both Corrine and Erica seemed to be relieved when she nodded her agreement.

The women surreptitiously backed away toward the woods. They needed an element of surprise to take Kheelan and to make sure that Frederych stayed focused on his task instead of them. She shuddered at the thought of what other surprises that Fae goon had in store for them. His abilities were even greater than she had known from her torture sessions with him.

They made their way closer and closer to where Kheelan stood guard over Frederych. April knew that it would not be easy to take him down. From what Erica had told her, he was a damn good fighter, very skilled with his blade, but she and Erica had their energy and Kheelan had not looked too well the last time she had seen him.

Just as they were about to make their move, however, April heard the sound of a twig snapping from somewhere much deeper in the forest. She still hadn’t gotten used to the enhanced hearing her wolf gave her.

“Stop,” she whispered, placing a hand on Corrine and Erica’s shoulders to halt their movement.

“What is it?” Erica and Corrine both asked simultaneously.

“Someone’s coming.”

Another twig snapped, and this time Erica and Corrine heard it, too. “Damn, woman. You’ve got great hearing.”

The three of them poised for a fight with their unseen assailant. Moments later, a very large, heavily tattooed giant of a man, stepped out from behind a tree and April saw both Erica and Corrine visibly relax.

“It’s okay, child,” Corrine said. “He’s a friend. I’m fairly certain he let you hear his approach. His kind can be one with the forest when they need to be.”

“Forgive me, Your Highness.” The large man bowed. “I did not mean to startle you and your ladies. I came to help.”

“Ishaya, how did you know about the battle?” Erica asked.

“I
borrowed
one of Kheelan’s guards earlier. I wanted information about the one called Frederych. I inquired. He answered.”

“I don’t imagine that they will be getting their guard back?” Corrine shook her head and smiled at the man.

“Not in one piece, no. He was very cooperative, though. Even told me where he was headed.” He inclined his head in the direction of the battlegrounds.

Though Ishaya had looked scary to her at first, upon closer inspection April could see that he had kind eyes. He smiled at her when he caught her staring at him. She couldn’t look away from him, though, despite being caught, not when she noticed the strange tattoo around his eye. “It’s moving,” she whispered as if only to herself. “Just like the symbols on the rocks.”

The sound of an explosion finally diverted her attention. The force of it nearly knocked them off their feet. Even the big guy looked off kilter for a moment.

“Now,” Erica yelled over the successive booming sounds of more explosions. “He dies now.”

“Frederych is mine,” Ishaya stated simply as he walked past them. “He owes me a life.”