Beyond the Mountain (Fae's Captive #4) - Lily Archer Page 0,38
to find another way out.”
“I think I have an idea.” I kick my legs. “Put me down.”
“No.”
“Leander.” I smack his chest. “Put me down.”
He growls low but sets me on my feet.
I spread my wings. “I’m our escape plan.”
“I’m far too heavy for you to carry.”
“Maybe. But we fly together, or we die together. I’m never leaving you again.”
He smiles, the worry draining from him bit by bit. “My mate.” He cups the back of my neck and pulls my mouth to his.
I push him back. “Focus.”
His eyes narrow. “Yes. To safety.”
I spread my wings again. “Okay, if I can get enough of a running start, then I—” I scream as a bolt of darkness pierces my wing, and Shathinor rises from his spot next to the shattered throne.
I curl my injured wing inward.
Leander snatches the obsidian blade from the steps and turns, throwing the sword with vicious efficiency. It catches Shathinor in the chest, piercing his rotten heart.
He grabs it but can’t wrench it free.
Leander takes my hand and keeps me behind him as he climbs the stairs, wrath tangible in each of his heavy steps.
Staggering back, Shathinor holds out a hand, as if it can ward off the fury of Leander, the vengeance of the heart of winter.
Leander surges forward and grabs the blade, twisting it and lifting Shathinor’s ruined body off its feet.
Shathinor screams, the sound cloaked in death and darkness, and I cover my ears. Leander doesn’t flinch as he slams my father to the ground, rips the blade free, and beheads him with one vicious stroke.
The mountain shudders.
He turns to me and inspects my wing.
“Wait.” I step to my father’s corpse, his black eyes still open. “I’m not letting his evil come back. Never again.” I hold out my hand and black flames shoot from my palm. They envelope his body, burning him in the flames of death, destroying him so thoroughly that only a black outline of soot remains when the fire finally abates.
Leander spits on the ashes then takes me by the shoulders. “Fly, little one. Save yourself.”
“No. We’re not dying today.” I hold my hand out and pull forth the healing magic. My wing heals, the skin knitting back together and the black feathers fluffing over the wound.
A huge chunk of stone falls and shatters so close that Leander grabs me and races away from the impact.
“Hold onto me.” I reach down deep, dragging up every bit of magic I have left. Blackness infuses me, my wings spreading wide as a shadow encases them.
Leander grips my waist and presses his lips to my neck. “If you fly us out of here, the moment we land, I intend to worship this body as it deserves.”
I shiver, my dark magic shimmering as I wrap my legs around him. “Shh. I need to concentrate.”
He kisses his mark on my shoulder and holds on tighter.
I push my magic down, imagining the darkness working like jet thrusters. At first it simply pools beneath our feet.
“Hmm.” I push it harder, trying to get some lift.
Leander kisses along my jaw. “Allow me.”
With a swell of power, he creates a pedestal of ice that grows so fast it acts like a launcher, shooting us through one of the many openings in the crumbling mountaintop.
We surge into the night sky. It’s exhilarating to see the ruined stone beneath us, my father’s work caving in on itself.
But then the ice stops.
“Fly,” he whispers, his mouth at my ear.
My wings stretch, the darkness still coating them with power, and I flap them hard. They ache, pain ripping down my back as I struggle to surge upward and away from the rock below.
I can feel what little magic Leander has left pushing through the bond, adding to my stores as I flap my wings, gaining a bit of distance between us and the mountain. The pain in my back is like razor blades skating down my flesh, but I power through it.
Leander peers down at the ruined cavern. “If you need to leave me—”
“Never.” I push harder, every muscle in my body straining as I finally get enough lift away from the peak that I can stretch out and glide. “But you weigh a ton.”
The fires are still burning in the valley, so I bank hard away from them until I can see nothing but darkness below.
“We should land there.” He points to a black area just like all the other black areas.
“What’s there?” I aim toward the spot nestled at the base of