Oath of the Alpha - Eva Dresden Page 0,66

power away from where Endi writhed upon the ground and choked upon Er’it’s energy. Tor’en would not breach his shields anytime soon, not while Aida’s power lingered in crystalline perfection within him, and not after she had sapped the rest of them with her outburst.

“You’re hurting her,” Aida cried out, grabbing fistfuls of his clothing to climb up from her defensive huddle. Not rushing away but wrapping her arms tight around him from behind, she clung to Er’it’s back to let her hot tears soak into his shirt. “Please, this is madness. Stop!”

“She defies me and harms what is mine,” Er’it bit out, a savage growl resonating through his chest for good measure as he flung whatever power was his to call at Endi. “Do not question me, Aida!”

“I have done what she says. She is not wrong. Please do not hurt your people because of me.”

The completeness of her guilt searing through his chest forced Er’it to turn. Catching hold of her trembling shoulders, he gave her a hard shake that sent Aida’s head whipping back and forth. Muttering curses in his mother’s tongue, he cupped her jaw to wipe away the bitter tears.

“Please, release her,” Aida said, her lower lip quivering with the force of emotion she fought to contain.

“Why?”

“Because when you are finished with me, you will need these people. They care for you.”

“What did she say to you?” Er’it sidled closer, bringing Aida into his side and tipping her head back to keep the inky blackness of her gaze trained on his. Not allowing her to see the scene behind them, he kept her focus on him and him alone. For some reason, he did what Aida asked, though, only using the rush of blood-stained power gleaned from Endi to keep her silent.

“What does it matter? She—”

“Tell me.”

Aida sniffled, smearing tears over the softness of her cheek with the back of a hand before she set her lips in a taut line. She refused to answer him even as his gaze hardened and became as unforgiving as the amber they resembled. He still stroked her cheeks, leaning down until their foreheads touched. His breathy sigh was a quiet rumble, a sound of agitation that held a note of protection. Er’it despised the way leaden guilt piled in the pit of his stomach, no small measure of it his own.

“What was said?” Er’it demanded, raising his voice loud enough for Endi to hear him, though he didn’t turn to face the others. Keeping Aida locked in his embrace, he refused to let her see the gory bands of red convulsing over Endi’s flesh.

“You were our vengeance,” Endi choked out. Gagging on the flood of power filling her mouth and forcing truth into her words, she spat out, “My retribution. For me. You swore it!”

“That has not changed.” Er’it craned his head back, pushing his fingers deep into Aida’s hair to hold her face against his chest.

“Pah! You care only for her now and have forgotten all of your promises to us. Your people, the ones who followed you into the depths of the sands and beyond, who remained by your side no matter what horrors you committed. Now you have her and so easily cast the rest of us aside.”

“It is you who has forgotten, Endi,” Er’it said through a thundering growl, pushing Aida behind his back as he turned to the woman sprawled in the dirt. “I am king, and you are nothing more than a mage in my army.”

“I have forgotten nothing! I remember well the fires they set, the blood staining the sand, and the screams of my people as they were slaughtered.” Endi’s rich brown eyes glittered, no less hardened for the tears welling over her thick lashes. “You swore you would give me vengeance, and I have stood by your side since. Now you play games and deny her purpose to you, and we all suffer for it.”

“Enough,” Er’it shouted while stretching out his hand toward Endi. Ready to end all of this nonsense and stop the icy tide of fear flowing into him through his bond with Aida, he strained to call forth the sputtering remains of the energy snapping around Endi.

“Please, don’t hurt her,” Aida whispered against his spine, her small hands fisting his tunic to cling to him.

Aghast at the way the power seemed to diminish to nothing with just that diminutive plea, Er’it’s first reaction was to throttle them both, punishing Endi for her transgression and Aida for