Entwined Realms Volume One(97)

A photo album of memories flipped open through her mind, and time after time Terak stood with her, his wings either completely enveloping her or half around her as they stood together. He blocked out the world and let them remain in their own little world together with those wings. He hugged her tight to him that last night. It had been the most exquisite feeling of safety of love when he enveloped her, a feeling not even the embraces of her father and brothers had ever touched.

She felt loved.

And it was because he loved her.

None of it had been a lie, and she had been an emotional idiot to believe otherwise for even a moment. She knew Terak. She knew him. He was good and honorable to the point of being a stick-in-the-mud. That she could doubt him was ridiculous.

There was a reason he had been speaking to that vampire. It didn’t matter what it looked like, she was a jerk to have lost faith as she did.

Gods, she had made a real mess of things.

Revelation sparked through her body and demanded movement. She stood, regaining her fight and her momentum.

Terak loved her, and he would be here for her. Of course, that didn’t mean she should wait to be rescued, but knowing back-up was fighting like hell to get to her, well, that pumped the spirits up.

She had a student to save, necromancers to thwart, and a gargoyle to make amends to. It was going to be a busy night.





Chapter Thirty-Six





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The magical shield around the mountain pulsed in bright arcs underneath the hand of the Battle Mage, the glow illuminating her almond-shaped eyes and small, straight nose as she talked to Fallon, Terak, and assorted other warriors. “We can create a pocket in the shield for a short time. If everything goes well, the pocket will stay open long enough to allow eight to twelve people to get through before the barrier seals itself again. Then we’ll have to recast the spells, which will take at least ten minutes per casting. The first waves are going to be deep in the shit and sans back-up. First wave should be ready to go in three minutes.”

Fallon nodded, her calm expression telling all that the mage’s words were exactly what she expected to hear. “How many waves can we get in before the start of the ceremony?”

Laire looked up at the moon. “Three at most, and that’s if the casting is perfect with no problems.” She waved her hand toward a group of haggard beings chanting in front of the wall. “As you can tell, perfect might be hard to achieve.”

Fallon looked over at Aislynn who stood at the edges of the group. The elf was on lookout, her bow at the ready. “Any signs someone has seen us?”

“None so far. The invisibility spell the wizards cast seems to be working.”

The shield started to flicker and break. It wouldn’t be much longer. Fallon turned back to Laire. “What about inside? Any clues what’s going on there?”

“I can give guesses, nothing more,” said Laire. “They suffered major casualties today, but they know they did damage to us. Even if they suspect we’re here to attack them, I wouldn’t be expecting huge numbers of guards, but the guards they do have will be fresh and ready to fight. As for the mages, a lot of spell power has been used today to get ready for the ceremony. They won’t be at full power any more than we are. But there will be at least one vampire in there, and a half-tapped vampire is still a powerful enemy.”

Terak clenched his jaw, keeping his snarls behind teeth instead of roaring out his displeasure. It was of no matter how many stood guard or fought tonight. They were dead, and he would get his mate back.

“Gargoyles.” With a snap of her fingers the mage brought before them a glowing map in the sky, pointing at a little x marked far away from the squares and circles that dominated the bottom. “This is where you guys are being teleported. The cave has an entrance that is high in the mountains and goes down. Impossible for anyone not winged or otherwise flying-abled, which is probably why they didn’t put a barrier there. Bad news is we don’t know exactly how easy it will be to travel that path. No dwarves we know had anything to do with the construction of these caves. At best, you’re going to arrive T-minus fifteen minutes, putting you somewhere between the second and third wave. At best.”

Terak shook his head. “I will be in the first wave through the barrier. The rest of my warriors are to be transported.”

Malek came, putting his hand on Terak’s shoulder. “We will retrieve our Meyla. Do not fear.”

Terak placed his hand on Malek’s shoulder, returning the gesture. He looked over at the warriors who stood ready to fight. “No matter the end of this night, we will teach the vampires to fear the gargoyle.”