Silver Flame

And as his teeth sink into me, I seethe with rage. It hurts, more than it did with Ace. Levi wants it to hurt.

He feeds on me, and it is a kind of rape, a kind of violation. I have pushed him too far. Whatever way out Fen and Dean might have accomplished will be undone by my stupidity.

I feel myself fading. He is drinking too much of my blood. Draining me too thoroughly. And gaining more power in the process.

But then something shifts. Voices. Footsteps. Heavy boots. Men arguing. Levi releases me and I slump to the ground, as a wolf howls and men scream.

***

I'm plagued by nightmares of fire and death. Of Daison dying in my arms. Of Oren torturing me. Of Fen cut down in battle. Of being paraded naked as people I tried to help abuse me in the most vile of ways. I startle out of sleep drenched in sweat and shaking.

Strong arms wrap around me. "You are safe. Calm yourself, love."

I cling to Fen, still shaking. Still plagued by images of his nearly dead body lying on the scorched battlefield. "Where are we? What's happened?" I remember trying to escape. Him. Dean. Then Levi. Then nothing. I look around to situate myself. I'm in a cave, laying on thick furs with a fire burning near me. Outside, a storm rages in the night sky, throwing snow into our shelter. We are alone save Baron, who is curled at my feet, his large head resting on my legs as he stares at me with worry—if a wolf can look worried.

"We're in hiding," he says gruffly. "You lost a lot of blood and passed out. We had to wait for you to awaken before we could leave."

I touch my neck, where Levi took a chunk out of me during his feeding. It's healing quickly, but still painful. I examine my shoulder with my left hand. There are bandages where the arrow once was. "How long have we been here?"

"A few hours. You should rest more, but we can't afford to stay on this world longer than necessary. How do you feel?"

"Tired. Sore. But well enough to walk." I'm not totally sure that's the truth, though. My legs feel like jelly. But I can sense the urgency in Fen, and I know he's right. Everyone will be looking for us. Hunting us. We've escaped execution, but for how long?

"What happened?" I ask. I don't remember anything after Levi fed on me.

"Baron saved you by taking a chunk out of Levi. While the bastard fled, Dean and I took down his soldiers. We got away just in time. If he'd had more of your blood… "

Fen lets the thought trail off, and I shudder. I came close to dying. Again.

Dean joins us through the cave's opening, a wobble to his step, carrying a flask that he's clearly been imbibing generously from. "It's good to see you awake, Princess."

"Why did you send me the key?" I ask without preamble.

He shakes his head, his dark blond hair shifting gracefully with the movement. He truly is a beautiful man, at least on the outside. "What? No thank you to the man who saved your life? I thought surely that would win me some points. Save the damsel in distress, win her hand?"

"My hand isn't for winning," I say. "And you didn't answer my question."

"Why did I save you?" he repeats, sitting down across from me. "It seemed my only chance of getting my month with you, since my brothers keep stealing my turn." He shoots a look at Fen, then returns his attention to me. "I'm convinced that with a little one-on-one time, you'll finally see how charming and irresistible I truly am."

I roll my eyes at that. "Not likely. But thanks, I guess. Now what do we do? Where do we go?"

Dean's smile grows bigger, if that's even possible. Does this man take nothing seriously? "There's only one place I can think of off the top of my head that would offer us protection."

Fen groans. "There has to be somewhere else. That's no place for Arianna."

I flash Fen a look. "Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean? I'm not a child in need of shielding. If we'll be safe there, we must go. Where is this place?"

Dean chuckles. "You'll see shortly. Let's be off then, shall we?" He takes a swig of his flask and offers it to both Fen and me. Fen refuses, but as I try to walk, pain shoots through me and I reluctantly accept.

The drink burns my throat going down, but then a pleasant tingling alleviates some of the pain, and walking isn't as hard. I hand it back to him. "Thank you, that helped."

We follow Dean through the cave. He turns to make sure we're keeping up. "It's the perfect place," he tells Fen. "We can relax, indulge in some fun, maybe even get some help with what to do next."

"This isn't a holiday," Fen says. "We'll get Ari a healer and then return to reclaim Stonehill. Besides, I will not be indebted to that demon ever again."

Dean laughs but doesn't argue.

"Where are we going?" I ask to break the awkward silence that has developed. And because I'd really like to know.

"We must meet with Sly," Dean says. "There's a place called The Black Lotus. Sly Devil runs it. It's a no-kill zone for beings from all realms and worlds. A safe space, more or less. Sly knows everything that happens everywhere, and everyone who's doing it. If anyone can help us, it's him."

"For a steep price," Fen mutters.

Dean laughs. "Ignore him. He's just still pissed about his last favor being called in. It involved a mermaid and a hit man. I'll tell you the whole story sometime when Fen isn't around to ruin it."