“Claire!” I shouted.
Nothing.
Not even an acknowledgment.
Just a limp, boneless body collapsing into mine.
I had to get her out of here. But that force had its claws so deep into her, preventing me from moving. So I did the only thing I could think to do. I misted.
Water overwhelmed my senses, transforming me into a breeze that allowed me to traverse kingdoms via magical means. Only, I’d never taken another being with me before.
Come on, I urged, thickening my energy and forcing it to overwhelm Claire. A hint of her water responded, as if a hand was forming from within her and reaching for me. I grasped it with my mind
, locking our element together in a whirlpool of power.
My chest ached beneath the force of it, a connection forming that surpassed time and space, but it was the only way to free her from that violent hold.
I felt it now. The inky abyss sucking her into a black hole of malevolence, stripping her of her gifts, and cascading her to the darkest depths of the ocean floor.
Not on my watch, asshole! I shoved the shadow back with a tidal wave so strong that the being—trap—thing—unlatched, releasing Claire to my superior strength, causing me to stumble backward in mist form.
I didn’t think; I acted.
My power wrapped around her in earnest, forcing her to disintegrate into water molecules that I could manipulate, and I took her with me to the only place I knew would help.
We collapsed in a bedchamber I never used.
In a kingdom I rarely visited.
The cascade of falls graced my vision, a fountain running in the corner with renewed vigor at my presence, as an unconscious Claire lay in my arms.
Crashing booms echoed outside the chambers, the guards sensing the presence of a powerful fae and rushing to defend their territory. The doors flew open, a Water Fae with broad shoulders and thick thighs plowed inside.
“Who are—” His mouth actually fell open at the sight of me on the floor with a nearly dead female clasped tightly to my chest. “My Prince.” He dropped to his knee, head bowed. Most referred to me as their king. Here they called me Prince for my water birthright, one I’d rejected. But today I needed his help.
Everyone followed suit, their dismay clear.
But none of them possessed the presence or power I needed.
“My father,” I rasped. “I need my father.”
Chaos erupted around us. Shouts ensued. But all of my focus was on the too-cold woman in my arms.
Guilt pounded through my thoughts. I should have known Mortus wouldn’t lead me to Exos so easily, that he knew I was following him last night.
Damn it to the Elements!
“Claire,” I whispered, rocking her helplessly and feeling her life escape between my fingers. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Exos trusted me to guard her, to protect her, and I’d led her to her own fucking slaughter.
And I still didn’t know what caused it or how that shadowy thing had sucked the life from her. The death fields embodied so many nightmares, but nothing like that. It had reminded me of a vampire, something so starved for the elements that it’d hooked itself into Claire and drank freely of her power.
How?
What monstrosity had Mortus created? And why had it only attacked Claire?
“Son?” My father’s voice held a note of concern, his confusion written into the lines of his face. His formal attire suggested I’d interrupted something important, but the way he came to his knees before me said he didn’t care. “Is this…?”
“Claire,” I breathed. “I took her to the death fields, looking for Exos, and something attacked her. It sucked the elements right out of her. I don’t… I don’t know what to do.”