CHAPTER 199: THE GAME HAD CHANGED...

[ Greater Woods...continued ]

The air had changed.

Thorgar’s grip on his axe eased...just slightly...his gaze shifting from the shadow beast to something beyond.

His nostrils flared once, twice, as if scent alone could tell him what his eyes could not.

"...It’s clearing," he muttered, half to himself.

Without looking at Autumn, he spun on his heel, raising his free hand. "Orion! Here...now!"

From somewhere beyond the thinning veil of mist, a figure emerged at a run,as if he was waiting just outside,waiting for the mist to lift, for Thorgar to summon him. The swirling vapors parted at his speed. Orion’s broad frame broke through the haze, his eyes scanning the battlefield once before locking on Thorgar.

Velor stood a few paces away, breathing hard.The tip of his blade hanging low. He gave his head a sharp shake, like a man waking from a long, fevered dream. "What..." His voice was hoarse. "What in the Moon’s name..."

Autumn’s breath spilled out in one long, ragged exhale. The tether between her and Velor had snapped, leaving her oddly lightheaded, as if she had been holding her breath for hours. The crows still swarmed above, their endless cawing echoing through the trees... making it impossible to really focus on anything else!

"Princess," Orion said the moment he reached Autumn’s side, there was no greeting, no softness. He grabbed her shoulders, scanning her quickly for injuries before pulling her closer.

She blinked up at him. "Orion? What..."

But then she caught it...her father’s face turned towards them, eyes narrowed, his jaw hard as granite. He wasn’t speaking. Yet she could feel something was being said. Not aloud. Not for her.

Her gaze flicked between them...Thorgar’s unblinking stare, Orion’s grim stillness.

"What’s happening? What are you talking about?" She realized aloud, brows knitting at Orion. "These crows are bad news, right?Tell me! "

Neither of them answered.

"Father?" She turned towards Thorgar.

The crows shifted above, their wings creating a rolling shadow over the clearing.

But then Kieran twitched.

Autumn froze. For a moment, everything else faded. Her attention zeroed down on her mate!

"Kieran..." she whispered. And then louder, her voice breaking into a smile. "Kieran!" She gasped.

She dropped to her knees beside him, relief flooding her face. "Oh...thank the moon..." She reached for him, her fingers brushing his cheek.

His eyelids fluttered, lips parting on a faint, shaky breath.

Autumn’s heart leapt. "You are back," she breathed. "You really came back for me..." She leaned forward, ready to wrap her arms around him, to press her lips to his and thank him for not leaving her... or may be smack him for scaring the shit out of her... When...

"Princess!"

Orion’s arm came around her like an iron band, yanking her backward before she could touch Kieran.

She jerked against his hold, furious. "What the hell, Orion, let go!"

He didn’t. "We need to leave.Now." His voice was clipped, urgent in a way she had never heard from him.

"What?!" she snapped, twisting in his grip. "Why the heck would I leave before finishing this off? And Kieran..." She pointed towards her man, struggling to her feet. "Kieran’s waking up as well! We end this now, then we go home!"

"You don’t understand, Princess." Orion’s voice dropped, tension sharp enough to cut. "We need to leave immediately...it’s your father’s order to take you to safety..."

Her brows drew together. "What aren’t you telling me..."

By then, Kieran was upright...slow, steady...his blade in hand.

So was the creature.

Its shape snapped back into focus, its hollow face turning towards Thorgar with something disturbingly close to a grin.

"Father!" she cried, but Thorgar was already moving, axe raised.

The shadow lunged.

On cue, Orion locked his arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground. "No time!"

"What...Orion! Put me down!" She kicked against him, twisting, her eyes locked on her father. "Let me..."

Just then... Kieran moved.

Not towards her.

But towards Thorgar.

Autumn’s breath caught...confusion flashing to horror...as Kieran closed the distance in a few swift strides.

And drove his blade straight through the patriarch’s side...

The world froze for her.

The sound of the blade slipping into flesh rang louder than the cawing above, louder than the pounding in her ears.

It was a wet, awful sound...followed by Thorgar’s sharp intake of breath, his massive frame faltering, his eyes wide not with fear but something closer to shock!

" Mother fuc..." Thorgar’s voice was hoarse, breaking around the syllables.

Autumn’s heart stopped.

Her lungs seized.

She was still in Orion’s grip, but her entire body lurched forward instinctively, as if her sheer will could tear her from his arms and undo what her eyes had just seen.

"No!!!!!" Her voice cracked, splintering into something primal. " Father!!!Kieran, what are you...?! Stop! Father...."

But Kieran didn’t even look at her.

His face was shadowed, unreadable, the muscles in his jaw rigid as his hands twisted the blade deeper into Thorgar’s side.

The patriarch’s knees buckled.

A dark stain spread beneath his vest.

Above them, the swarm of crows wheeled in black spirals, their cries building into a maddening crescendo.

Orion’s grip on her tightened painfully, his breath hot and rapid near her ear.His voice heavy. Sobbing? Angry? Autumn couldn’t tell! "Princess...look at me. Look at me!"

"Let me go!" She thrashed against him, her nails scraping against his muscles. "He’s...Kieran’s..he’s not...Father...."

"You can’t help him now!" Orion barked, and for the first time she heard real fear in his voice.

"I have to!" Her throat burned. She tried to twist, her legs kicking against the empty air as Orion hauled her back another step. Her entire field of vision blurred except for that one image...Kieran, standing over Thorgar, his blade buried in the man who was her only family...in whose arms she had experienced unconditional love...her father...her blood... her world...

"KEIRAN!!!"

It was a scream that tore her chest apart. She didn’t even know if it was his name she was calling or a plea for reality to make sense again.

Then the mist thickened again at the edges of her vision...not outside, but inside her head.

Her arms went limp. The pounding in her temples grew louder than the crows, louder than the clash of steel behind them.

Her body was no longer hers...too much strain, too much pain.

The last thing she saw before the dark took her was the way Kieran’s head tilted slightly towards her... as if he had heard her after all.

And then nothing.