Fates Divided: Halven Rising

Derek avoided the doorway and went straight to the back of the lab, easing through cabinet and stone as if it were air. He ran full force with Elena in his arms to what he hoped was the exterior wall, but to tell the truth, he wasn’t certain.

Normally his mind was like a steel trap, but he hadn’t been completely lucid when they’d dragged him from the torture chamber.

Having the living shit beaten out of him wasn’t an experience he wished to repeat anytime soon. It also had illuminated the kind of father Niall would have made. Ruthless, unforgiving, not the kind of person you wanted raising you. Derek appreciated his adoptive parents more than he ever had in his life.

Derek had believed his biological parents had given him away because he was unwanted. In fact, his mother had made the ultimate sacrifice with her life in order to set him free of Niall. One day he’d mourn the mother who’d done so much for him. Right now he needed to get Elena to safety.

Taking a risk, Derek leapt through the stone surface he hoped led to the berm. And instantly regretted it.

He skidded to a stop. Inside the great hall, where dozens of soldiers stood in front of Niall as he gestured and commanded his men.

Very slowly, Derek stepped back, silently retreating the way he’d come.

A shout rang out. “Over there!”

The room whirled into motion. The scuffle of footfalls sounded, along with the pitch of metal sliding through sheaths, and strings tightened as Fae drew weapons.

Derek ditched his plan to go back, and on instinct, sprinted straight for the entrance of the castle and the light he saw through the panes of a small window high above the door. Later, he’d consider whether that had been a smart move—running through a swarm of guards instead of retreating to an uncertain maze within the castle—but right now, he went for it.

He swerved around null blasts, breezed through bodies and arrows, and burst through the castle’s exterior into the open air.

Derek darted across the berm; the Fae outside were a second behind the action going on in the castle. All too quickly, though, the guards trained their crossbows on Derek, likely zeroing in on the telltale signs of his transformation, thanks to the bright sunlight.

Unless he slipped up or was torn from Elena and went solid, crossbows weren’t a deterrent in his transformed state.

Null guns were.

Derek adjusted Elena in his arms. Turning solid from a null gun while running through an eighteen-inch stone defense wall would not be good. He held the back of her head to keep their mouths together, and glanced back.

What he saw jarred his senses.

Not a null, or at least that wasn’t what caught his attention.

Niall appeared from inside the castle. Along with his army—through the walls, not the door. Each of his guards held a crossbow in one hand while the other touched the shoulder of a fellow soldier. They connected to a single point in the middle. Niall.

The king had Blended an army of Fae with one touch.

Holy shit.

Derek darted to the left, bypassed two null blasts, and hurtled through the defense wall.

He stumbled on the other side, caught his footing, and leapt over the moat, one arm windmilling, the other latched on to Elena.

As they crashed to the ground, Derek bit into Elena’s lip and she squeaked. His leg disappeared into the soil as he stumbled upright, his mind so muddled he wasn’t focused on his transformation. If he didn’t give it the smallest amount of concentration, he’d walk right through something instead of on it.

Derek jerked his foot free of the earth amid a rain of arrows, and ran for the northern forest.

Somehow, they managed to make it there without getting shot by a null, thanks to some zigzagging on Derek’s part and the sporadic cover of trees. Old Kingdom Fae might be able to see Derek while Blended, but he wasn’t a clear target. Not at the speed he was going.

He entered the forest and dodged thick foliage and ancient trees for miles as he ran without slowing his pace. Eventually, they lost sight and sound of the guards behind them, and still Derek ran.

Hours passed. Finally, he slowed and abruptly broke the transformation, sliding Elena down his body to the ground. His breaths sawed in and out, and he hunched over, grasping his knees. His lungs burned, and for a moment his vision blurred.

“Are you okay?” she asked, worry in her voice. He couldn’t see her. Could barely make out the ground in front of his face.

After a moment, he straightened. “Fine,” he said, his breathing returning to normal. “We have to keep running, though. I think we lost them, but I want to move deeper, just in case. We’ll make better time if I’m not carrying you.”

A cry like a wailing baby, followed by the clap of wings flapping, came from above. Derek flinched.

Birds didn’t cry. Then again, the animals here weren’t normal.

Elena peered at the trees and rubbed her upper arms. “Yeah, let’s keep going.” She studied him some more. “You sure you’re okay, though?”

He breathed in deeply. His lungs no longer burned and he felt better. “Good as new.”

Aside from the growth, the Ancient Allon leaves seemed to have increased the speed he could run and heal.

They took off through the forest, running faster than any human should, and something occurred to him. He grabbed Elena’s hand and slowed. “Stop for a second.”

“You need a break?” She didn’t seem winded, and he definitely wasn’t. That wasn’t why he wanted her to stop.

“No, I want to try something.” He peered at their entwined fingers and concentrated, allowing the transformation to sweep through him.

The difference between pre-leaf transformations and post was like comparing a dying battery to one fully charged. He’d seen what Niall had done with his soldiers. He wondered…

Derek mentally projected his powers to encompass Elena.

There was no one to tell them what they looked like, so he pulled Elena toward a tree.

She held back. “Wait. What are you doing?”

“Trust me,” he said, and walked through the base, staring as Elena’s hand touched the bark, then dipped into the tree. He pulled her through and out the other side with him.

She glanced back. “I felt it, the transformation, but… how did you do that?”

With her mouth pressed to his during their escape, she couldn’t have seen the king. Wouldn’t have known it was possible, just like he hadn’t.

“While we were running from the castle, Niall Blended an entire regiment through the walls with one touch. As long as his men had one hand on each other with Niall at the center, they Blended.”

A mix of worry and wonder crossed her eyes, then her chin firmed. “Good. I’m glad your powers have grown. That will make travel easier.”

Was she glad? Her expressive eyes appeared frightened.

If he had the same powers as his biological father—plus the speed, strength, size, and build of a Fae—was he still human?

Derek squeezed her hand. “Come on. We’re only about half a mile from the border. The Oldlander guards may cross too, but I’d feel better knowing we’re off Niall’s land. If we’re lucky, we’ll find allies in Sunland.”

They jogged the last stretch, hands clasped, bodies Blended using Derek’s new heightened power, and reached a wide creek.

“This is it,” he said. “The border runs along the creek bed. Staying Blended will keep us dry as we cross.”

Derek stepped into the water a stride ahead of Elena, his hand stretched back and holding hers to maintain the connection. They glided through the water as if it were air.

Midway across the creek, a piercing pain jarred his head, vibrating down his spine and freezing him in place. His muscles spasmed and a groan burst from deep inside his chest. Derek dropped Elena’s hand, tearing apart the Blending and leaving them submerged in the cold creek.

“Derek!” Elena splashed to his side.

He tried to move forward, but the pain intensified and his legs buckled, water lapping his torso. He couldn’t think, couldn’t get his lungs to inhale. Paralysis oozed up his chest like drying cement, closing off his airways.

Small, spindly arms wrapped around his waist from behind.

Elena was dragging him through the water back to the shore they’d come from. Most of his weight floated along the surface, but once they reached solid ground, her breathing increased and she grunted as she heaved him to dry land.

He was twice her size. She shouldn’t have been able to maneuver him at all.

“Derek, your chest isn’t moving. Can you breathe?” She frantically waved her hand over his face and lowered her cheek to within a millimeter of his nose.

Sensation slowly seeped into his limbs and he breathed in deeply. “Yeah,” he said, panting. “I can now.”

She leaned back and exhaled, her eyes wild. “What happened back there? I thought you were dying.”

A memory flashed of Niall leaning over him while a guard beat him senseless. “You cannot leave, Derek,” he had said while another guard pressed electrode-like fingers to Derek’s forehead. “You are mine.”

He’d felt the magic at the time, but hadn’t known what it meant.

What had Niall done to him?

“I don’t think I can leave Old Kingdom. They did something to me. You—you have to go ahead.” The words ripped from Derek’s tongue like tearing flesh from his body.

He rolled his head against the gravel shore, his chest aching. He would rather lose a limb than leave her alone in Tirnan. “You have to go now,” he said. “While you still can.”

“You idiot! I’m not leaving without you.” Her voice shook and tears glistened in her eyes.

He sat up on his forearms then pushed to a sitting position. “Listen to me, Elena. We betrayed Niall. He’ll kill you if you stay here.”

She shook her head, and he moaned. So stubborn.

He liked her stubborn, feisty side. Liked everything about her. But right now her obstinacy would get her killed.

Derek grabbed her slender shoulders, his voice softening. “I don’t know how the magic he used works, but Niall made it impossible for me to exit the kingdom. You have to go. You have to create the cure.” And then get the hell out while you can. Derek swallowed. “You can do this, Elena.” His fingers dug into her skin and he shook her gently, trying to relay the urgency bucking inside him.

Elena’s liquid hazel eyes softened—so beautiful. She was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. Would ever see.

Her lips quivered. A tear ran down her cheek and she swiped it away. “I can’t—”

He kissed her. Hard. Consuming. She was so soft and warm, and his. Or maybe he was hers; it didn’t matter. He’d do anything for her.

Derek lifted Elena onto his lap and dragged her against his chest. He broke from her mouth to sweep kisses across her cheek, her chin. He pressed his face to her neck and inhaled her scent, memorizing it. He couldn’t let her go…

“You have to leave. Please,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

The wailing birds roared above.

A small sob escaped her, but he felt her nod.

Derek pulled back to stare one last time at her beautiful face.

She raised her chin ever so slightly. “I’ll find you.”