Rebel

Chapter 14

Eyes widening, Devlyn's attention shot down to Amaria, relief washing over him like a wave. A smile formed upon his lips, a sudden calmness overwhelming his entire being realizing that she was okay. It was a feeling that he welcomed wholeheartedly.

"Thank goodness you're awake. Are you okay, you're not hurt anywhere are you?" 

Helping sit Amaria up, Devlyn kept a hand resting upon her back as a gentle brace so she didn't fall over. The girl raised her shackled hands, pressing them to her forehead as her head spun. She felt weak, tired and absolutely drained from whatever had happened. She was barely paying attention to the point she nearly missed what Devlyn had asked of her. 

"I'm tired, no energy at all. What did she do to me?" 

Another sigh of relief left Devlyn's lips, Amaria turning her gaze onto him curiously. Her eyes were heavy and filled with nothing but pure exhaustion, but she could see the sadness, worry and relief that hung within Devlyn's gaze. She had never meant to cause any of those emotions to form within those emerald green eyes. 

"She was draining the life from you. With a single touch, if she wanted to, she could have drained every ounce of your life till there was nothing left." 

He let his eyes fall to the shackles, reaching over and using his vampire strength, snapping the shackles that had bound Amaria's hand. 

"Draining my. . . Devlyn, my parents. She killed my family." 

Shocked at what he was hearing, Devlyn raised his gaze while trying to keep himself calm. He needed to be there for Amaria now, not worrying over Ezlyn and what she had done. If he kept doing that he may end up killing the woman. 

"Amaria, I'm so sorr. . ." 

"Oh my gosh, the king and the people in the dungeons. The king was supposed to be here as well and there are people, innocent people locked up in the dungeon." 

The small burst of energy that Amaria had quickly disappeared almost instantaneously. Her body swayed from where she sat and slumped against Devlyn. The vampire turned his gaze onto Sabel and Ananke, both understanding the silent question that he had been asking. Both of the wolves nodded and left the room to hunt down the now missing king. 

Reuel had remained unconscious on the floor, much like Ezlyn was at the moment. Devlyn carefully held onto Amaria, nodding his head slowly at the words she had quickly spoken. 

"Don't worry, Ananke and Sabel will go check on the people and find the king. For now, you need to rest. We are going to make sure you get home where you belong." 

The feeling of his fingers suddenly combing through her golden hair was rather calming and relaxing. It reminded her of a time when her mother used to do the same thing. It was soothing and putting her back to sleep, which she wasn't certain if she really wanted that to happen. She didn't like the thought of being vulnerable with so many immortals around. Two she knew were far dangerous than she could even manage with. 

"No, I can't. I have to. . . Devlyn!" 

If Amaria hadn't looked up when she did, she would have never seen Ezlyn rushing towards them. She could only suspect that it was Ezlyn, the woman had taken on an entirely different form. She was like a black shadow racing through the air, eyes glowing a blood red with claws so sharp they could have sliced through anything. Ezlyn had no visible feet, her bottom half nothing more than a tattered black shroud that blended with the rest of her shadowy body. She had seen nothing like her before, the very sight of the woman sending chills through her body. 

Devlyn turned to look at what was coming at them, what had frightened Amaria so much. 

Everything had slowed down to what could have been described as a crawl, Devlyn's gaze raising towards the wraith that was poised to attack. Ezlyn was set to kill, claws extended and reared back, ready to strike at Devlyn and herself. Amaria had paled further, if that was even possible at this point, and just like that, things had sped up giving them no time to react.