Ruler of Shadows

Chapter 9 - Damon

"You need your mate." Well shit. That's impossible. How's Ariah supposed to find her mate? Wait. Her mate. I gritted my teeth at the thought that someone else would love her like I do, and would actually be the one she let in. Or maybe, she'd push them away, and continue to love the male she was so obsessed with.

"What the fuck do you mean by that?" Gavin hissed. We were all rather overprotective of her. She thought it was bullshit, but she couldn't stop us.

I finally turned to look at her face. Her tan skin was pale, and her deep brown eyes were wide in shock and panic. She winced.

"There's something I need to tell you. I kind of, maybe, sort of, found my mate?" She said in a rush, wringing her hands. If I was in love with her, Gavin was the overprotective father.

"What???" Gavin roared furiously. She put her hands on her hips.

"It's not like I need to tell you. I'm not obligated to. And it's my business. And need I remind you that I am your Commander?" She hissed. Now she was pissed. I groaned. The last thing we needed is a pissed, hurt, and very dangerous female.

"Ahem." I cleared my throat. "Let's forget about that, and focus." I said with a glare. I then turned to face the Suriel. It had stayed to watch the drama unfold.

"Where can we find her mate."  I couldn't help but spit the last word out with venom. I truly couldn't stop myself. Chances were, if she knew that he was her mate, then he probably knew. And he might have rejected her. And that made my anger rise, and my blood boil.

How dare he disrespect my Commander.  She had saved my life many times, and was a noble warrior. She was even a noble assassin, and many fae couldn't even claim that. She killed the worst of the worst. Rapists, abusers, people who preyed on children and the helpless, etc.

And if someone had gotten on the bad side of a lord, she helped them escape. Especially if they pissed off the King of Hybern. That was always a nice way to cheer her up.

"You cannot find her mate."  The Suriel said gravely. My eyes widened and I opened my mouth. But before I could ask what the hell he meant, he continued.

"Only she can. If she knows who he is, she will instinctively winnow to him. You can only hope to follow and find her in time."

I frowned. I looked at Gavin. Neither of us liked our options. We could try and find her mate, let her die, or let her find him. I tilted my head to the sky. I was seriously considering screaming at the sky, but I knew that would be useless. And would probably get us killed by some random creature. But it would still feel good. While I was debating this, Gavin had come to his own decision.

"I say we let her go. We fly over the forest, drop her, and let her winnow."  I turned around.

"Drop her?  Are you kidding me?  What if she doesn't winnow?"

"Then I suppose one of you boys better catch me." We both glance at her. While arguing, we had completely forgotten she existed. And that was hard, considering the fact that she never shut up. And yet, she was great at stealth missions. I was still trying to figure that one out.

"Anyways, I don't want to die, and I think we ought to try it. Worst case, I die. But, if you do drop me, I could possibly live. Believe me, I really don't want to see my mate again. And I'm positive he does not want to see my again. Honestly, I'd probably be better off dead."  She said in a rush. I could smell the fear and guilt wafting off her, and I growled. She rolled her eyes and stepped towards me, opening her mouth to lecture me, but didn't get the chance to. Because she dropped to the ground.

Gavin and I both rushed to her, and saw that she was  burning up.

"Good luck. Make sure she doesn't die. She's an interesting female."  The Suriel said, before vanishing.

I looked at Gavin. We knew what needed to be done, but really did not want to do it. I stood up, lifting Ariah's limp body into my arms. Gavin picked up Kaz.  We lifted into the air.

We were both trying to balance both the bodies, and figure out how to drop her, so that she wouldn't get hurt. We finally got a position, and dropped her. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see. And then I realized.

She had taken Kaz with her.  And winnowed.

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808 words.