Rain, who was weaving black Azrahn in a desperate bid to free her from the Well.

A sudden surge of dark power exploded in the Well. The High Mage, who had baited his trap and waited, now struck in earnest. His magic plunged like a dagger into Rain's weave.

"No!" she screamed in horror. "Shei'tan!"

The next thing Ellysetta knew, she was lying on the hot sands of the nesting lair, staring up into the savage blaze of lavender eyes. Rain snatched her up, hauling her into his arms, holding her so tight she could scarcely breathe.

"Beylah sallan. Beylah sallan." His voice cracked. "I thought I'd lost you, shei'tani."

Terrified on his behalf, she pushed against him and tore open his tunic with a sharp weave of Earth, baring the smooth paleness of his chest. She summoned a flicker of Azrahn, then promptly extinguished it after a brief gasp of disbelief. Rain's chest was luminous and Fey pale, without the slightest smudge of a Mage Mark upon it.

"I don't understand." Her shaking fingers trembled against his flesh. "You wove Azrahn. I saw him strike you. I felt it. Yet you are unmarked."

Rain clasped her hand to his breast and gave a sound that was half laugh, half sob. "How could he lay claim to a soul that already belongs utterly to you? There is nothing I would not give, no part of me I would not sacrifice, no law I would not break if it meant keeping you from harm. Kem'reisa sha ver. My soul is yours. Do with it what you will."

She felt her own soul unfurl like a flower blossoming in the sun as a brilliant new bond thread spun from her deepest being to his. Glorious and golden-white, a thread of purest shei'dalin's love, a bond of truth and trust she knew would never be broken. She flung her arms around his neck, pulling him close. She wept as her lips found his, claiming his mouth as she had claimed his heart and soul.

Behind them, around them, the pride began to hum, and a rich, bright melody of tairen song flowed out into the nesting lair.

Ellysetta and Rain turned. The four eggs were rocking, tears appearing in the hardened leathery hides as razor-sharp claws poked through. Tiny muzzles, filled with egg teeth, poked through the holes, gnawing at the edges to make them larger.

Four damp, fuzzy little heads poked through, glowing, jewel-toned eyes whirling star-bright. The leathery eggs stretched and shredded. Wriggling and squirming, the kitlings clawed their way to freedom, until all four small bodies tumbled out and lay panting on the sands, mewing, trembling with exhaustion. Their damp wings fluttered.

Sybharukai bent her head to lick each of the kitlings dry, purring deep in her throat. The kitlings closed their eyes in bliss and tilted up their small heads, bodies quivering with their happy, answering purrs.

"Oh, Rain." Ellysetta held him tight, her eyes filled with happy tears.

"You did it, shei'tani."

She shook her head. "Nei. We did it, shei'tan. You and I."

Chapter twenty-three

I san, sheisan, te Liss!

For love, honor, and Light!

Fey Battle Cry

Eld - Boura Fell

Vadim Maur knew from his umagis' wide eyes and frightened silence that this trip to the Well and his reckless, overreaching attempt to deliver three Mage Marks in one night had cost him dearly. He knew it even before enough sensation returned to his body that he could feel how his legs had turned to rubber beneath him. The bony hands clutching the sides of the birthing table had turned bloodless white, the tissue beneath his yellowed nails had gone a dark, bruised purple.

"Help me to a chair." His words sounded garbled, and his tongue felt thick in his mouth.

Two of the umagi rushed forward to put their shoulders beneath his arms, carrying his weight as his feet half shuffled, half dragged across the floor to a chaise in an adjoining room.

Not a single tairen's soul had been claimed. Every one of them was lost. Set free by Ellysetta Baristani's use of the great magic he had bestowed upon her. The very magic that he'd intended to claim for himself, to make himself a living god—powerful beyond measure, invincible.

Immortal.

He closed his eyes with effort and sucked in a rattling breath. Bloody froth bubbled up from his lungs when he exhaled.

"Bring Elfeya to me now. Put her mate in the observation room."

The Fading Lands ~ Fey'Bahren

Ellysetta nestled in Rain's arms as together they watched the kitlings' first few bells of life. All four were healthy, their eyes bright, their songs strong, their little bodies already covered with soft, downy fur.

"Little" was a relative word, of course. Each kitling was the size of a small pony, and their wings extended to easily three manlengths across, but next to the full-grown adults of the pride, they appeared tiny. They sang as they purred, and Ellysetta recognized each one by its song. Hallah was a pure black beauty with iridescent green eyes. Sharra and Letah looked like small versions of their mother, Cahlah, with cinnamon brown fur and golden eyes. The lone little male, Miauren, was as gray as his granddam, with black tips on his ears and tail.

The kitlings were born with mouths full of teeth and bellies full of hunger, and when Steli returned with a fresh tavalree carcass, Ellysetta turned her face away from the exuberant carnivorous ferocity with which they attacked their first meal.

Rain laughed softly at her squeamishness. "Come, shei'tani. Let's leave the kitlings to their meal. I will take you back to Dharsa; then I must return to Orest."

She nodded, joy turning to melancholy. She knew without Rain's saying so, that he would collect the king's armor from Dharsa. The next time he returned—if he returned— the Fading Lands would be at war.