Tainted roots

Starling

When we left the Fire court, we found our way to the Jaguar clan territory in the hopes of finding any new information. Our hopes were soon dashed by the jaguars’ secretive nature. They’ve always been sneaky and untrusting, and these new disturbances hadn’t helped matters. To say they were rude and uncooperative was a vast understatement. I was more than glad when we finally gave up on them and left their territory.

The cobras were more forthcoming with their information, letting us speak to the man that was attacked. I knew him. His name was Otto and he was one of the Mythics in the know. I’d seen him a couple of times over the years while on information-gathering missions. As soon as Otto saw me he rushed over, the relief at seeing someone he trusted was clear as day. Ander raised a brow as he leaned back against the wall. His distrusting expression remained, even after I explained how I knew Otto.

He gave us a brief description of what happened, which wasn’t all that much since they ended up tying him up after beating the crap out of him. He did note their unusual strength, far beyond that of a summoner. His story ended up aligning with Aylee’s when he mentioned an extreme weather phenomenon. This one was an earthquake, and when he finally got himself untied, the attacking Mythics were back to normal, laying on the ground groaning. Ander visited the site of the attack and found similar tainted energy as he had in the Sandstone City, only this time the blood was summoner.

In the Lynx and Owl territories, the theory I’d been building in my head was proven right. I recognized both of the victims of the attacks, as they both had been working with us over the years. And like the others, experienced extreme weather. Unlike Otto, they said they saw another being, and it was them that stopped the infected. But as soon as the Mythics returned to normal, the stranger disappeared as if they were never there. Neither of them could describe what they looked like, or even their gender.

After hours of interviews and studying the locations, I was drained. Mostly mentally since all we did was walk.

I hadn’t realized how much I would miss having the others around, now that I didn’t have them as a buffer between Ander and me. It seemed without my brother around, all of his annoyance was aimed solely at me. Whereas before, it was split between the two of us.

Every time he scoffed or looked at me like I was a complete idiot, or like I was a lying bitch; which was basically every time I spoke, was grating on my nerves. It would’ve been better for me if he’d gotten his way and joined the other group. Of course, it wouldn’t have been productive for them, seeing as how he was itching for a fight with Koa, worse than last time.

I didn’t exactly know the details of what happened between Koa and Jade. For the past month, he’s been a moody asshole, worse than usual. No matter how often I pressed him for details, he refused to tell me anything. He was hurting, even if he didn’t show it. I just couldn’t figure out why he stayed away. Koa cared about Jade, there was little doubt in my mind.

Them being fated mates hadn’t come as a shock, I knew it from the way he acted around her, and from the way her scent slowly started invading his and vice versa. Despite their differences, they suited each other. Which was why I’d been wanting to punch him in the face, maybe it would knock some sense into that dense skull of his.

Jade’s reaction earlier as well as how her friends acted, I knew their split wasn’t amicable. Which made me glad Artemis wasn’t there. She gave off a slightly ditzy, here for a good time vibe, but underneath all that was something else. Something I couldn’t put into words. It wasn’t like I thought she was untrustworthy or evil, just complex and less of an open book than her sister.

We took a break when we entered the cougar territory, deciding to eat at one of the outdoor eating areas. I chose to go with Reed and order food from one of the booths that offered various cuisines. It was a no-brainer choosing to go with Reed, rather than finding a table with Ander. I had no clue where Rowan was, she only revealed herself a couple of times when it was only the three of us. I doubted she strayed too far from us, but I was unable to confirm or deny it.

If it weren’t for Reed and his joking around, I doubt I would’ve made it through the afternoon without kneeing Ander in the junk. I had no clue what I did to deserve this treatment. It wasn’t even like his dislike of me started after Jade was hurt the first time. He was a jackass to me before we even left our realm. Now all that anger had doubled, possibly even tripled.

Reed and I carried the tray of food over to where Ander sat at a small square table. Where I made sure to take the seat beside Reed, which in turn put me right in front of Ander.

He cast a disdainful glance in my direction, before looking away. I wanted to pretend that it didn’t bother me, but it did. If someone was going to hate me, I deserved to know why.

“So you think every Mythic that was attacked is involved with your secret group?” Reed asked as he popped food in his mouth. I told him my theory as we got food, making sure to be careful with my words.

I took my time chewing, thinking through my answer. “It’s something to consider, you know what they say, three times is a pattern.” Shrugging, I looked off to the side and at the nearby cougar summoners, looking to see if any were listening.

“Do you have any idea what these keys are?” Reed asked dropping his voice.

He was referring to what the infected kept asking the others. Where are the other keys? Who are the guardians of the keys? Questions they didn’t have the answers to, which is why they ended up being tortured, as the infected hadn’t believed them. I wished they knew these keys were, it would be nice to have some answers for once.

The metallic scent of blood filled the air as Ander dragged his sharp ring across his forearm. Within a minute he cast a sound barrier. My ears popped as the barrier fell into place, disorienting me for a moment.

Remembering Reed’s question, I gave a slow head shake. “Not a clue.”

Ander made a noncommittal sound, his expression dubious. It was amazing how he displayed so much contempt with just a sound. Some had a resting bitch face, he had a resting asshole face.

“I can’t wait to hear your opinions,” I said with a sigh, pinning Ander with my best bitchy look.

“I just find it fascinating, that both you and your brother neglected to mention this vast alliance the last time we saw you,” Ander drawled, leaning back in his chair. “You both made it seem like you barely had any allies.”

I laid my forehead on the table, gripping the edge so tight, I wondered if I might accidentally break off a chunk. Just once I’d like to get through a conversation with Ander, without him being an asshole. I was about to say something, that would most likely piss him off, when a scream followed by a crash disturbed the relative silence.

Jumping to our feet, we ran toward the commotion at a cabin several minutes away. Where the doors had been ripped from its hinges, along with shattered windows, and a gaping hole in the side of the building. Ander and Reed reached the door before me and disappeared down the demolished hall by the time I reached the door. In my peripheral vision, I saw a woman leaping through the gaping hole in the wall and running toward the woods.

Having already called my dragon to the surface and pulled energy from her, I felt her strong desire to follow that woman. I knew better than to question my dragon, so I followed her instincts and chased after the woman. Her speed and agility as she sprinted through the woods were surprising. I’ve never seen such speed from a summoner before. It wasn’t natural.

I nearly lost sight of her several times. Which wouldn’t have been good, not with her lack of scent. With how I was following her path, I should’ve caught her scent by now.

As time went on, my breathing became heavy and my chest burned, especially when the ground of the dense forest kept inclining as it took us up the side of the mountain. I’d only been following for less than an hour, but her fucking speed forced me to push my body and dragon way too hard. No way was I going to be able to keep this up for much longer.

The trees thinned as the mountain grew steeper, the ground changing from grass to dirt and rocks. Loose rocks slipped under my feet, nearly causing me to faceplant.

Whatever this thing was, could deftly jump from one rocky ledge to the next, not even the least bit tired. The same couldn’t be said for me as my legs buckled under my weight and sent me crashing down on a ledge.

Having stopped shy of falling over the edge by a couple of feet, I pushed into a sitting position, ignoring the small scrapes on my arms and legs. Small rocks dug into my palms as I tried to climb to my feet.

Out of nowhere, an unnaturally strong hand grabbed my throat and lifted me into the air as if I weighed nothing. This shouldn’t have happened, even in my exhausted state, I was careful to listen to my surroundings. There was no way she should’ve been able to sneak up on me.

When I caught sight of her face, a gasp built in my throat, but with the way she was clenching my neck had nowhere to go. Her eyes were a deep red, almost like dried blood, with a slitted pupil like that of an animal. She bared her teeth, showing off long and no doubt sharp fangs. Black veins bulged underneath her corpse-pale skin. At the ends of her fingers, were sharp talons that were currently digging into my neck, cutting off my air supply and drawing blood.

All my attempts at getting free failed. I clawed at her hands and kicked her several times, but all I managed was bruising my own aching feet. Black dots invaded my vision as the need to breathe grew unbearable, and I was afraid I’d pass out.

Just when I was about to give up hope of escaping before I passed out, I was dropped onto the unforgiving ground. My knees and upper back took the brunt of the fall. I gulped down air, my breaths wheezing due to my nearly crushed windpipe. As I furiously blinked trying to rid myself of the black spots, I listened to the telltale sounds of a fight. Animalistic growls that had no business coming from a summoner, had the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

While I had no idea who saved me, or which of them had the upper hand, I knew I needed to get off the ground. Down here I was vulnerable, and that was unacceptable.

By the time I managed to push myself into a sitting position, the woman was laying on the rocky ground several feet away, unconscious. Her skin was no longer pale, but a light brown with no black veins in sight. There weren’t any animalistic features in sight, she now looked like a normal Mythic.

A man caught my attention. The pupils of the cougar summoner’s eyes were normal as he knelt next to me, probing my tender neck with gentle fingers. There was something familiar about him, with his sea-colored eyes and lightly tanned skin. Even his woodsy scent seemed vaguely familiar, reminding me of something else. He was at home in the woods with his light-colored cardigan, having pushed up the sleeves to expose his muscular forearms. A shirt, well-worn jeans, and a pair of boots completed the look.

“Are you alright?” He asked, his voice low and deep, but somehow soothing.

“I’m fine,” I rasped, followed by a small coughing fit.

He offered a hand to me and helped pull me up when I took it. “What are you doing out here?”

Not wanting to risk another coughing fit, I inclined my head toward the still-unconscious woman. He gave me a once over before raising his brows and running a hand through his medium-length brunette hair. “You decided to chase her, with no weapons or a plan?”

I scoffed, extending and then retracting my claws, before showing him the handle of my retractable sword. However, I had no argument for why I ran after her without thinking it through. Even after I realized there was something off about her, I kept going.

He pressed his lips together, trying to hide his growing smile and failing. “Oh yeah, very helpful strapped to your thigh, and not in your hand.” Unlike Ander, there wasn’t a mocking edge to his teasing.

His attention flicked to the woman, a frown creasing his face. He knelt beside her, lifting her top lip, and exposing normal teeth. “I’ve never seen anything like that before,” he murmured, opening one of her eyes, and finding a hazel Iris.

Another big change was I could now smell her. “She had no scent whatsoever,” I croaked out, my healing was way too slow since I nearly drained my dragon of all of her energy. I’d need some food, and rest to help restore her energy levels as well as mine.

“I noticed,” he said nodding to himself, before casting a look in my direction. “I followed your scent up here after I saw you running. I thought you were in trouble.”

He had an easygoing charm that made me instantly feel comfortable around him. Unlike Ander, who made it his life’s mission to make me feel unwelcome. Why the hell was I thinking about him right now?

“We should head back before she wakes up. Just in case.” He grabbed the woman and hauled her over his shoulder. Holding her as if she weighed nothing, he inclined his head toward the path. “After you.”

During the long hike back, I mentally kicked myself. Part of it was for how far I ran, and now had to walk back while going down a steep mountain and exhausted. Mainly, I was pissed at myself for being so stupid and irresponsible. The first time I did something without my brother, I acted like a damn novice. Staying back and warning the others hadn’t even crossed my mind. What if there were others like her waiting deep in the forest, waiting to ambush the idiot willing to follow her? I never would’ve seen them coming with their lack of scent and increased agility.

It was pure luck this guy saw me and then followed me. This never should’ve happened in the first place. I shouldn’t have to rely on luck or some stranger to keep me alive.

The trek down the mountain nearly took twice as long as it had going up. Several minutes before we reached the edge of the forest, a cramp started up in my left thigh, mocking me for my moronic decision.

“Are you alright?” He asked, having noticed the limp I tried hiding.

“If I say no, will you offer to carry me too?” My voice was nothing more than a breathless whisper as I made my joke.

He’d discarded his cardigan during the hike, sweat now damped his hair and the neckline of his shirt. Even with his sweat, he didn’t sound out of breath as he chuckled. “I think you’re overestimating my strength.”

A sigh of relief escaped when I saw the edge of the tree line, and the cabin from before. My relief only lasted a few moments, until I broke free of the trees and caught sight of Ander leaning back against the cabin, cold eyes locked on me. Watching as I walked over, trying to conceal my limp. All the while not saying a single word. His entire body was rigid like it was carved from stone.

“Where’s Reed?” I asked, my voice cracking. I looked around for the elemental, but couldn’t find him.

He still didn’t answer, choosing to continue giving me his frosty glare. His eyes drifted to the man a couple of paces behind me, and the unconscious woman hanging over his shoulder. As if on cue, the woman began stirring and groaning.

As the man set her on shaking legs, he kept his hands on her waist in case her legs gave out. She clutched her head, squinting at our surroundings. “What happened?”

“You don’t remember?” The man asked, bending down to make eye contact with her. She shook her head, wincing at the motion, before glancing between Ander and me. “You blacked out.”

Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. She still seemed pretty out of it, and I was about to suggest she sit down when the man looked over his shoulder at us. “I’ll take her to a healer and our Alpha. You two stay here, I have some questions.” Keeping his hand on her back, he guided her down a dirt path. Leaving me alone with Ander. Great.

I could feel Ander’s frozen glare on my back, and after heaving out a heavy sigh, I turned around and met his gaze. He still didn’t speak as he continued watching me—always watching me, as if he was expecting me to attack him and everyone else. His arms were now crossed over his chest, showing off his muscular arms.

If he weren’t such an asshole, I might’ve been attracted to him. His two different colored eyes had such depth in color, especially when they weren’t frigid, but warm and inviting—only happening when he was looking at his friends. It was quite something, to watch his expression soften as he stared at them. Very early on I realized there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to keep them safe. And if you did anything to harm them… Let’s just say, you better be ready to go to the afterlife.

As often Ander watched me, I watched him right back. Hopefully, I was more subtle than him. Not that I’d ever admit this out loud, but I secretly loved when he pushed back his hair only for it to fall back onto his forehead, and the way his muscles flexed in his arms. But just because I thought he was the sexiest man I’d ever seen, it didn’t mean I wanted him. I was smart enough not to want a man that despised me. That was my story and I was sticking to it.

I crossed my arms, wishing I had a wall to lean against as I matched his position. A petty need to not be the one to break the silence rose within me. One of his dark brows lifted, and the corner of his lips twitched ever so slightly.

“I don’t know how things are done with your brother, but I run things differently. One of the main things being; don’t run off alone. Not when we don’t know what we’re facing.” He scoffed under his breath as he raked his fingers through his hair. My eyes tracked the movement, and no, it didn’t turn me on. Nope. “Even Jade and Artemis know better than that. I guess I gave you too much credit. A mistake I won’t be making again.”

The insult hit me like a physical blow, expelling all the air from my lungs. His low opinion of me and my capabilities hurt more than I cared to admit. I hated that I cared. That he was constantly waiting for me to make a mistake. I kept telling myself that whatever issues he had with me, had nothing to do with me, but it didn’t help ease the sting.

I nodded as I looked to the side, shoving down the hurt. “Right, so did you find anything out? You know other than what we already know. Did you turn up some new and mind-blowing evidence?” My voice remained even, hiding how his words affected me.

When he still hadn’t answered, I returned my focus to him and found a muscle ticking in his jaw. “No?” I promoted with false surprise, my voice still scratchy and hurting as I spoke.

“I’m guessing from your tone, you found something,” he said in a slow and measured tone.

I tilted my head side to side, reveling in his sigh of annoyance. “She gave off no scent, had unnatural agility and strength, and had unusual animalistic features.” I ticked off the list on my fingers as I spoke, smirking when shock crossed his face.

“What do you mean by animalistic features?”

“Red eyes with slitted pupils, fangs, and talons.”

“And when you say she had no scent…” Ander prompted, gesturing with his hand for me to explain.

Biting back a smirk, I gave him the same look he’d given me countless times. The one that said, I think you’re a dumbass. “She didn’t leave a scent, not even when she was strangling me.”

Ander pushed off the wall, striding toward me and stopping a foot away. Closer than he’d ever been before. He bent his head down, so his nose hovered only a few inches from my neck and inhaled deeply. As if to embarrass me, my heart rate picked up as flutters filled my stomach. Ander lifted his head and met my gaze, looking confused. “I only smell you, and the faintest traces of the summoner man.”

“Am I seeing things or did Ander just smell your neck?” Reed’s humor-laced voice had us whipping our heads to the side, finding Reed standing several feet away. A smirk curled his lips as he raised his brows.

Ander stepped back, putting some much need distance between us—his scent of incense and blood had been overwhelming my senses, and had me wanting to do stupid and reckless things. His face was back to being disinterested as he explained what I just told him. I didn’t interrupt or add any more details, they didn’t need to know how close to screwed I was if that man hadn’t shown up.

“How does the cougar summoner fit into the picture?” Ander asked, briefly flicking his eyes in my direction.

“He saw me run into the forest and thought I was in trouble, so he followed me.” Short, sweet, and to the point.

“Who?” Reed asked looking around as if the man was hiding.

Exhaustion had been wearing at me when I hiked down the mountain, but now I was genuinely worried I would soon collapse, and of course, there weren’t any benches nearby. “I didn’t get his name. He subdued her and carried her to their healer.”

It wasn’t like I didn’t think this conversation was important, it was just that I was nearly swaying on my feet, and my legs felt like lead. I followed a well-used dirt path out of the clearing, that had layers upon layers of various cougar summoner scents. Behind me, Ander grumbled and cursed as he and Reed followed.

After a few minutes, the trees thinned until I came across a small pond full of light green rippling water. Spaced around the pond were wooden benches, which I gratefully flopped down on, leaning against the wooden back. My legs throbbed and ached, having been only a couple of minutes away from collapsing.

Sweat ran down my neck, chest, and back. Exhaustion pressed down on me, begging for a long nap. I reached for my bag, only to stop when I remembered leaving it on the table. Groaning, I let my head fall back as I stared up at the cloudy sky. There was no way I was getting off this bench, nor would I ask Ander or Reed to retrieve it. I’d be announcing how weak I was, and that was something I couldn’t allow. Never show weakness.

The only person I ever allowed myself to be weak around, was my brother, and he wasn’t here.

Rowan appeared at my feet and climbed onto the bench beside me, laying her head on her paws as she watched me. Her yellow eyes carefully observed my every movement, and I knew she could tell how drained I was.

Reed sat on the other side of me, leaving a couple of feet between us. His dark eyes tracked my face, down to my shaking hands—which I had clasped together in an attempt to prevent them from shaking—worry pinched his brows together. “How much energy did you use?”

“I’m fine,” I whispered, unable to hide my hoarse voice. His frown deepened as he realized my throat should’ve already healed by now. The only reason it wouldn’t was if my body had multiple serious injuries to heal, or if my dragon had little to no energy left.

“I’ll get you something to eat,” Reed murmured, reaching over and giving my knee a gentle squeeze.

His quiet footsteps faded as he followed the path. Why couldn’t I have been attracted to him? He was funny, smart, and not a rude jackass. Don’t get me wrong, he was handsome, there was no denying it, but he didn’t stir my body. Not the way Ander did in the rare moments he wasn’t being an asshole. Okay, who was I kidding, even when he was being rude he was still hot.

I guess it was true; we women loved assholes.

Speaking of the asshole, he remanded standing in the shadow of a tree, not saying a word. I should’ve been glad he wasn’t talking since he mainly threw veiled digs and insults my way. But for some reason, the thick and heavy silence made me uncomfortable. Not uncomfortable enough to try and break the silence as Jade would. I wouldn’t give him that kind of power. If he wanted to wait here in this tense quiet, then so be it.

In a surprising turn of events, he was the first one to talk, after what was probably only a few minutes but felt even longer. “I can cast an energy sigil for you. That way I won’t have to worry about you passing out.”

Shock flooded my system, followed by annoyance. His special life skill was how he could turn a nice offer into an insult. “I don’t need your sigils,” I said, struggling to keep my voice level.

He raised a brow as he spun his ring around his forefinger. “Clearly.”

I shifted on the bench as I turned to face him full-on, my anger rising. “As if I would ever trust you to use my blood to cast.” My harsh whispered words had his expression hardening as his body stilled.

He opened his mouth, most likely to say something to cement his asshole status further, but was interrupted by rhythmic footsteps. A minute later, Reed appeared carrying my bag along with a container full of food. He was breathing a little harder than usual, giving me the impression he sprinted there and back. Most likely because he knew better than to leave Ander and me alone for too long. He shot a glance between us, no doubt feeling the tension, before joining me on the bench and handing me my bag and the container.

As I ate, I kept sneaking peeks at Ander from the corner of my eye. He remained in the same place, his body rigid as he continued spinning his ring around his finger over and over, a gesture I’d seen him do often. I wouldn’t have figured him as the fidgeting type, not with the way he was able to stand still for a long time without seeming the least bit bored or tired.

The food helped me feel less likely to fall asleep on the bench, but my dragon’s energy was still faint. Not too weak to have missed the faint and measured footsteps walking along the dirt path.

Ander and Reed were already watching the path, waiting for whoever it was to emerge. They both gave off the impression of being unbothered, with Reed leaning back on the bench, his legs stretched out in front of him. Ander’s face had smoothed out, showing no signs of anger as he ceased his fidgeting.

My body—which had tensed the moment I heard the footsteps—instantly relaxed back into the bench when I saw it was the man who saved me earlier. His achingly familiar eyes rested on the guys for a few moments before landing on me. “When I said stay here, I meant to stay where you were.” Despite his words, his voice held no admonishment. Instead, there was a light joking tone, that nagged at me, telling me he was familiar.

“There was nowhere to sit,” I answered with a shrug, pleased my voice had lost most of its raspy quality. A slight smile lifted the left corner of his lips, revealing a hint of a dimple in his cheek.

“I didn’t know you had a spirit familiar,” he noted, nodding at Rowan. I barely hid my surprise that she was still visible. From what I’d gathered about her, she was wary about revealing herself to strangers.

“I don’t,” I murmured, feeling off-kilter.

“Is she alright?” Ander asked switching the subject from Rowan as he moved from the tree line to stand behind my bench. My spine tingled as he stood only a couple of feet behind me, and I just barely stopped myself from shifting around.

“It’s the same as the other two, she had no memory of what happened, just a headache. The man played with his full bottom lip between his thumb and forefinger as he paused. “Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

“No,” Ander said, refusing to elaborate further.

“Why are you here in the first place?”

“We’ve been looking into the blackouts, trying to figure out what’s been causing them. This was our first time witnessing an incident. All the other times we’ve gotten there hours later,” I cut in, not wanting to deal with a pissing contest between them.

He reached down to the top of the bench in front of him, which was several feet away from mine, and began drumming his fingers along the top. “What else have you discovered?”

I started to look over my shoulder at Ander, but he cut me off. “No, don’t look at each other. I want you to answer my question.” His tone had lost all of its friendliness and now had an edge to it. Again, the feeling that I knew him, nagged at the back of my mind.

“Have we met?” Reed asked, cutting off the answer I was about to give. “You seem familiar.”

It was a relief I hadn’t been the only one feeling this way. I shot a glance back at Ander, but he gave nothing away. A frown pulled at the summoner’s features as his fingers stilled. “We’ve never met.”

“What’s your name?” Not only would it be nice to have a name to go with the face, but maybe knowing it would help shed some light.

His fingers began their drumming once more as he watched us. After almost a minute, he finally answered. “Aidan.”

That was of no help to me, seeing as I’d never heard of a Mythic with that name, but Reed had. He gasped, his eyes widening as he faced Ander. “I can’t believe that didn’t even cross my mind.”

Ander’s lips lifted in a slow and sexy smile, as he nodded to himself. “Yep, I see it now.”

The man’s confusion had grown, his drumming fingers having sped up. “See what now?” I asked, nearly bouncing in my seat in frustration. I was about ready to throttle Reed if he didn’t share what he knew. Sheesh, I was beginning to act like Jade.

Like Jade…

It was my turn to gasp as I shifted so I could fully face Aidan, now realizing why he was so familiar, and who he reminded me of. It was so obvious, and now I felt stupid for not figuring it out sooner.

“We’re friends with your sisters,” Ander told Aidan, a small smile lifting his lips.