The Battle of the Trees - Sword, Ring, and Crown Book Two

Chapter Seventeen

When I landed in a snowy field with no dragon in sight, I realized that I might have made another hasty judgment. I was alone in the Betwixt. 

 I knew it was the Betwixt because of the curling bare branches of the blackthorn trees all around, and the neverending twilight. A mist formed and obscured most of my vision, but I could still see the crystalline shape of my father's castle in the distance.

My feet stung and ached with the cold, because the sandals I wore were so flimsy.  The robe was in my hand, as I hadn't put it on yet. I quickly layered it over the dress. It offered only a little protection. I felt a heaviness in my pocket and I realized it held my jewelry inside. I put Luke's necklace on.

Suddenly I felt a warmth emanate from my chest then spread from there to the rest of my body. I looked down, and a slight red aura shone all over me. My feet felt comfortable again. I touched the necklace with grateful hands. Thank goodness I had it in my gown. I let out a relieved sigh as the cold of the world affected me less.

"What art thee doing in these cold lands alone?" a rumbling, sexy voice behind me said. I turned in surprise.

I  saw a man that could easily rival Noc for height. He must have been at least seven or eight feet tall. Glittering, jet and saphire colored, bat-like wings draped down from his back onto the snow. Where Noc was reedy in his stature, however, this man was a mountain. Muscles were everywhere, from the pillars of his legs to his nipped-in waist and washboard abdomen and up to his broad chest and massive shoulders. I could see all this because he was wearing nothing but a kilt with a black, yellow, and dark blue tartan. As he stepped closer to me, I saw the link between us and felt relief flood me until he spoke again.

"I shalt see thee or me perish before I see thee becometh mine own mistress, sorceress." Then he reached for me and I flinched.

His hands encircled my neck loosely. After standing like that with me gaping up at him and him glaring down at me for at least five minutes he finally dropped his hands,

"Kvastis! Why canst I murder thee, sorceress?" he seethed. Then he looked down at the ring on my finger. "Remove mine ring from thine finger. I shalt be free from thy magic." 

I couldn't stop staring at his eyes, even though they burned with anger. They were as gorgeous as Ciaran's. He hadn't moved even an inch back from me despite removing his hands from my neck. His irises were a series of inverted stars. Indigo speared sapphire which speared aquamarine. Vertically bisecting each iris was a slitted, golden pupil.  

Though enraged, no one could compare to the savage glory of his personage. His face had aquamarine scales that traveled from the right side of his forehead, down over his eye, and ended at his cheek. They shimmered as he moved. His body seemed to be made of stardust, but I saw that he was actually covered in fine scales that glittered in the moonlight with varying shades of teal and blue. There was nothing pretty about this man as he had a face that looked like it was chiseled from a block of granite, with a firm mouth and straight, wide nose. His dark brows were heavy, and his cheekbones were broad and prominent. Golden, twisted horns rose up from his brows and swept back over his long dark hair which was tickling my face. His hair looked solid black in the moonlight, but it had a strange glitter to it.

With a shaking hand, I removed the ring and held it out to him.

He snatched it from me then pulled me forward with a hand on the back of my neck. He was still glowering, and I could tell from the link that he was frustrated and confused.

"Madeline..." I  said calmly as I tried to still my heart. "My name is Madeline, not sorceress."

"Thou art a vile Edentree!" his hand slid up from my neck and buried into my hair, yanking my head back. Although the yank on my hair was firm, it was not painful, but it craned my neck back uncomfortably. He inhaled as he lowered his head to me, and his pupils dilated. "Thou bewitch me. I feel thy witchery all through my being."