When The Heart Sings

Chapter 74

Serena's POV:

I stared in horror at the weapon pointed in our direction and the bond twisted painfully in my fear. I stopped my hum and held my breath as I tensed up to try and jump out of the way when he fired. Saphira shrieked a warning cry and her skin darkened to a rich blue as he finished all of his preparations and began reaching for the firing mechanism.

The wooden door on the other side of the room exploded as Darien plowed through it. The relief of seeing him was almost physical. His eyes swiftly located us on the raised platform. Mitchell sneered down at him, "Stop right there, or else I fire."

Darien slid to a stop with a deadly snarl. His eyes were nearly black as he glared at the demented Councillor. Darien looked livid, "Leave her out of this."

"Just how far do you think you will go for your mate? I find it most curious that your strength and speed still haven't settled. I can think of quite a few uses for your abilities." He took a step towards Darien while tapped his chin with a finger in thought.

Darien snarled at him in wordless outrage and threat.

Mitchell frowned, "But... You never did take suggestions well, so I can't see any point in keeping these two around."

"Touch one hair on her head and I will kill you!" Darien's loud threat echoed around the room in its intensity.

Mitchell huffed, "You aren't exactly in a spot to negotiate. You would kill me anyways."

Mitchell stepped back as he reached for the release mechanism once more. My heart hammered in my chest while Saphira tensed up and braced herself to try and deflect the deadly projectile.

"Serena!" Darien desperately shouted as he started running towards the chains that raised the lift, but even he couldn't jump all the way up to this platform. There was no way he was going to make it in time, even with his enhanced speed.

A flicker of red light in the rafters above Mitchell made me glance up just in time to see a dark shape drop down. The four-legged black reptile dropped onto the crossbow, causing it to spin slightly and point away from us. It was one of the red-eyed black creatures from the forest, one of the Queen's people.

Its unexpected appearance seriously rattled the Councillor, and he backed away rapidly with wide eyes. The creature bared its teeth with a deep hiss as it took a few slow steps forward on top of the crossbow. Its red eyes were fixated on Mitchell.

Its voice was low and angry, yet clear and resolute, "The time for the purge has come."

Mitchell stumbled backwards in terror. He was so distracted by the creature's threat that he backed right off of the platform. Through the metal grating of the platform, I saw several arrows strike him even before he hit the floor. Startled, I glanced at the doorway to see several Dranek, Alex, Fiona, and Lucas running in our direction. Our reinforcements had arrived.

One Dranek raced over to dispatch the injured Councillor even as Darien reached the top of the platform and headed towards the cage. I came forward to the bars and reached a hand out to him, which he took the second he got close. The pain from the bond subsided as we were reunited, but it was still unsettled.

Darien glanced at the black creature before testing the bars. He braced one hand against one bar before taking a deep breath and yanking on another. Metal had a bad track record if Darien objected to it, and with a squeal, it gave way. He bent the bar down before ripping several other bars in a similar manner.

It was only a matter of seconds before Darien had opened up the cage enough for both Saphira and me to get out. I hugged Darien tightly and he wrapped his arms around me as he held me close in evident relief. After a while, I let go and peered around Darien.