I open my eyes, not sure how to communicate what I’m feeling but determined to do it anyway. I focus past Bones’s shoulder, trying to collect my thoughts, when my gaze lands on a tall peak in the distance, one that looks oddly like an eagle’s talon. I freeze as recognition bubbles like acid through my mind. It burns away every other thought until all I can process is the talon-tipped mountain.
“I know that summit,” I whisper as festering rage rises in my chest.
“What?” Bones asks, leaning closer to hear my muttered profession.
“I know that fucking mountain,” I snarl, and then, without warning, I’m pushing away from the confines of the Scorpions’ bodies and running as though my life depended on it.
Confused shouts fall away somewhere behind me as I dash in the direction of the familiar landmark. Memories try to crawl to the surface of my mind, the sharp barbs of the horrors they contain slowly shredding through my defenses. Fear does its best to smother me, but I’m not the youngling I was when I stared out of a window at the peak of that mountain and wished that the eagle’s talon would come carry me away. Fury and vindication rage in my chest like a sandstorm, the grains of rage and promise smoothing away the pain like a pumice stone.
I push my body harder, needing to find the house more than I need my next breath.
I’m a streak in the night as I sprint through yards and streets, the houses growing larger and larger as the base of the mountain draws closer. Clustered homes give way to sprawling manicured properties. Lofty fences and gates enclose lush lands that surround opulent buildings big enough to fit several luderes.
They’re all in my way.
I skirt around what I can and climb over everything else that can’t be avoided…until I find it. There, nestled in the shadow of a sleepy, talon-topped mountain, is a palace that once haunted my nightmares. For a time, I thought the ludere was the worst that it could get for me. Then I was drugged and brought here. Tilleo handed me over, eager to count the aurems he earned trading my flesh while I fractured. I was returned to the ludere after as though nothing had happened.
For too long, I thought that I wouldn’t come back from what happened to me in this house, that it didn’t get worse than that. Now, after all the years I’ve survived at the ludere, I don’t know that I can choose aworst thingthat happened. All of it scarred me in different ways, but it scarred nonetheless.
I pull the two daggers from my lower back, the stinger shape of the blades glinting in the waning moonlight. I study the dark manor, pushing away all of the painful recollections as I concentrate on remembering things that can help me. Things like the layout of the rooms inside and the faces of the fae who took from me then and will die for it tonight.
A flash of being carried through the front door like a prized pet and then taken upstairs to the bastard’s quarters lights up in my mind. I use it to quickly map my hunt. I plan the path I’ll take from the outside gate, choosing the most camouflaged part of the outer wall to climb over, and the quickest path across the lawns to a lower window that’s been left partially open. I watch expectantly for guards, but surprisingly, no one is walking the perimeter at this hour. It’s as though fate has wrapped this moment up in a neat little package, and all I need to do is tear it open and let the blood flow.
Silently I stalk to the part of the stone wall that’s sheltered by a massive tree. I push through the ivy that’s climbing up both the tree and the wall, and just as I find my first handhold and start to climb, arms wrap around my waist, and I’m yanked into a hard chest.
“Shh, it’s just us,” a deep, familiar voice whispers in my ear.
Skull pulls me back against his chest. Scorpius squeezes me gently once as though confirming that he’s here and then releases my arm, the one he just caught mid-swing to keep me from slicing through Skull on pure instinct. I drop it to my side, my dagger still clutched tight in my palm, and breathe through the rush of adrenaline and shock.
“I could have stabbed you,” I whisper-scold Skull, and I feel more than hear the vibrations of his quiet laughter against my back.
“Want to tell us why you ran off like your ass was on fire and are now trying to break into Duke Andross’s home?” Bones asks, his tone light but his gaze searching and troubled.
“He’s a duke?” I demand, my attention jumping from Bones back to the manor.
I glare at it and tighten my grip on my weapon. I can only see the peaks of the roof over the tall rock wall guarding the property, but it’s enough to rankle more ire.
“Why are we here, Telson?” Scorpius asks, his own stare locked in the same direction as mine as though he’ll be able to identify whatever it is I’m scowling at.
“I was sold to the bastard who lives in this house. It was only for a night, but it was enough. Now I’m going to kill him,” I tell them, tensing in preparation for the objections I know are about to fly my way.
They’re silent for several heartbeats as though my declaration needs time to slowly sink in. I shift my weight from one foot to the other, already working through how I’ll fight my way through them if they try to get in my way. I won’t enjoy it, it will damage us in more ways than just physically, but I will fuck them up with everything I have, because the duke is destined for my blade tonight, and there isn’t a damn thing anyone can do to stop it.
“How are we getting in?” Bones asks, all levity gone from his tone and replaced by sharp focus.
“There’s a window open on the bottom left, but if you want to avoid any potential run-ins with staff inside, the vines running up to the second floor on the outer right might be a more secure point of entry,” Scorpius observes.
My head snaps to first Bones and then Scorpius. I stare at them both for a moment, bewildered by their reaction. They’re not going to stop me? They’re not even offering a word of censure or a grunt of admonition. I study all three of the Scorpions’ faces, looking for traces that this is some kind of trick. I watch for any hint of doubt or concern, but all I see are three fae who are willing to do exactly what they said they’d do…give me anything and follow me anywhere.
Their unwavering support and validation from the moment I woke up free from the ludere until now, takes my breath away. They stand guard around me, three of the most deadly and ruthless fae in all of the realms, ready and willing to ensure I get the retribution I need no matter the cost.
I don’t know how I ever thought that I was just a game to them, a simple passing fancy?
How did I not see sooner what’s etched so plainly on each of their faces, that I’m theeverythingthey swore I was right from the beginning, and now…they areeverythingto me.
“I say we go through the front door,” Skull states evenly. “Fuckers like this never lock up; they think they’re untouchable. Let’s walk right in and show them that they aren’t.”
Rage bleeds into their voices, and fury tightens their shrewd stares. I swallow the lump of emotion in my throat and turn from them to the huge house that will be ringing with screams soon.
