“Because they will not impress your dread. And if your dread rejects me, they'll go savage on them.”
Cyn chuckled and pulled me back into his arms. “My dread won't reject you. Regardless, our clan won't be allowed to attend the ceremony itself, but they can go to the celebration afterward.”
“But if I'm not accepted, there won't be a celebration.”
“Then we'll cancel the party. But I highly doubt my dread will reject you.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Ru.” He leaned back to look into my eyes. “They are not monsters.”
I squished my face at him. “They turn into dragons.”
Cyn snorted a laugh. “Yes, but so do I, and you don't think I'm terrible.”
“No, I suppose not.”
“It will be fine, my love. Now let's go settle into our apartments.”
“Sure, I'll just grab my trunks and get to unpacking.” I rolled my eyes as he drew me to the door.
My mate leaned down to whisper. “I meant I wanted to have sex.”
“Oh! In that case . . .” I yanked open the door, dragged him out, then dashed down the hallway with him.
Cyn's poor knights had to run after us.
Chapter Forty
That night, after a wild romp in my new bed with my insatiable mate, I fell asleep in Cyn's arms. I would have rested well, but something still nibbled at the back of my mind, and I kept waking up. Every creak was the footstep of an assassin. Every breeze was the breath of death come to take my mate from me. So it was no surprise that the whispering woke me.
“—bastard. False King,” a woman hissed. She was right in the middle of a tirade. “Stealer of Children. Murderer!”
The last word brought me jerking into consciousness. At first, I thought I'd been dreaming, or that my anxiety was playing tricks on me. But I quickly realized that this was real. A woman stood beside our bed, whispering terrible things to my mate. Moonlight streamed through a window to the right of the bed, illuminating her furious and familiar face.
I knew this woman! She was the cook I had tried to comfort in the castle kitchen. A cook I had never returned to question. Elisa. That was her name. The same woman who pointed the finger at that poor Chelli man. Shit! What the fuck?!
“You killed my friends,” Elisa continued. “Tore them apart! You fucking animal! Now, I will finish what we started.”
Light glinted off the edge of a sword. Using both hands, Elisa brought the weapon above her head, in line with Cyn's throat.
As she dropped the sword, I had only one thought in my head:Protect Cyn!
Roaring Cyn's name, I jerked up and flung myself over him. My mate came awake just as the blade sliced into my back, severing my spine. A sharp burn lashed through me, then I felt nothing below my chest, and that nothing scared the shit out of me.
“No!” the Shanba woman screamed.
“Ru!” Cyn bolted up, cradling me. His frantic stare lifted, found the shrieking woman with the sword, and narrowed. One hand lashed out, flames erupting from it with such force, the woman was blasted backward. That handled, his hands went to my bloody back. “Ru,” his voice broke. “My mate. What has she done to you?”
“My spine,” I whispered. “She severed my spine. I don't have long, Cyn.” Tears flooded my eyes. I didn't want to die. Dying meant leaving him behind. And we had just found each other.
Sir Kren and Sire Drasik came rushing into the room, swords drawn.
“My King?” one of them asked.
“Fetch the physician!” Cyn roared. “We've been attacked.”
Sir Drasik ran off while Sir Kren came to the bed, his sword arm dropping. Kren gaped at me while my mate bent his head to mine.
