“I saw you myself once in the forest. You were working on a trail, using that large axe of yours against the roots ofliving trees. You, the queen of Latiah, once injured trees for a job.” Kinlon said with a bitter laugh. “Your sweat-soaked hair was tied back and you took off your hat to wipe your brow. I saw it then.” A chill ran down Avery’s spine. She’d been stalked by fae warriors before she ever reached Aeritis?
“But why didn’t you, um, finish the job?”
The man thrashed and screamed, tearing his arm from Kyla’s tight grip. He grimaced and said through gritted teeth, “I made a mistake once in letting you get away, but I’ll not do it again!”
The binding holding him to the table snapped, and Kinlon gripped Avery by the throat. Despite his weakened state, he squeezed so tight that Avery’s vision began to blur. Her ears were ringing as she reached for the iron blade at her waist. But Savine was quicker. He pushed his essence forth, impaling Kinlon through the eye with a sharp, spinning branch. The man fell back on the table, shaking as his essence drained before Avery’s eyes, leaving him looking like a husk of a man.
Avery’s heart was pounding as Savine drew her closer, pressing a brutal kiss to her lips.
“Well, Avery, Kyla, the wardens should call on your services more often,” Jay said.
Raikin nodded in agreement. “He hadn’t revealed that information to me. But I did find out how he found the fae your sister killed. Over the years, the Hunters had adjusted to your world and began using a human device to communicate with one another. A satellite phone, I believe he said. I recognized the word phone from your language. Kinlon got an alert from theother fae that he’d caught Morgan, and he shared his location. When Kinlon arrived, he found the fae and the iron used to kill him.”
Savine huffed out a breath, still gripping Avery close to his chest. “Savine, I’m okay,” Avery whispered and his grip loosened on her, but the need to be consumed by Savine was building. This desire to jump his bones right here in a prison cell was already building. She was a freaking beast. Wanting to have sex in a prison just because her life was threatened. What was even wrong with her?
“Excuse me. I’m still adjusting to the bond,” Savine said in a rasping voice to his friends.
Garnel gave him a sympathetic look. “It will never go away. You’ll always have that need to protect your soulmate.”
Jay and Raikin nodded in agreement. “It’s a natural response,” Jay said. “None of us would fault you for the reaction it brings out in you afterwards either.”
He looked at Avery with a knowing smile. “In both of you.”
Avery could feel Savine’s heart hammering in his chest. “Let’s get out of here,” she murmured.
Chapter 35
Rylo
Rylo left the other Nepheli at the table as he and the Goldoth monarchs moved into a private room. He sat on the hard, stone bench as Maglar called for more refreshments. Rylo hid his grimace. He didn’t think he could stand another one of Goldoth’s refreshments.
“King Rylo, we need to continue discussing the terms of our alliance,” Mara said with a smirk as she slid onto the bench next to him. Her glimmering skin sparkled in the fae lights and her dress dipped low enough that as she leaned in, Rylo could see her breasts. He had no doubt this was all part of her strategy, but it disgusted him nonetheless.
“And what are your terms?” Rylo asked, scooting away from Mara’s leering face.
Maglar took a seat on Rylo’s other side. His large frame shifted the stones as Rylo found himself wedged between the two monarchs. Goddess above. He hoped Morgan could find that relic quickly so he could make an escape. Now that she was free of the collar, there was no reason to linger in this putrid tunnel.
“As we said, you will secure the northern border. Once we have finished our campaign to the south we will bypass your territory. In exchange, we will save your folk from a bloody war that you could never win, but you will become a vassal to Goldoth.”
Rylo couldn’t believe what he was hearing. They expected him to give up his nation, his folks’ freedom, in exchange for the privilege of being bypassed in their war? He couldn’t stand being near them for another moment. He stood, walking away from the two sneering fae.
“I’ll never agree to such terms,” Rylo snarled.
Mara let out a cold, cruel laugh. “Then perhaps we should demonstrate what you are refusing to agree to.” She motioned to a guard in the doorway. “Send for Tyranny and Calamity. I believe a demonstration is in order.”
Maglar looked at Rylo with such vitriol that he could feel the King of the Cavern’s essence seeking him out. “You need to think carefully about what you are denying your nation by refusing our alliance. They will not survive this war if we do not get what we want. That will be on you, Sun King.”
Once again, Rylo heard the terrifying shriek of the witches as they were dragged into the room. The cowering sister flinched at Maglar and the other hissed in their direction.
“I didn’t want to have to do this. I thought you would share our enthusiasm for the direction we want to take this realm, but I believe Mara is right. A demonstration must be in order,” Marglar said, shaking his head at Rylo.
Rylo walked near the wall, giving himself space from the twin witches. “There’s no need. I’ll return to my rooms and we can continue this discussion tomorrow. Surely we can come to a true alliance.”
Mara stood, taking the witches’ chains from the guard. “Stand against the wall,” she said to the guard. He let out a stifled cry, but didn’t resist the order. Maglar stood and walked over to the guard. The silver traces of his essence coiled under his skin as he struck the guard, turning his body stiff.
“Thank you, dear,” Mara said as she turned to Rylo. “Tyranny is much easier to manage when we’ve incapacitated her victim, you see?” Mara unlocked the wilder sister’s collar. The girl lunged from Mara in a snap and jumped on the guard against the wall. With a piercing scream, she slashed at the man and sunk her teeth into his neck. The guard fell to the floor and Tyranny moved over him, clawing and biting the man until his blood poured out across the stone floor.
Rylo stood, shocked against the wall, unsure whether he should flee or try to keep a sense of calm. Inside, he wanted to run from the room and warn his folk before going after Morgan and Elio. But how would they complete their task if he failed them now? He needed to keep up a sense of composure, even as the woman tore into the flesh of the guard.
