“As the future queen, you will too. One day. But just trust me.” She crosses her arms, hunkering as if to hide within the thin fabric, her arms a barricade. “None of the guards are on your side. Only Zeke.”
With that final thought, Fee gestures for me to follow her. “Here, I’ll show you the stables. We don’t have Guardian Horses like the Blackwoods Coven, but we have Coal Stallions.”
Tripping over the rocks, I follow her past the trees to the back of the castle, where the land opens up, rolling hills of red sand looking back at me. It’s majestic and isolating. There is nothing here but wide expanses and silence.
“What do they do?”
“Blend into the shadows,” she responds, shrugging. The sandkicks up around us, blending into the crimson sky. “Legend says at one point they could breathe fire, but it’s just a myth.”
And as we open the stables, I try to stop thinking of the heir and how though he trapped me in this world, he’s as trapped as me. Stuck in a place he should never have been.
But the pull of escape through the forest is bigger.
Chapter
Thirteen
KADEN
It’s been days since Max was released from the prison, allowed to share my bed and haunt my dreams.
It’s fucking torture. I can feel her when absent, smell her scent in the halls, hear her laugh like wind-chimes drifting through a breeze. She’s my torment in corporal form.
My beast yearns to have its mate and I crave to feel her. Not her body or her lips, but to feel her soul near mine, two halves of a whole meant to stay together as the bond is made to be. But she clearly still doesn’t trust me—doesn’t evenlikeme.
The blood doused over me was a giant indicator.
Gods, I want her and hate her, all in the same breath. Because of her, I’m like this: angry, uncontrollable, longing for a woman who won’t have me. My beast rallies for control and my shadows have a mind of their own, reacting to my emotional unrest.
I’m so close to snapping, that any little upset right now is liable to get my wrath.
The Woodland Fae in particular feels like a worthy target. If I’m being honest, it’s been decades in the making.
He stands to the side of my father’s desk, his brother at his elbow, a few of his guards further back. The other kingdoms aren’t our true allies—not yet, so it’s an intimate affair of the Woodland Fae and Oslo, Zelos, and myself.
The room is dark, caged in shadows of the late night, but still, Fenrir shines like a fucking sun in this office. I hate it,him, everything he’s done to me.
My fists curl over my pants, black claws cutting into the leather.
Fiery Bel’s balls, I inhale, forcing the beast back into its cell. I’m slacking, and he’s slipping through my cracks. Every day he takes more liberties, more control. If I don’t watch it, everything will be lost.
Sitting before my father’s desk, my uncle behind me, we listen to the report from the spies Mal coordinated. I’ve no quarrel with the younger of the siblings. In fact, I admire him. He’s intelligent, and fights on the front lines while his brother hides behind his mother’s skirts.
After my battle with Griffin, the rest of the Fae kingdoms went on high alert. It’s unusual for me to let an enemy go, and since, they’ve been proactive in getting information.
Mal, in particular, took to the task well. Their spies are decent, though not as well trained as ours. I’ll need to send Zeke out for more information so I know all bases are covered.
I don’t regret choosing Max over Griffin. I would happily make the same choice again. She is more important than revenge.
“He mobilizes,” Zelos mutters, leaning back in his seat, eying me sharply. “Because you couldn’t keep your mind on the war and not a woman’s cunt, you let our enemy live to see another day.”
I can sense Fenrir’s amusement and my beast roars in my ears.
“That woman is mymate,” I growl, jaw muscle bunching. “What was I to do, Father? Allow her to be killed and me along with her?”
Zelos sighs, pinching the bridge of his brow. He can shout his displeasure all he wants, but we both know at the end of theday, he would rather I stay alive to be his perfect weapon. “Because you couldn’t keep from claiming her.” He gives me a pitying look. “I expected better, my heir.”
“It was the best chance we had to keep her.” My eyes scan the two Fae royals and I tug down my tunic. They still don’t know who or what Max is and I’d rather keep it that way. “To keep her with us, Father. You know the risk we faced if I did not.”
