The ground shudders.
A deep, guttural rumble tears through the earth.
The soil splits open. Dozens of roots—thick, twisted,alive—burst through the cracks, writhing like serpents.
Heading straight for me.
Chapter Seventy-Nine
Thickbrancheswindaroundmy wrists and ankles, the rough bark digging into my skin, until I’m dangling in the air. Zev lunges toward me, sword aimed for the thickest root, but a large mound of packed earth erupts from the ground and slams into his chest, sending him staggering backward.
“Easy now, brother. Don’t piss me off.” Faramir’s menacing chuckle slices through the darkness. “I’ll cut her clean in two. Then we can both have a piece.”
“Let. Her. Go.” Zev’s snarl vibrates with rage.
Faramir rests a finger on his cheek, pretending to consider it.
“No,” he says with a malicious grin.
The sky rumbles overhead.
Faramir grins, circling Zev. “Father would’ve done anything to save you, brother. He thought the Tundrayni pigscapturedyou. It would’ve crushed him to learn his favorite son was actually a traitor.” He stills, face contorting into a grim smile. “Luckily, he’ll never know.”
“What do you mean?” Zev growls, knuckles white on his sword.
The twisted smile on Faramir’s lips sends a rush of revulsion through me. “I killed him, of course. You should’ve believed me that night, brother. Did you know he was planning to crown you? He wanted you and your bitch to rule.”
Zev lunges toward Faramir.
The roots binding my hands yank upwards, while the ones around my ankles tighten. Pressure mounts at my joints, my limbs straining against the roots.
I try to muffle my pained gasp, but Zev hears it anyway and whirls, mere feet away from impaling his brother. Faramir hadn’t even flinched in the face of Zev’s sword.
Fear rages in Zev’s eyes, and it stokes the flames of my fury.
“Want to know how I did it?” Faramir sounds positively gleeful. “You two made it so easy. Mayah. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. Thank you for all the toxinnia. And brother, you left with your bitch so quickly. Didn’t even make sure it was all disposed properly.”
A bolt of lightning strikes, but Faramir seems to expect it. Mounds of earth tear from the ground and form a barrier over his head, absorbing the electricity. His face transforms into a vicious snarl, and the roots stretch me farther. Hot blood drips down my wrists from the deep wounds gouged into my skin by sharp thorns.
Another vicious crack of lightning.
My heart races. Easy, Mayah. Relax. You can do this.
I focus on Zev. It’s him. It’s him. Not my father. It’sZev. Protecting me.
The bite of wooden antlers against my palm.
The flash of lightning, illuminating my shaking knees.
Breathe, Mayah. Breathe.
Spine rigid, I stare directly into Faramir’s hate-filled eyes.
“You’ve been such a wonderful addition to our family, Mayah,” he purrs. “Finally. My brother has a weakness.”
The thunder rumbles louder. So does the pounding in my ears.
“I am not a weakness,” I grit through the pain shearing through my wrists and ankles. “Or a bitch. I am afuckingforce of nature.”
