Page 91 of Blood of the Fairest

Wulf bursts into the queen's chambers just as I appear in my mirror covering the secret passage. He's already reaching for the frame around me, wrenching it open.

"Only the queen is capable of stepping foot past the threshold, thanks to Reinhilde's magic," I rasp, hopeless and spiraling. "You can't⁠—"

My words cut off as the Huntsman can and does step behind the mirror.

I hear his footsteps thunder down the spiral staircase a second longer. The shock of the impossible happening only holds me hostage for a second before I return to my view of the hot spring room.

My heart flips when I see Verena has finally roused. She's so weak that she sways as she fights to get to her feet.

Just as she braces a hand on the edge of the pool and begins to step out, water dripping from her bare, feverish body, Wulf bursts through the blue door.

The loud intrusion startles Verena so her hand slips on the slick steps. Without the support, she slips. I shout in alarm when her chin smacks against the edge of the spring on her way down into the hot water⁠—

But Wulf is already lunging forward, pulling her out of the spring to cradle her in his arms.

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Wulf

Verena struggles to keep her eyes open.

Her breathing is laden. Every place her bare skin graces my touch is hot with fever. Water cascades from her body, streaming from her hair as her head lolls back over my arm.

I refuse to let my gaze roam when this beautiful creature is so vulnerable—but it soon locks onto the scarlet dripping from a small cut on her chin.

Cursing myself for causing yet another injury to this woman, I lift a hand to wipe it away.

"Don't," Eris says quickly from a nearby mirror. His voice is raw, his hands pressed to the glass as though he is trying to push his way into this world. "Reinhilde's blood carries a strange, wild magic. One touch and it will kill you before you can help Verena."

He speaks with utter certainty, yet my cruel hands have been stained with Verena's blood before, and nothing befell me.

Ignoring his next warning, I gently dab at her chin as I carry her from this underground spring.

Nothing happens.

Whatever danger lurks within her veins, perhaps my curse protects me from it.

"I have you," I promise quietly.

She is too lost to fever to reply.

Passing through the blue door, I rush to ascend the stone steps of this hidden passage. When we emerge in the queen's chambers once more, Eris is pacing like a caged animal in the mirror over the door.

He stops, dragging hands through his hair. "Give her blood quickly. I won't lose her like this."

His panic only confirms what I guessed already: I am not the only man held captive by this siren from a distant world.

Gently, I lay Verena in the bed. My foolish heart beats faster in my chest. Ignoring the water still dripping from her, I swiftly move the blankets to cover the lithe body that tempts me too far.

She makes a soft sound of distress. I expect her to protest drinking from me once more as I shrug off my soaking-wet tunic and begin to unwrap my bandaged arm—but she thrashes on the bed, lashes fluttering.

"N-no," she snarls. "You're sick. You're sick!"

"Verena—" I capture one of her wild arms before it can knock against a bedpost. "Be still. It is you who is sick."

"She's not talking to you," Eris mutters from the mirror, still pacing with aggravation. "The fever has her mind. Just stop her with your blood quickly, before she hurts herself."

Verena thrashes harder, her mind far away. "G-get that away from me! No more tattoos. Get the fuck away from me!"