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“Tharion,” I say, grabbing his arm as I plead with desperate eyes. “Please, no. Let’s just fly away from here. Far away where we can be together.”

“And leave your father?” he says, frowning. “And leave the town and everyone in it who has helped shape you into this incredible woman? We have done nothing wrong. He should be the one who leaves.”

We hear a shriek coming from somewhere and Fenella and Eldric dart through the wall, disappearing as fast as they came.

“You stay here, Ravena,” Tharion says before going after them. He disappears as well, leaving me all alone.

There’s no way I’m going to let my mate face an army outnumbered like that. I’m not sure what I can do, maybe talk this Lord Harshballow guy down or something, but I have to try.

I take a deep breath and lunge into the wall, only I don’t hit a flat surface, I trip and fall to my knees outside in the forest.

Lord Harshballow and about a dozen armed men are trotting up to us on horseback. He’s a snotty little fellow at the front and I hate him immediately with his stupid long hair and squished-together face. He’s the shortest one on the biggest horse, so he looks so ridiculous I can’t even look at him. His left arm is wrapped up in a cast and I grin with happiness knowing my mate was the one who broke it.

“Oh, look at this,” Lord Harshballow says as he looks us over. “Just the gargoyle I was searching for. I see that useless executioner isn’t worth his salt. I’ll execute him next for failing me.”

I gasp and feel faint.

My father… No…

“You,” Eldric hisses, stepping forward with his green nostrils flaring and his amber eyes alight with rage. “You harmed my Fenella. You harmed my mate.”

Lord Harshballow rolls his eyes. “You forest nymphs are so dramatic. I am Lord Harshballow. Anything I lay my eyes on is mine.”

He looks at me. Big mistake.

Tharion rises even larger, standing tall with his wings outstretched. He lets out a low, possessive growl.

“And the trees of the forest?” Eldric hisses, the vines on his body slithering around his torso. “Do they belong to you?”

“Everything belongs to me,” Lord Harshballow says. “Including your heads. Get them.”

The guards yank on their horse reins, moving them forward.

“Then have your trees,” Eldric says, his eyes blazing. “Take them if you can.”

The whole forest gets dark and the trees start shaking violently around us. The horses get spooked as the branches start moving. I don’t feel any wind, so it’s something else entirely.

One man gets thrown off his horse. The others look around in horror.

And then the trees come alive. They snatch the guards from their horses, branches wrapping around their waists and necks. I squeeze my eyes shut as the crunching starts. Within a few heartbeats, they’re all dead.

Except for Lord Harshballow.

He’s staring at Eldric and Tharion in fear as all the horses run away.

“Beat it,” Eldric says, stepping toward the lord’s horse. The giant black stallion throws Lord Harshballow off and bolts away after his friends.

“Oh, you are going to pay for that,” Lord Harshballow hisses as he pushes himself up off the ground. His royal cloak is covered in leaves and tiny twigs, his face as red as the blood on his knees. “Nobody treats the lord in this manner!”

“Buddy,” I say, glaring at him. “You’re beat. Isn’t it obvious?”

“I’ll take your heads for this insult,” he says, jabbing his tiny finger at each of us. “You’re all dead! You’ll all be tied up in the Market Square for the whole town to witness your slow, painful execution! I swear it, I’ll⁠—”

Tharion steps forward and grabs him by the throat. He lifts him up, his eyes bulging and his little legs kicking wildly.

“Tharion, friend,” Eldric says. “Please. Leave him to me.”

Tharion looks like he wants to crush his neck and he could easily do it.