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I nodded.
He turned us as one so we faced away from the unnerving clearing. “Do you need to be carried?” he teased. “You’re shaking and sadly it’s not from pleasure.”
Scoffing, I aimed a glare at him. “No, I can handle it.” My nostrils flared. “Just…Just keep your arm around me.”
“Will d—” The grotesque’s words cut off on a snarl as something sticky grabbed our ankles and yanked us into the center of the mirrored trees, a miasma of disgusting smells clogging my nose and throat. I gagged, clawing at the ground, but it was no use. Beside me, Bane’s actual claws failed to gain purchase, so what hope was there for me?
None.
A scream shredded my throat as every single mirror shattered at once.
“Miko!” Bane roared, covering me with his body.
CHAPTER 17
Iced Roses
BANE
“Maybe I did flip off the universe.”
“Now’s not the time for introspection,” Miko yelled over the concussive booms of several explosions, their blast obliterating the ring of trees. My eyes darted around us as blurry images formed midair, as if they were displayed on one of those screens the humans used. Despite the dozens of images, there was a severe pressure against my wings trapping them against my back as if we were falling.
“Can you fly us away from here?” Miko called
I grunted, straining to open my moth wings but they wouldn’t budge; whether it was from injury sustained by glass shrapnel or magic I couldn't tell. “I can't.”
She turned her attention to the distracting images rapidly coming into focus as what must be shards of those damn mirrors pierced into people all over the world. They flashed around us unpleasantly, causing my eyes to burn. Finally, the multitude of images faded, leaving only one.
We watched as a sliver of mirror wiggled its way into a young man’s heart, the evil contained within penetrating his soul and corrupting him. A montage of footage flashed forward at a dizzying speed, but somehow, I was still able to comprehend every minute detail. Abruptly, the image froze and gravity bashed into my spine.
“Miko, take my hand,” I urged her. “Something is about to happen.”
She does as I’ve asked the same snow dappled clearing rising to meet us. I twist our bodies, so I land first, taking the brunt of the impact. I laughed humorously. “What a trip. Poor customer service though, they didn't even introduce themselves. Zero out of five stars on the human scale. Would not recommend.”
Miko scent eased over me like a drug. “You’re talking nonsense again.”
I turned my face to look at her. “I’m so cold, Honeybee.”
She shook her head. “You're lying in a pile of snow.”
“Oh,” I chucked, “that explains it.”
My ears twitched as the sound of clapping hooves and jingling metal filtered to me through the trees, the crisp resonance of the sound indicating it came from somewhere very close. I laced my fingers with Miko’s, stood, then tugged her to her feet. She raised a brow as I pushed her glasses up with a knuckle on my free hand and proceeded to tug her behind me until I reached a thick trunk.
I winced, willing my wings to close tightly against my back, heedless of the warm trails dripping from the dozens of tiny cuts I sustained.
Miko sucked in a breath, touching a tiny hand to the center of my spine. “You’re hurt. Why did you do that?” she growled. “You keep taking injuries meant for me.”
Before I could respond, a prison wagon, judging from the bars installed over the slit of a glassless window, pulled up in front of a monstrous ice castle. I was fairly certain that wasn't there a second ago, but it could always be my brain. It’s been awhile since it attacked my mental state.
A heavy-set man bedecked in a silver embroidered livery jumped from front bench to the gravel drive, marched to the back, unlocking the door, and flung it open. “Out, Kai,” he spat, “it's time for your sentencing.”
Miko sucked in a breath. “Did he just say Kai?
My shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. “Sounded like it.”
She slapped the back of her hand against my biceps few times, her frigid fingers causing me to wince. “I know what fairytale this is.”
