Page 170 of A War of Three Kings

“Oh, dear Aldrin, don’t you understand? Your life is already in my hands, and I just want to snuff out the inconvenience that is you. But a human mate? Human! That is just too hilarious.”Her tinkling laughter is at complete odds with my entire world falling apart.

I love you, Aldrin. Please forgive me,Keira says in my mind.I would give up everything for you to live. For my family to be safe.

I don’t want to live a life without you,I send back.Don’t do this.

My mate rises to her feet. “Why kill Aldrin when he cannot return to your realm without being destroyed by assassins? You could torture him for a lifetime by holding his mate where he can never reach me.”

Titania throws back her head and laughs. “Oh, I like the idea of that! What an oddity. A human mate. Tell me, Aldrin, what can a girl with no power even offer you? Surely not the bond of the mind or heart-feelings. And she will die all too soon, hardly seeing a hundred years!” She leans forward in her seat, eyes set on me, and her entire tone changes. “And I will make sure you won’t spend a single one of them with her.”

“You will do no such thing!” I roar. My magic rises within me as I snarl at her, a torrent of air whipping around us so forcefully it pulls at my clothes and picks up dishes and cutlery and candlesticks. The very stones of the floor are ripped up and swung into that cyclone. Cracks form in the walls and beneath our feet, and planks of wood are torn from the dais. All that debris is set aflame when Edmund’s magic joins my own.

Titania holds my gaze as she lifts a single finger, its long nail growing into a sharp claw. The hint of a smile curves her lips as she presses it to the baby’s face, then runs a long scratch down her cheek. Morgana screams immediately, but Titania doesn’t flinch. She raises an eyebrow at me, then holds the tip of the claw perpendicular to the infant’s neck.

I know her well enough to appreciate that she will follow through on the threat.

No! NO! Aldrin, please! Please stop!

The begging goes on and on until I realize it is Keira’s voice in my head.

Don’t let her hurt Morgana.

I drag my eyes away from Titania, down to Keira beating her hands on my chest, eyes wide and brimming with tears.

This is what you want?I ask her.

It is the only way.Do not fear for me, Aldrin.I will not be this woman’s prisoner. I will not be powerless in her court. I will be a spy in her midst, conveniently placed and underestimated enough to sow discord among our enemy.

Something dies within me.

I never wanted this for her.

It is because I am staring into Keira’s eyes that I don’t see the attack coming.

A fae guard slams the pommel of his sword straight into my temple. The weaves of my magic unravel and the missiles flying through the tempest clatter to the ground. I stagger to the side and crash to the floor, the world fading in and out of blackness while pain sears through me. Distantly, I register Caitlin crying and Edmund yelling.

Multiple guards hold me on the floor, some sitting on my back, while Torin grabs my face and forces me to look up. “Watch how my mother outwits you. See how she takes everything from you.”

“I will make a bargain with you,” Keira tells Titania with desperation. “I will travel with you to the Spring Court as your hostage, and no one here can stop it. As long as you are in power, I will remain there until you release me, without trying to escape you or attack you. You will promise no harm will come to my family by your hand or those of the people you control. While I am in your custody, you will not harm me, and I’ll be treated as an honored guest, with the same privileges, care and respect asany noble in your court. You will, by all effects, act as my patron. And you will not kill or torture Aldrin in the human realm.”

A slow smile forms on Titania’s black lips. “You are a clever one, little mouse, but not as clever as you seem to think. I agree to that bargain.” She leans forward on her throne. As she takes Keira’s arm, she digs her nails in deep, drawing blood. “Just a bit of fun before I can no longer make you bleed.”

Keira gasps, and the shock of that bite of pain flashes within my soul as well. I want to rip the world apart. A blind fury rages through me, refusing to see reason, not caring about logic or calculating the risks of my actions.

Ineedto tear Titania’s head from her shoulders.

My magic explodes from me. Shards of sharpened air rip through the bodies holding me down and throw them from me in a bloody arc, their forms flipping away.

I get to my feet and take a single step toward Keira to stop the madness of this bargain, but she shakes arms with Titania before I can reach her. Magic seals the agreement in golden streams of light that wrap around them, then burst into a thousand stars that slowly wink out.

All my hope for a better future dies within me as my heart splits in two. Absolute terror grips icy talons into my soul. I cannot control what happens to Keira in my realm. I cannot swoop in and extract her, because Titania must die or be displaced from power before Keira can leave her grasp. Perhaps that was part of Keira’s design, to force my hand.

The urge to weep shudders through me. I don’t want my fiancée, my dear heart, my mate, to be in the viper’s nest of my enemy, taking the full force of Titania’s resentment for me. I need her safe in my arms every night.

I take another step. My fingers clench with all the violence I intend to release, and my magic reaches boiling point, ready to be unleashed, but it hits a wall.

I reach for my power again. There is a barrier around it, and no matter how I thrash at it, I cannot reach a single drop of magic.

The next step feels like I am walking through water with a strong current pushing against me. I reach for my sword, opting for brute force, but every muscle in my body locks up and I freeze halfway there. My arms twitch but cannot move. All I can do is stare at Keira, still at my enemy’s feet, while I am rendered helpless. I cannot even take another step.

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