Page 97 of Taken By the Fae

“Then let my brother go. Wake him up.”

Jules’s lips curl into a slow grin that makes my stomach roil. “I’ll be happy to pay Elijah a visit and help him,” he pauses, “once Tristan Westbrook is dead.”

My heart beats in my throat. “You’re insane if you think any of the seelie fae will follow your queen if you kill Tristan. Not to mention what the king will do if you take out his knight. You really want to add fuel to an already raging fire of war? The seelie court will destroy you.”

It’s silent for several moments, and then he sighs. The soft sound makes my blood run cold. “Shame.” He moves faster than my eyes can track, slamming me into the wall, and I cry out as stars dance across my vision. “Hmm,” he hums, his brows lifting for a moment before he shoves his hand up my sweater and rips the iron stake from between my breasts. Growling as it burns his skin, Jules tosses it across the room. It clatters against the hardwood, and I wince, trying to break free of his grasp. Jules tightens his grip on me. “This could’ve gone a different way, Aurora.”

“I doubt that,” I say through my teeth, shoving him hard.

He backs up, a dark smirk plastered on his lips. “You came here to kill me?” He lifts his arms out, palms up. “Have at it,” he taunts, letting his arms fall back to his sides.

I bend and pull the iron stake out of my left boot, holding it in a tight grip.

Jules laughs, shifting his gaze to the weapon in my hand. “Did you stop at the hardware store on your way here?”

I step forward, swiping the air so he’ll move. I circle him and kick out with my right leg, but he catches it, and the other iron stake slides out of my boot and hits the floor.Fuck.

He pushes me back, and I stumble over my own feet and almost lose my balance, catching my footing at the last second.

“Do you truly believe you can win this fight?” Jules doesn’t give me a chance to answer before he charges forward, grabbing me by the throat and throwing me to the ground, holding me effortlessly. His fingers trail along my jaw, and I shiver in horror when I feel hisclawsagainst my skin. “I’m almost sorry I have to kill you.”

I choke on the fear clogging my throat and try to push him off, panting as I struggle beneath him. The pity in his glowing green eyes has my stomach roiling, and then he slams me against the floor again, making me suck in a shallow breath.

Where the fuckisTristan?

I lift my leg and kick him in the groin as hard as I can, screaming at the top of my lungs. He rolls off me with a throaty growl. I throw myself on top of him and barely manage to wrap my fingers around his throat with one hand, using the other to grab my last iron stake out of the back of my leggings.

“You have quite the collection,” he sneers at me, baring his razor-sharp teeth. “I guess that’s smart, considering the crowd you spend time with.”

“Shut up,” I shout, tightening my grip around his neck, digging my nails into his skin. Claws would be more convenient. I could slash his throat, his chest—the soft, charming face that made me befriend him.

In a second, he has us flipped over, and now he’s on top again, holding my arms at my sides. “You’re making this too easy.” When his lips brush my ear, dread squeezes my lungs, making it hard to breathe. “Do you think Tristan regrets what he’s put you through?”

I buck my hips, trying to get him off, but all it does is exhaust me.Tears blur my vision. “He’ll destroy you,” I say through my teeth, my muscles shaking from exertion and marrow-chilling fear.

Jules laughs, and then the snap of bone echoes in my ear. My left arm explodes with excruciating pain, causing black spots to dot my vision, and a scream rips from my throat. The sick glimmer of amusement in the unseelie knight’s eyes makes my stomach clench.

The room blurs, and I fight to keep my eyes open. I refuse to pass out, and by the frustrated, borderline angry expression on the face above me, I’d say that’s exactly what Jules wants me to do.

“You shouldn’t have come alone,” he says with a snarl.

I didn’t, I want to say.Tristan should be here, kicking the door off its hinges and making Jules suffer for all he’s done. But he’s not.

Something is wrong.

Despite the fear filling my chest with an almost unbearable pressure, I bark out a laugh. “You really wanted to see Tristan, didn’t you?” I wince as the throbbing in my arm intensifies. “Do you have a thing for him or something?” Sarcasm laces my tone. Good. At least I’m holding on to my wit. “I don’t blame you. He’s hot.”

Jules growls and wraps his fingers around my injured arm, squeezing hard, and I scream again. “Where’s your fire now?” he taunts.

I close my eyes as tears spill down my cheeks and clamp my jaw shut so I’ll stop screaming. If I’m going to die, I refuse to give him the satisfaction of seeing my devastation. There’s a moment where Jules’s grip on my arms loosens. When it happens, my body moves on autopilot, responding instinctively. I rip my arm free and raise it, ready to slam it into his chest.

“Aurora, don’t!”

Tristan’s words register too late as I drive the iron stake home, right into Jules’s rib cage. I know the moment the iron pierces his heart. He cries out in pain, a sound so excruciating, I want to cover my ears. He falls, rolling off of me, but still holds my broken wrist in a weak grip. Jules’s mouth forms a perfect ‘O’ as his breath stutters, and his eyes widen in shock for a moment that seems to last forever before they close for the last time.

Tristan stalks across the room, his footsteps thundering in my ears as he approaches. My eyes snap to where Jules’s fingers remain wrapped around my wrist when the contact burns. It quickly becomes unbearable, and I struggle and claw at his skin. Tristan drops to the floor next to me and tries to pry Jules’s fingers open, desperation overtaking his hardened features. Tingles shoot up my arm, traveling to the rest of my body, and my heart pounds in a panicked frenzy.Something’s happening to me—this isn’t normal.Fire races through my veins, burning everything in its path. I throw my head back, screaming in agony that seems to last forever.

Tristan pulls me against him, talking into my ear, but his words are static; I can’t make them out over my agony-filled sobs. He pulls my wrist free from Jules’s lifeless grasp, and I fall against his chest as everything goes dark.

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