Page 177 of Primal Bonds

A fae message.

Marjani tensed. She edged closer, trying to read it, but the black words scrolling over the mist were in a language she didn’t know.

Fane’s jaw hardened. The mist dissolved, and he slammed the side of his fist against the wall. “Bloody hell.”

“Something wrong?” Uneasiness prickled her scalp even though she knew there were a hundred reasons why Sindre might send Fane a message, none of them having to do with her.

Until he turned, face set. “King Sindre requests the honor of your presence.”

Her stomach lurched. “Me? He found out I’m here?”

A curt nod.

“But how?”

His gaze slid from hers. “I told him.”

“You told him?” She desperately searched his face. “But why? I thought—”

“Haven’t you figured it out?” A self-mocking smile curled his mouth. “I’m his spy, love. He sent me to watch you.”

“His spy?” She took a step back. “You’d give me to them? Put me in one of those fucking cages?” Her voice rose. It felt like all the air had been sucked from the room.

She swallowed and tried to take a deep breath.

But it was too late. Her cougar awakened. Her claws slid out and a furious growl ripped from her chest.

Fane stiffened but did nothing to defend himself. “No. Not in a cage. That’s Lady B’s thing, not the king.”

She stalked toward him. “You’re dead,” she said in a thick, barely human voice.

He spread his hands. “You can tear me to pieces, love, but Sindre still wants to see you.”

The cougar didn’t want to hear that. It tried to force the change on her, but she maintained control—barely.

But both of them wanted blood. She retracted her claws and reached for her iron dagger. In the next instant, she had Fane backed up to the wall, the knife at the sweet spot over his carotid.

The iron seared his skin. A blister formed at the point, and the scent of burning flesh filled her nostrils. His throat worked, but he remained silent, gazing back with those fucking sky-colored eyes.

“You didn’t have to bring me inside the castle.” Her voice was harsh with her cougar’s rasp. “You could’ve opened a portal and let me out.”

“Would you have left?”

No, but he couldn’t have known that. Not for sure. She glared at him without speaking.

“And besides,” he added, “the goblins would’ve caught you. They were hoping to flush you out. The minute we moved away from the wall, they’d have been on us, and you’d be in a cage right now.”

She sneered. “Why should I believe you?”

“Because you can scent a lie.”

She scowled. But he was right—his scent had the clean bite of truth.

“This way,” he said, “you have a chance. The king is old, and frankly, a little bored. Even a spider eventually gets tired of spinning webs. If you interest him, he won’t let Lady B get hold of you.”

“What do you mean if I interest him?” She pressed the dagger’s point deeper.

Blood welled up, and then the iron seared the tiny wound, sealing it. He had to be in pain, but he didn’t blink an eye. The man might be a manipulative, two-faced prick, but he was no coward.

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