Page 182 of Crown of Briars
“Varius, don’t,” she whispered. “Youknowme. I did not hurt Sybelle.” She pointed to the male. “Buthe did. If you kill him, you can end this. All of this.” She spread her arms around her, indicating the castle and the soldiers fighting nearby.
With a keening moan, I shook my head again, burying my face underneath my paws. It was too much. I couldn’t think. I couldn’tremember.
“This is ridiculous,” snarled the male, drawing closer to me and raising his sword.
Before he could bring it down on me, I lunged.
My paws hit him in the chest, slamming him into the ground. I bared my fangs at him, relishing the scent of fear that wafted from his trembling body.
My claws pierced his breastplate, carving straight through the steel. He screamed when they met his flesh.
“Kill him, Varius!” the female urged.
The male roared, his elbow jabbing upward until it slammed into my snout. With a whine, my head snapped sideways from the impact, pain shooting through me.
The male managed to kick me off him. I rolled, paws sliding in the ground to stop myself. He swung his sword, but his movements were clumsy from his injuries. I ducked, avoiding the blow. He swung again, and this time, I wasn’t quick enough. The tip of his blade pierced my side, drawing blood. I howled in agony, swiping at the sword with my claws. The sharp sound of clashing metal rang out.
With a mighty shriek, the female launched herself forward, colliding with the male. He fell as she dragged him to the ground, wrenching the sword from his grip. Her claws skewered his arm, drawing blood. The male roared, the anguished sound echoing around us.
The scent of his blood drew out the ravenous beast within me. Saliva dripped from my fangs.
“Now, Varius!” the female cried. “End it!”
The male struggled, but she pinned him further into the ground. “No—Lora,wait?—”
I silenced him, clamping his throat between my teeth and ripping at his flesh. His screams only urged me onward, and I dug deeper into him.
He managed to kick the female off him. She hit the ground hard with a pained grunt.
The male thrashed, his knee connecting with my jaw. My head reared back, and he wriggled out from under me. He grabbed his sword and clambered to his feet, but the river of blood gushing from his throat was too much. He swayed, his face paling. He drunkenly swung his weapon, and I nearly barked out a laugh.
As if that would stop me.
The hair on my back stood on end, and I growled, the sound low and menacing. We circled one another. He was losing color fast. He tried to lift his broken arm to stifle the bleeding in his throat, but he winced in pain, clearly too injured to manage.
He didn’t have long now.
“You’ll never have her,” he choked out. More blood bubbled from his lips. “She will never be yours.”
Bloodthirsty rage burned through me, tinting my vision red. My voice was deep and rough, the sound of the monster within, as I spat, “She already is.”
I flew toward him, pinning him to the ground. My claws made quick work of shredding his throat, tearing through him until his head detached from his body and rolled into the flowerbed. Even after he was dead, I wasn’t satisfied. I still hadn’t foundher. I still didn’t know why this male smelled like her. My claws shredded the rest of his armor, his trousers, hisarms and legs. He was nothing but a bloody pulp when I sensed another presence behind me.
With a snarl, I whirled, facing the winged female. She lifted a vial of a vibrant green liquid and extended it toward me.
“The choice is yours, my king,” she said softly. “If you want to remain a beast, you can. But, if you hope to save her, you’ll need to drink this.”
I stared at the liquid, alarm ringing through my body with violent intensity. I did not want to lose my strength. My freedom. For decades, I had fought so hard to be the king my people needed. The king everyone expected me to be. Now, after only moments of losing those restraints, I needed to cage myself once more?
“She needs you, Varius,” the female whispered.
In my mind, I heard Sybelle again. Her screams. Her cries for help.
A tortured cry poured from my lips, and I sank back on my hind legs, my back bowing in agony. I was being ripped apart. The anguish was too great. Too potent.
I could never escape it. I could never truly be free. Not now. Not ever.
But… Icouldbe with her. I would not be free from burdens or responsibilities or expectations, but… I could have her by my side.
