Page 79 of Crown of Briars
Warmth clouded my throat, and I found it difficult to breathe. That aching need pulsed through me, making my thighs clench. Varius’s body was so close to mine that he felt it.
He chuckled against my ear. “So, I am not the only one,” he murmured, his breath tickling me.
I shivered.
“If you wish,” he continued, running his claw along the outside of my forearm, “we could continue what we started. I could show you the true meaning of pleasure and fulfill you in every possible way. I guarantee I could make you come at least four times before the night is over.”
My eyelids fluttered shut as that building ache between my legs only worsened. Stones, it was almostpainful.
“Is that the Shadow Queen?” barked a voice nearby.
My eyes snapped open, and Varius’s grip around me tightened. I turned my head to see who had spoken, and my blood chilled.
It was the same soldier who had harassed me in the training yard. He stood alongside Murvo, the captain, both of them clutching female fae against their bodies. Murvo’s mouth pressed together in a thin line, and when he caught my gaze, he quickly looked away.
But the soldier looked positively gleeful. He pushed the female away from him as he sauntered closer to us.
“Ah, my king, but you don’t expect to keep this lovely specimen all to yourself tonight, do you?” the soldier crooned, his eyes still fixed on me. They gleamed with a hunger that made my stomach roil.
All warmth from my dance with Varius fled my body, chilling my blood and icing my bones. Varius gripped my waist tightly and growled, “Yes, I do. Be on your way, Warwick.” Inky black shadows pooled at his feet and spread along the floor.
“She is ahumanamong the unseelie at our revel. If she is bold enough to participate in our festivities, then we must show her how it’s done properly.” He started to unfasten his trousers.
A roar burst from Varius’s mouth as he moved between us, shielding me behind his large body. I clung to his arms, terror coursing through me like a swift current. Darkness clouded the room, obscuring the lights as his shadows swelled around us both.
“She ismy wife,” Varius snarled. “Now, leave us before I tear out your throat.” I gasped as his wings twitched along his back.
Warwick raised his palms, but the smirk remained on his face. “Easy, oh great king. In past revels, the human brides were passed around the crowd for our enjoyment. I only assumed this one would be the same.”
Nausea churned in my gut, and my eyes slammed shut.Oh, Stones…I found myself backing away from the scene, away from Varius and all these unseelie fae who were now looking at me like I was a snack.
Except for Enzira. Her wide, terrified eyes landed on me. In an instant, she was at my side, her arm linked through mine.
“We should leave,” she hissed in my ear.
I nodded, glancing over the faces of the other fae. No one seemed perturbed by Warwick’s proposal. If anything, they looked intrigued and eveneager. A few males were loosening their own belts in anticipation.
Varius reached behind him to grasp my arm. “Sybelle…”
“I’m leaving,” I said loudly, but my shaking voice betrayed my fear. “Thank you for the festivities, but I’ll leave you all to enjoy the rest of the revel without me.”
Before anyone could reply, Enzira steered me from the room. She threw open the first door she found. Perhaps the castle was on our side today, for it immediately showed us my chambers. Enzira and I rushed through, and she shut the door quickly behind us.
The moment Sybelleand Enzira vanished through the door, I had my hand wrapped around Warwick’s throat and pinned him so hard against the wall that the ceiling and chandelier rattled. Around us, the music stopped, and gasps filled the air.
But I only had eyes for Warwick. I bared my teeth at him, allowing the fury roiling inside me to burst free. My fingers wrapped tighter around his neck, my claws drawing blood. My shadows, which had already surrounded us, thickened and roiled like black smoke. The lights were smothered, and it was only thanks to fae sight that anyone could make out what was happening.
But even as the black droplets ran down his throat, Warwick still managed to grin at me, a strained chuckle wheezing past his lips.
“You kill me,” he rasped, “and you’ll never know the answer.”
“To what,” I snarled, barely able to leash my temper. I was seconds away from slicing open his throat and watching him bleed out on the floor.
“To ending your curse.”
Everything in me went still at his words. Behind me, Murvo said in a warning voice, “Warwick,don’t.”
I couldonly stare at this soldier, who had a glint in his eye. He knew he’d won.
