Page 103 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
Including Everly.
Chapter
Sixteen
ELIAS
The scentof fear made my nostrils flare.
I glared back at every human and fae who were part of my region, then I took in the fae who knelt before me, heads bowed with one fisted hand on the snowy ground. Humans stood motionless, barely breathing as if they were scared to draw my attention.
But Teddy, whose fear I smelled the strongest; her face was as white as the snow surrounding us. Her breath rasped out in quick succession. Her heart beat hard and loud and made me want to rip my own heart out.
Take it!I wanted to shout at her.It’s yours anyway.
She held Javier’s hand though, angling her body in such a way I believed she’d attack anyone who tried to harm the boy.
Using the back of my hand, I wiped the blood from my mouth. My stomach already revolted at tasting another fae’s blood. While fae bit in battle to kill or force another fae into submission, our bodies despised the taste of blood that didn’t belong to our mate.
On the ground, the fae I’d forced into submissionwhimpered. Not so mighty when facing a male who was his superior in every way.
I huffed out a dry laugh, which only made Teddy take another step back, away from me.
Her head whirled to my cottage, and after a glance at everyone around her, she ran toward the house, making sure to take Javier with her.
Still, her scent lingered.
Still, everyone remained silent, bearing witness to the consequences of my transgressions.
At the front of my house, Teddy took Victoria into her arms. Even with the distance between us, I heard the way she tried to convince Javier to take the girls to her house. Rightfully, she didn’t trust me with him, but he refused, insisting he was fine staying the night with us as originally planned. He wasn’t afraid of us, but only because I’d deceived him into trusting me. She looked back at him regretfully and with Ryenne beside her and Victoria in her arms, she ran away. Away from me. The one she’d called a monster.
Liquid fire burned through my veins, setting everything inside me ablaze. It didn’t stop Teddy from making her great escape.
Her departing back grew smaller and smaller until I couldn’t see her anymore.
She was gone. Not just from my home but truly lost to me.
It was what I deserved.
From above, Nalari flew behind them. Circling them and watching over them to make sure they got back to Teddy’s safely.
The first human stupid or brave enough to approach me was Donnie. Nate followed close beside him. They both heldtheir hands up as if they posed any sort of threat to me. The idea was laughable.
I pulled my lips back in a snarl.
“Look, man,” Donnie started.
“I am no man,” I hissed out.
“Elias,” he tried again.
I stalked toward them. Circling them, I sniffed the air and smelled the tension that vibrated off them. They held themselves still aside from their heads that followed my every movement.
All the while, my fae stayed on their knees, as motionless as stone carvings.
The bitter scent of Donnie’s and Nate’s fear suffocated me. The way their hearts pounded felt like explosions in my throbbing head.
I wanted them gone. I needed to leave. Get away from everything that reminded me of my mate.
