Page 43 of Fire Kissed
He smiles charmingly.
Familiarly even.
“You and I are the same,” the King says, infuriating me with every word he speaks. “So, so much so.”
His palm lifts, and an orb of light glistens like a ball of water in his palm. Except a world can be seen within. My stomach dips at the sight of what’s inside. My mother’s smile is soft and shy as she looks at another version of the Light King. A version these realms have probably never seen. Because he’s laughing. And then he’s kissing. And then...
I turn my head away.
“You and I are the same, Rhys,” he says more gently.
Hela’s haunting laughter rings out, sputtering with the sound of too much blood in her mouth. Another cackling sound of amusement suddenly joins her, this one much more disgusting and serpentlike.
Then it all clicks.
My head lifts slowly as I look up at the man who tormented and raped my mother for god knows how many countless nights. He was her abductor and abuser.
The Dog Elf. He’s my father.
His smile... it’s my own.
Acid sickens my stomach.
I’m going to be sick.
A gentle hand brushes down my back. Latham’s boots are all I can see as I stare down at the floor. I want to go to my cage suddenly. I want to leave this room and not have to think about any of the people inside of it for as long as my mind will let me.
Of all the long painful nights I spent imprisoned here, this might be the worst of all of them.
After all the whirlwind of emotions I’ve felt for days on end, I just want to feel nothing. For a little while.
Then my attention lifts, and when I meet his kind eyes, the eyes that seems so beautiful on the outside but so dark and deadly on the inside, I know I won’t rest until they’re all dead. And my mother can finally be at peace.
All my emotion, it’s too much. And it all comes lashing out all at once. My wolf reacts before my mind ever fully does. She rips through me and takes care of me like she and I are the only family I’ve ever known. Not this asshole.
The Hell magic restraining my beast feels heavy against her back. With a stretch of four legs, I peer around the dimly lit room through her eyes. Hela’s screaming in a ramble, and Serpan is already shifting down into the slithering form of his body that I’ve only had the misfortune of seeing once before. And as for my guys, they’re all around me.
Torben’s fist’s shake with unshed power. Latham and Aric are still bound to their physical forms, but they don’t look at all afraid of their tormentors.
Not anymore.
I leap at the man who dared to hurt her. Sharp teeth and snapping jaws are my only weapons. His magic tosses me quick and hard, but I’m already right back at him before my next breath. His eyes still shine with amusement as my teeth sink into his arm. His power pushes at me, but my canines sink further into meaty flesh. It’s all tumbling, shaking force of chaos. Godly warrior magic shakes the room. Rock clatters down around us. Soot clouds my vision as pain shoots through my back, and I’m slammed to the ground with too much force. The limp in my leg doesn’t stop me from snapping my razor-sharp teeth through his neck.
And face.
And eye.
I’ve maimed him. The King’s scream of pain is completely soothing to my mind. It’s a lullaby of revenge.
But another scream sends fear drilling through me.
Aric.
My attention shifts past the King scrambling to get away, over Latham and Torben who are fighting to get Serpan contained, and then I spot him. Aric lies flat on his back, blood gushing down the side of his face. Hela’s hand is raised above him with a swirl of crimson magic held in her fist.
No!
Big paws race over the ground. The Queen’s gaze lifts, and she smiles as her hand turns slightly, and she throws her fiery magic right at me.
