Page 126 of The Prince and His Stolen Throne
Delilah glanced at Fyodor, afraid that if he joined the fight, Angelica would be overpowered.
He arched an eyebrow at her, then purposefully walked to the other side of the room. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, signaling that he wouldn’t join the fight on either side. If the lord raised his salary, that might change the situation.
Hoping the lord was as stingy as he sounded, Delilah left him to Angelica and ran across the room to join the others in front of the throne.
Maximus welcomed her with a soft nod, but Fitz barely glanced at her, too focused on the throne. “If only I could have taken those books,” he muttered.
“They belonged to the library,” Maximus said.
“Books are meant to beborrowedfrom the library, not hoarded there!” Fitz huffed, giving up the argument. “The problem is that I don’t knowhowto destroy the anchor.”
Delilah may not have fangs or claws anymore, but she had two working hands. That should be enough to separate the branches. “Why don’t we just—”
“Wait!” Fitz and Maximus shouted at the same time, but they were too late.
Delilah had already grabbed the nearest branch. A twig sprouted straight through her hand, dewy with fresh blood. Her scream echoed off the high ceiling, temporarily drowning out the sounds of clashing blades. Anyone who didn’t know they were here before knew now.
Maximus grabbed Delilah and helped her extract her hand from the throne. The branches stretched toward them with sharp, reaching hands. He picked Delilah up and carried her a few steps away.
Tears stained her eyes as she cradled her injured hand. The wound looked too small to be the source of the burning, throbbing pain.
“Only the Lord of Grimnight can sit on the throne.”
The champions whirl around to find Wilde standing behind them, his gaze on the throne.
“You!” Maximus lunged for him, but his hands closed on empty air. In a blink, Wilde had disappeared.
Wilde reappeared standing in front of the evil throne, blocking them from getting any closer. “Leave.”
Fresh roots burst through the polished floor. They slid past Wilde without touching him, aiming straight for the royal champions who had dared to threaten thethrone.
Even as they backed away, Fitz tried to reason with him. “You have to understand that we aren’t leaving until we break the curse.”
Wilde watched them with cold, black eyes. “You won’t win this. Your options are to leave or die.”
“Trey helped us,” Delilah said. She tried to read Wilde’s expression, but she couldn’t gauge how her cousin’s name affected him. “He went to a lot of trouble to help us escape the dungeons. Doesn’t that mean anything to you? You’re in love, right?”
Maximus snorted derisively. “That was probably a lie too.”
A muscle ticked in Wilde’s jaw. “You don’t know anything about us.”
“I know enough. I’ve seen the way you treat him. Thebruisesyou left behind. The—” Maximus yelped as he suddenly disappeared.
A loud scream sounded above their heads. Delilah looked up, eyes widening as she saw Maximus falling toward them.
The branches leaned forward to catch him. It would save him from colliding with the ground, but they’d probably skewer every part of him. Just before he landed in the throne’s outstretched limbs, he disappeared again. A few seconds later, he popped back into existence a foot above the floor. Even though the distance had significantly lessened, he grunted in pain when he landed.
“Master Wilde, Master Wilde!” the imps cheerfully called as they flew into the room. “We’ve come to help you fight!”
“He’snot your master! I am!” The Lord of Grimnight snarled. In his distraction, Angelica almost pierced him with her rapier. He yelped and danced out of the way, sword rising to block at the last second.
The imps blew raspberries at him. One of them shouted, “We like Wilde better!”
“You little—fine, it doesn’t matter. Follow Wilde’s orders, if you must! Wilde, tell them to get rid of the champions!”
“You don’t have to obey him!” Delilah insisted. “You’re your own person. You don’thaveto be evil!”
Wilde’s lips quirked in a soft smile. “But I am evil.” He waved a hand through the air and a long bundle of ropes appeared. “Tie them up and take them back to the dungeons.”
