Page 93 of A Court So Dark
I could almost feel the metallic taste of blood in my mouth as Wölfe yearned to clasp his jaws around Cardian’s neck. But there was no use in arguing. Words would not sway my darker side.
Thetwangof an arrow sounded behind me. I dodged to the right, avoiding it. It bounced against a tree and fell into a bush.
When the tail of Cardian’s horse tickled my maw, I leaped, ramming my weight against the animal’s hindquarters and knocking it off kilter. The horse cried out as it tumbled to the ground, sending its rider soaring through the air. As soon as my brother slammed against the roots of a tree I was on him.
The remaining pursuer brought his steed to a stop and nocked an arrow. My head jerked in his direction, and I met his gaze as I slowly morphed into a half-Fae creature. He gasped at the sight of me and hesitated for only a moment, then aimed again.
“You will stay out of this if you know what’s good for you,” I said in a voice that sounded like rocks tumbling inside a collapsing cave.
Cardian whimpered beneath me, and the male thought better of it. Putting the arrow back in its quiver, he urged his horse back the way he’d come and quickly disappeared, leaving me to deal with the biggest weasel I’d ever known. I had no doubt the rider would soon be back with others, but I didn’t need long to deal with this coward.
“You won’t get away with this.” Cardian’s voice trembled as he spoke.
“It doesn’t sound as if you believe yourself,” I rumbled in his face.
My clawed hand wrapped around his neck, slowly tightening.
He kicked with all his strength, but my own brute force made his attempt appear childlike. When he realized the futility of his efforts, he changed tactics.
“You would kill your own brother?” His voice was pleading now, and his eyes full of the sickening tears he used to deliver when he was a child and found himself in need of sympathy.
“And why not? You would have killed me. The only difference is that I will do it with my own hands, and you instead sent Mythorne’s son to do it, and then Varamede.”
My grip around his neck tightened until my sharp claws drew blood. Something wet and warm spread between his legs and the stench of urine filled the air. Oddly enough, it was my disgust for his pathetic existence that gave me the strength to overcome my dark side.
I released him. He went limp with relief.
“You are not worth the air you breathe,” I spat. “Death would be such an easy way out for you, which is all your life has ever been. Instead, you will spend the rest of your days in a prison cell, making good use of your hands.”
At that, he frowned, but I didn’t elaborate. He would find out his fate soon enough. He would not be idle. He would have to work for his meals and the luxury of a clean cell.
But I’d wasted enough time with him. I had to find Daniella, except I couldn’t leave Cardian like this. I had to make sure he didn’t get away.
Grabbing the lapels of his jackets, claws tearing into the fabric, I hoisted him up, then towed him up the tree. I climbed using only one hand, pushing with my clawed feet, tearing off chunks of bark as I went. When I reached the top, and the branches started bending toward the ground with our weight, I let him go.
“You’d better hold on,little brother. Move too much and the branch might break.” I started climbing down.
He hugged the branch, wrapping his arms and legs around it. “You can’t leave me here.”
“I can do whatever I want with you,” I growled back. “You’re only alive because Mother wouldn’t wish me to feel remorse for murdering my own blood. Though I’m not so sure I would feel any, so don’t tempt me or I might change my mind.”
Practically sliding down the length of the tree, barely using my claws to slow down my descent, I made it back to the ground. As I turned, I heard hooves headed in my direction. The rider back with reinforcements, I was sure.
Well, I wasn’t going to stay here for them, and I wasn’t worried about them helping Cardian. He was too far up. Besides, I doubted Mythorne’s court would have any sympathy for him, though they might be entertained by the sight.
I leaped over a row of bushes and started in the direction that the Unseelie King had taken Daniella.
“It was right here,” I heard the rider who had chased me tell the others. “We should fan out and find it. We can’t allow foul shadowdrifters in our land.”
“Oh, thank Erilena!” Cardian exclaimed from up the tree. “Someone help me get down, please.”
I smirked and kept going, making sure to remain hidden from view, treading silently over the underbrush.
But in the next instant, the need for stealth became a luxury. A cry rent the air.
It was Daniella!
I shifted into a wolf and ran at full pelt.
