Page 102 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
“Civilians of Spring, stand down, by order of your king!” Aldrin’s bellow echoes across the whole city. His eyes are wild and his lips downturned. “Return to your homes. Lock yourselves inside. Do not engage in the fighting. This is a peaceful demonstration, not an act of war!”
His words don’t have the slightest effect on the crowd trying to break through the soldiers, but we never planned to reach or save Titania’s greatest fanatics, the ones who share in her crimes. He speaks to the civilians who can be swayed. The ones who were initially caught up in the tidal wave of her lies, but dropped their support when the truth was revealed.
“Oh, Aldrin, when will you learn that the people no longer care for you?” Titania throws back her head and laughs. “I am their god. Their powerful ruler, who they will protect with their lives. You are nothing and no one. A weak king they have already forgotten.”
“You have taken this too far, Titania. I cannot allow you to tear the court apart with a civil war. Your life is forfeit for turning this city into a battleground.”
Aldrin crouches on Ezekiel’s shoulders as the massive golden dragon swoops low over the huge balcony, breathing out plumes of venom over the assembly. The soldiers throw up air shields over the High Chancellor, while many of the senators and nobility of her inner circle flee back into the palace. Aldrin thrusts out wields of earth magic and the branches of the Wisteria of Mythanar entwining the railing attack the guard.
I follow close behind him.Bartholomew’s huge black maw opens to reveal long teeth and spits plasma that melts right through stone, while I shoot my own streams of fire. I try desperately to target Titania with each of my strikes, but my magic either fizzles out or it is thrown off course.
The golden light of the bargain I made with that devil swirls violently around my arms, almost blinding in its intensity as it stops me. I grit my teeth as pain pounds within my head. I can’t defy the constraints of my oath the way Titania does.
My father and Caitlin fly past me on a red dragon, fire streaming from its throat while they shoot magic-enhancedarrows below. Cyprien pulls back up from his attack with spears of hardened air and a beast that breathes ice.
A huge smirk fills Titania’s face as she watches us with dancing eyes while her guards die around her. They sacrifice themselves to hold a thick protective ward over her, but she makes no move to escape our onslaught. Instead, she stares at me, head tipped to the side.
Her complete lack of respect for life fuels a deep, burning rage within me.
She feels no remorse for those who die for her ambitions. That blood is being spilled needlessly in her name. I grind my teeth with the intensity of the fire that rages through me. My blood boils, driving out all thought except the need for her death.
I could use it to burn this entire palace down to the ground.
No more.
No fucking more.
This woman has caused enough pain.
“Bartholomew, kill the High Chancellor!” I growl close to his ear.“The bargain won’t let me do it, but you can.”
He makes a second charge toward the balcony, his jaws opening wide. Heat rises off him as plasma builds within his throat. By the gods, I hope he burns her alive or devours her whole. Titania’s eerie eyes slide to me, her expression near manic. She raises a single arm, and with a flick of her fingers, the intense golden light of the bargain encircles her.
Amusement fills me that it is holding her back too, but then my smile drops as its power tugs at my chest. I shake my head as the sensation grows stronger. The light envelops me, running across my body in frantic channels, and the pull intensifies. Then it engulfs Bartholomew as well, the glow playing against his dark scales.
We are hurtling toward the balcony at great speed, but he doesn’t pull up or slow down. His wings fold inward instead. Iscream as the ground rushes for us, holding on tight to whatever I can clutch.
The dragon’s huge body takes out a section of the railing as he collides with it, then his shoulder strikes the stone floor of the balcony. The impact jars through me, whipping my head back and sending bursts of pain through my entire body. My bones feel like they will shatter. Bartholomew’s bulk slides across the marble and comes to an abrupt stop as he hits the wall of wards around the High Chancellor’s party. I fly from his back with the impact.
I throw up air wields as I glide through the air, half limp from shock, my heart threatening to explode from its frantic hammering. Then I am falling and falling. My magic snaps into place to cushion my landing as much as possible, but I still crumple against stone.
I am alone among enemies, and broken at Titania’s feet, pulled in by the bargain. At the mercy of a woman who has none.
Everything hurts. My vision blacks out for a few heartbeats. I pull at my magic desperately and try to scramble to my feet. I fail to move. The knock to my head makes it impossible to think straight. A ringing in my ears deafens me to all external sound. Internal, too, but I finally register Aldrin screaming my name.
Keira! Keira! Gods, tell me you are alive!Cold, suffocating fear washes over me in waves, flooding down our bond.
The fog clears from my mind enough to realize the dragons have stopped their assault from above, because they cannot attack the enemy without harming me. Slowly, the shock to my joints fades enough that I can move. Two guards shove their hands under my shoulders and pull me roughly from the ground, holding me up as I struggle to get my footing. Blood runs from my nose and down my face, and I brush it away with the back of a sluggish hand.
I am coming for you, dear heart. I will kill any of them who dare to touch you,Aldrin growls. My mind is filled with the mental image of his golden dragon sweeping down low in a hard dive, bringing my mate and protector closer to me. His desperation to slice his way to me twists in my stomach.
Titania is suddenly in front of me, a sneer pulling her black lips away from her teeth and a hand clutching my chin hard enough that her nails break the skin. I try to pull away, but a guard holds the back of my head in place.
That golden light of the fucking bargain still encircles us both.
“I underestimated you,” she says. “I do not like to be tricked. You are clearly no human.” Her clutch tightens and it is all I can do to not cry out in pain. “Did you think you could escape our little bargain? That you could flee from your captivity?”
“I have been doing just that right under your nose.” I launch forward, attempting to crack my head against hers, but the guard grabs me around the neck and pulls me back.
