Page 24 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
“Another test to break me, Dante?” I say. “When will you learn I am not a fragile man?”
He stops in the middle of the corridor, tapping the glass vial. “Let me guess: you have survived a lot of battles and trauma, and nothing we throw at you can compare. Am I right?”
“I have lived through my worst fears becoming reality,” I confirm.
“That is the thing about the night terror fungus this potion was extracted from—it makes you relive your darkest momentsand confront your greatest fears. It is a delightful weapon that can completely incapacitate an enemy in moments, but a horrendous hallucinogen to work with. You’ll have to ingest enough not only to build up a natural resistance, but to train your mind as well.”
I shudder, chasing after him as he continues down the corridor. “Is this another trial?”
“You’ll see,” he calls over his shoulder.
We take a spiral staircase up one of the towers and Dante unlocks a door not quite at the top. It opens out to nothing but open sky and a narrow stone parapet that reaches from one side of the Haven of Death to a matching turret at the other end.
We are so high up the mountain that thin clouds hug the structure. The damp cold immediately hits me. I glance over the edge, to a long drop that could kill me.
I turn back to Dante. “So what is the plan here? Drug me with hallucinogens and force me to walk down the parapet, to the door on the other side?”
“Something like that.” Dante laughs. “Maybe a dozen times, though. Get you real used to the poison.”
“Fuuuck.” I let out a low groan. “I am really starting to hate you.”
“Just starting?” Dante’s eyebrows shoot up. “We really need to beat that softness out of you. There is a reason our order is famed across the realm. I will not let you be the weakest link by going easy on you. Remember, Aldrin, you did ask for this.”
I curse internally. Iwilluse this order to my advantage. Iwilldestroy their leader and take the Assassins of Belladonna for myself, and then I’ll come for Titania. She will understand the violent depths of my wrath and regret ever touching my mate.
I steel my nerves, step out onto the narrow bridge, then hold out my hand. “I am ready. A mere parapet will not undo me, night terror fungus or no.”
Dante chuckles. “Remember, Aldrin, nothing you see in the visions is real. Nothing but the sky, the parapet, the drop and the door on the other side. Both doors will be locked, so no Assassin of Belladonna or any other creature will bother you up here.” Without another word, he places the vial in my hand, along with a key on a chain, then locks the door behind him.
I don’t hesitate. While my enemies have Keira in their clutches, I do not have the luxury of time. I place the key around my neck, then drink the bitter toxin, ignoring the chunks within it.
I take a step as the clouds churn violently around me. The first vision that comes to me is one that has graced my nightmares a thousand times, but also one I have conquered before.
Finan appears halfway down the parapet, his eyes deranged, high-pitched laugher pealing out of him while he holds a dagger to Keira’s throat. The tip of the blade draws a jagged line across her flesh. Too much blood drips out of the wound. Pure panic has her eyes wide and face colorless, while her feet scramble for purchase on the narrow parapet.
Fear coils through me, charging electricity through my tightly wound muscles. He isn’t taking care of how he holds that knife and could so easily slit her throat each time she slips and her body jolts. Rage whips through me like a mad beast, demanding violence, filling me with the need to run across this parapet and wrap my fingers around his throat. To choke the life out of him.
It all feels so real, so vivid, but the towers of the Haven of Death are all around me, and I have already watched Finan die.
With the conviction of that thought, his figure transforms into the taller profile of Titania. A snarl is spread across her black lips and those ridiculous claws cut into Keira’s throat instead. I take a step forward at the vicious glint in her eye,holding out a hand as though I can stop her. She grabs Keira by the shoulders and, with a powerful shove, tosses her over the edge of the parapet.
My heart stops.
I take another rushed step, almost losing my balance in my haste, and peer over the edge. Her figure falls through the mist, wide eyes staring, locking with mine, an arm reaching out toward me. A single silent plea leaves her lips. My name.
I can save her before she breaks upon the stone below. Catch her with a cushion of air. Toss myself off this parapet and wrap my body around hers, so I take the impact of the landing instead.
I almost make the fucking leap. It kills me to lock up my muscles and remain where I am. My entire body shakes, screaming at me to save her. To die for her. As she falls my throat tightens painfully and my heart thumps like a wild beast is trying to burst from my chest.
But this is just a hallucination.
One that feels too fucking real.
Titania laughs. She mocks and curses me. Watching Keira disappear through the mists, allowing her to fall without sacrificing myself for her—it’s the hardest thing I have ever had to do.
It is not real.
The way my heart breaks, my soul shatters, it feels like I just lost my reason for living, for fighting, even though Iknowshe speaks the truth.
