Page 60 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
More of the assassins introduce themselves to Cyprien, while I pour two glasses of rakisi and tuck one into his hand. I take a sip of my own and the intense spirit hits me like a tidal wave, burning down my throat, chased by a strong note of aniseed.
Fuck, if it doesn’t taste like home.
Niko steps behind the dusty but well-stocked bar and serves drinks to the horde of assassins, who settle in at the tables and chairs pushed to the sides of the room. Ada sits on a stool opposite the bar, criticizing everything he does, until she finally gets up and helps him. A sly smile forms on his face behind her back.
I have no patience for idle conversation. This is not the place I have been desperate to return to, and despite my love for Cyprien, his is not the face I have longed to see.
The crowd parts with gasps and spilled drinks as Fluffy’s spiked black form comes bounding happily through it. He leaps with his front paws, landing on Cyprien’s chest, Cyprien staggering backward in his shock. The hound sniffs him intensely, but doesn’t snap or growl.
“Down! Down, Fluffy!” I snap my fingers at him, but the creature doesn’t respond until Nico lets out a long, loud whistle that has his pet racing for him.
“Fluffy?” Cyprien turns wild eyes at me, face pale and hair completely ruffled. “Why the fuck is an obsidian dread hound called Fluffy?”
“Don’t even ask.” I knock back my drink, finishing it in a single gulp, then tip my head to the door. “Let’s go.”
“As much as I would love to escape this place, it is not time yet.” He dusts his hands down his clothes, removing the huge pawprints left there.
“Then let’s get there early.”
A smirk curls one side of his lips. “Impatient for discovery, are you? There are other ways this can be done. You are a mad bastard for coming into the city, let alone sneaking into the palace.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “You know why I have to penetrate the palace.”
“Keira can come here,” he says.
“It is not just about Keira. The gods know I want to see her, that Iwillsee her no matter what Titania throws at me, but I need to know the allegiance of the Wisteria of Mythanar before we attempt any attack on the throne. It can turn the tide of a battle.”
“Basil said?—”
“I would know for myself,” I cut him off. “I would have Keira as connected to it as much as I, not just receiving a whisper of acknowledgment but full control. There are things I need to do to make that happen.”
Cyprien gives me a curt nod, but says no more.
I pull Belladonna and Valentine to the side. “I am going to infiltrate the palace through the secret tunnels and receive a status report from the spies I have on the inside. We will know our first moves soon. Until then, ensure your assassins keep a low profile and hunt outside of the city—with beasts as the prey for food only, no nymphs or needless killing. There will be plenty of that soon enough.”
Valentine scoffs, but Belladonna cocks her head to the side. “We are professionals, Aldrin. Did you find a litter of dead bodies when we laid our attacks on you not so long ago?”
“Is that because you ate the bodies whole?” Cyprien frowns deeply, but there is a hint of humor in his eyes.
Valentine analyzes him like he is a potential threat, but Belladonna throws her head back and laughs musically. “Oh, I like this one already,” she says to her mate, making his features harden further.
I cover myself with a heavy cloak as we step out into the street, but the deep hood is hardly necessary with the area almost completely abandoned. We are in one of the poorest sectors—close to the base of the palace and, from what Keira tells me, under heavy Truth Templar surveillance. The evidence is clear even under the dual moonlight and glow of the sparse lady of the night blooms.
Hastily boarded-up shops.
Shattered doors and broken windows.
Buildings burned to the ground.
As we pass a makeshift gallows, my blood boils. No one, and I meanno one, should be executed in the street with no dignity.
It is like there is a tether connected to my heart and my soul, dragging me upward, toward the palace. I keep our mate bond suppressed. I want to surprise Keira. She doesn’t know that I have entered the city yet.
A crazed urgency fills me as I use my magic’s royal signature to open one of the gates leading into the secret tunnels. I take the steps two at a time, not waiting for Cyprien. The entire masonry of the passage’s roof and walls lights up with a dazzling glow as the hundreds of roots snaking through the mortar recognize me.
Maybe I have gone insane. I need her in my arms like I need air in my lungs. I long for her lips against mine, for our tongues to clash. Every part of me burns for our bodies to become one with such an intensity I cannot think straight. But most of all, I need to touch her and know she is real. To look into her eyes andknow she is okay. That despite the harm Titania’s games have done to Keira, she is not broken.
Cyprien grabs my wrist and tugs hard, stopping my climb. “Slow down,” he snaps, pushing past me and taking the lead. “We are getting close to the meeting chambers and we don’t know for certain that we are the only ones with access to these ancient tunnels.”
