Page 74 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
A female assassin catches my attention. She has many slits in her dark robe, which allow a black tail and a dozen whipcords extending from her spine to escape. She uses each one like another limb or weapon. Wisps of hair fall out of her hood, midnight black on one side and pure white on the other.
Belladonna.
The memory of what her poison did to Aldrin burns a fire of rage through me. Of the way she made him suffer needlessly to prove a point. It makes me want to do the same to her, even if she fights on our side.
A staff materializes in her hand and she brings it down on Jasper, who blocks it with his sword just in time. Most of the assassins engage in staged fights with guards sworn to my cause.
Torin clashes blades with a skeletal Nightmare whose ribcage is completely exposed, its four tentacle arms wrapped around swords. I am shocked by Torin’s fearless skill in battle as the beast uses multiple weapons to slash down at him and Torin darts in and out of his reach. I had expected him to be a coward like his mother. He wields a sword that dances with blue fire, and I wonder if that is all the magic he has, or if the weapon is an enchanted relic like Aldrin’s blade.
Torin calls to the guards to engage in the fight, while Florian and Jasper order others to hold back and allow the assassins to complete Titania’s commission.It is complete insanity, many of the professional warriors focusing on dousing the bolts of magic the panicked guests shoot out in an attempt to protect themselves without considering that the room is so packed, they will only hurt other Spring fae.
Multiple assassins wrap thick shadows around the prisoners, who shriek and cry like they are in physical pain. The condemned disappear, one by one, and huge arcs of crimson blood spray out where they were standing.
A shudder ripples through the crowd at the dramatic display, many wailing and some trying to climb out the broken windows. They don’t know that the Starlight fae merely transported the prisoners elsewhere, and imported cattle blood in from the same site.
Two prisoners try to run, but Valentine winks in and out of existence, appearing right in front of them and engulfing them in darkness, sending them to our secret location.
“This is what happens when you support Titania as High Chancellor!” I scream over the mayhem, risking an air wield to amplify my words across the ballroom. “Rise too high, and shewill destroy you as a threat to her power. Become too loyal a follower, and she will have you slaughtered by monsters simply because you bore her. She has hired the Assassins of Belladonna before, and let them into the palace in an attempt to kill Aldrin when he returned home after a long exile. This is how she risks her court, but flees in the face of that same danger!”
Eyes flick between me and the illusion of a massacre in the center of the room.
So many people cower behind the protective line of guards. I spot Rainier among them, dagger in hand, Sasha and Juniper pressed between his body and the wall as he prepares to defend them, clearly not trusting our new allies.
A wolf of rippled obsidian bounds across the ballroom toward the dais. Straight for me. The beast is far taller than a man, and with a pelt of long, hardened spikes. Blue light glows through each crack. As it eats up the distance between us, its huge claws make rents on the floor.
Cold sweat prickles across my body as my stomach bottoms out, but I raise my chin, not showing any weakness to the creature that has set its sights on me.
He transforms from Nightmare to man as he takes each step. The sight is horrendous: bone cracks and clicks into place, and flesh turns from hard black spines to smooth blue skin marked with indigo runes, retaining armor that matches his Nightmare form.
“Hello, Keira,” Dante purrs as he pulls his long, dark hair back from his face and secures it with a leather strap behind two curling horns. He looms over me, grabbing the chain connected to my throat. “Ihavebeen wondering: did Aldrin use his mate bond with you to cheat in his trials? We didn’t know of your existence until the end.”
I am forced to look up at him, still on my knees. “Do you have any explicit rules against it?” I spit as my blood boils atthe memory of everything they put him through. It ignites an inferno within me.
Dante laughs. “No, I guess we do not.” His claws form, slicing through the collar and cuffs like butter.
I rise to my feet, ignoring every ache within my body.
His damned cocky smirk makes me see red and my body reacts without thought.
I punch Dante hard in the face. I use air wields to strengthen my blow and shield my knuckles from breaking, his body blocking the magic from view. The impact jars up my arm and pain explodes within my fist, but his head slams to the side in the most satisfying way and a trickle of blood runs down from his lip.
“That,” I growl, poking him in the chest, “was for making us believe Aldrin was going to be ripped apart by a mob of bloodthirsty Nightmares.Thatwas for poisoning and tormenting my mate.”
Dante’s grin only widens. Thin streaks of blood outline his white teeth. “I think I like you already. You will excuse my terrible manners, queen, but we can’t have these good people thinking you are immune to our monstrous attacks and potentially our true hirer. Excuse me while I abduct you. We both have a job to do, and yours is more important than mine.”
With that, he bends and tosses me over his shoulder. I kick and scream and scratch, only half putting on the act.
Why couldn’t they let me fight with a sword like the rest of the people here?
The battlefield playing out in the ballroom parts for Dante and I become immersed in the chaos. Pale, wide-eyed faces with lips peeled open in screams blur into each other. Fae fall and scurry back from us, their feet slipping in the sprays of blood.
Gods, I hope no one gets severely injured or dies.
But these are fae, and it will take more than the frenzied crush of a crowd to kill them.
Dante slams a single booted foot into the door and it shatters to splinters upon impact. I jolt, because multiple Spring fae tried the exact same thing with no success. He steps through the falling debris, and as soon as he clears it, dozens of fae in ruined velvets, silks and brocades dash out behind him to their freedom.
He carries me down multiple corridors and fae scatter when they come face-to-face with us. Dante only sets me down after we enter a cold room near the kitchens full of cheeses and cured meats. Basil rushes over, frantically checking me for injuries, holding the maid’s uniform that will become my disguise.
