Page 65 of Ransomed to the World
She’d give anything to save her mates, even allow the darkness to take over her soul.
Only one thing held her back…Xander.
Indecision caused her resolve to waver for a single heartbeat, then she shook her head. Edgar was right. She needed to believe in herself and her abilities. She would never harm her men, no matter what—of that, she had no doubt. She met the woman’s imperious gaze and lifted a single brow in challenge. “The darkness will swallow you and your people whole. It won’t harm my mate.”
She’d make sure of it.
“Mate?” The woman jerked back, her eyes widening, and the first signs of panic colored her voice.
The guards stiffened, and one of the bigger guys who escorted Xander earlier strode forward. “Monarch—”
“Kill them both,” she said, cutting him off, slashing a hand through the air.
No one moved, and a fragile hope stirred in her chest. When Xander took a step toward her, the action shattered whatever was holding the guards back. A hardness came over them, and they leapt into motion, piling onto him.
Fuck.
Panic turned her guts to a solid lump of dread. Though he fought like a wild thing, each blow brutal and meant to maim, it was two against one.
If she didn’t do something, they were going to kill him.
She couldn’t allow that to happen.
The air around her began to stir with her agitation, the need for vengeance twisting through her, and her fingers twitched with the urge to eliminate the threat. She took a step toward the monarch, then another, a wisp of darkness twisting between her fingers.
Instead of calling the butterflies, she summoned something far more deadly—something that could take down a gryphon. Creatures began to take shape out of the darkness, growls echoing around them. One, two, then a dozen, until whoops, yells, and cackles shattered the silence as a pack of hyenas took form.
They stalked forward, slinking low to the ground through the shadows, and began circling the group.
The young woman who had been watching the whole thing finally moved. She took a running start and leapt forward, coasting through the air, shadows fluttering behind her like giant wings. She closed the twenty-foot distance in seconds, drawing her blade as she landed. Up close, she appeared younger than expected, maybe only a few years older than Annora.
The ghostly beasts surged forward, hungry for the taste of death, but the girl didn’t slow her approach. Her face hardened as she passed the woman they called monarch, her dark eyes locking onto Annora.
Then a grimace twisted the girl’s features, and she whirled in a flap of wings, swinging her blade.
The sword glinted in the darkness, whistling almost silently as it moved through the air.
But instead aiming for Annora, the blade severed the monarch’s throat, and blood immediately spilled from the wound, the coppery scent saturating the air. The monarch reached up, clutching her neck, her mouth dropping open in surprise.
Shock held Annora immobile for a second, her heartbeat pounding loud in her ears, then she drew down hard on the darkness even as the hyenas leapt in the air. The beasts broke apart like fine powder, dusting the entire area.
The monarch wobbled, then toppled forward, not even bothering to catch herself as she fell. She crashed to the ground, her body exploding on impact, sending hundreds of butterflies swarming into the air. With every beat of their wings, their bright blue bioluminescence pulsed with life, nearly saturating their black bodies.
The butterflies swirled around Annora, protective and warm, and the thirst for vengeance pumped into her veins like a craving until nothing else mattered.
They were trying to take what was hers.
Possessiveness sank its claws deep into her soul and vicious howls of large beasts echoed in the distance, the pounding of their paws reverberating up her legs as they rushed to her aid.
“Let him go.” Power still thrummed in her veins, hungry for more violence.
Xander shrugged off the others and strode toward her without an ounce of fear, the butterflies scattering at his approach. Warm hands cupped her face, tugging her away from the darkness.
“Annora—”
“She had a knife. She was going to kill you.” She took a long, shuddering breath, his sea breeze scent gradually calming her.
He crushed her to his chest, and she went willingly. “She was going to ground me.”
