Page 149 of A Crown Without Mercy

Nicolai and Kieran kneeled down and Riordan stepped down into the box, swept his fingers across the wood planks and smelled them. “She was here and recently. Her blood is still fresh, but there is something else?”

Nicolai and Kieran followed suit and Kieran looked at them and furrowed his brows. “It’s the same scent the wound on my back had when I was struck by the Faye’s blade. Someone has fucking stabbed her,” Kieran snarled.

“There is also the scent of a Lycan?” Nicolai said as he tossed a handful of dirt into the box.

Riordan sifted through the dirt and picked out a small tuff of fur and held it to his nose. “Why is the scent so familiar?”

Nicolai and Kieran also smelt it and then looked at each other with the same expression. “Are you thinking what I am?” Nicolai asked.

“Yes. It smells like Muriel,” Kieran replied.

“If she had anything to do with this, she will feel pain she never knew existed,” Riordan snarled as he threw the tuff of fur down.

“Milord—Lycan,” Rhazien said.

They stalked toward the sound of its breathing and as they surrounded it, the skin on the Lycan’s muzzle rippled back when it lifted its head, smelled the air, and twitched its ears as it slowly retreaded.

“A female,” Riordan said, as he, Nicolai, and Kieran glanced at each other.

“Is it Muriel?” Nicolai questioned.

“Based on her scent, yes,” Kieran replied.

They lunged and Riordan flipped her body over his head, slammed her onto her back, and pinned her down. “Wait!” she yelled.

They stared down at her as she transformed back into her human form. “Milord?” she said with wide eyes.

“Where the fuck is our mate?” He growled.

“I—I saved her. I have her hidden. I came to find you.”

Riordan grabbed a fist-full of her hair and pulled her to her feet. “Take us to her.”

“Yes, milord,” she replied nervously.

“Muriel?” Sylvana said in only a raspy whisper. “Muriel?” Each movement was torturous as she rolled over feeing delusional and weak. She crawled onto her knees and her body trembled from the cold, the pain, and the unrelenting fear.She left me here? Maybe she went to find my mates, or maybe she went to for Ranan? Don’t be a fucking fool. You cannot trust anything she says or does after what she did.“Get the fuck up,”she coaxed herself aloud. “No one is coming. I have to save myself.”

She pulled the blanket over her bare shoulders and after a few minutes and multiple failed attempts, she stood up and stumbled toward the entrance using the wall as a crutch. With each sluggish step, she edged closer to the entrance. She pushed on the logs and once they gave way, she fell through the entrance, and tumbled onto the branches and boulders. She cupped her mouth with her hands to mute the sounds of her cries of pain.

I am an Ascelin. Get up and move before she returns, or worse, returns with Ranan. She listened momentarily to the sounds of the sky rumbling off in the distance and a gentle breeze crossed her body, which was more invasive on her skin than the cool night air.If I lay here and do nothing, I will freeze to death when the rains come. You can do this,she coaxed herself.

She crawled over the logs and boulders and looked down when she reached the edge.It’s not far, just slide down.She slid her legs over the edge and lowered herself down until she felt the damp earth beneath her toes. She released her grip to move further down and slipped; her body tumbled down the hill, and she came to a stop when she hit the trunk of a tree. It hurt to cry, it hurt to move, and it hurt to breathe. She looked up through the trees towering above her and stared at the endless array of stars dotting the sky and watched as the turbulent black clouds slowly consumed them. Her body shivered, and she looked over and tried to reach for the blanket laying a few feet away to shield herself from the small droplets of rain but could not reach it; she just looked up again and watched the stars slowly melting into the darkness.

“Sylvana, you’re safe now,” she heard. She moaned and felt the warmth of someone’s hands cupping her cheeks, and she slapped them away. “Don’t fucking touch me,” she snarled.

“Sângele Nostru, it’s us. It’s Riordan, Nicolai, and Kieran. We are right here.”

“Riordan?” she mumbled.

“Yes darling. I’ve got you.”

“It’s just a dream, get up,” she said aloud.

“It’s not a dream, my love,” Nicolai replied as he and Kieran gently rolled her over.

The moment they looked at her back, their eyes met and an unfamiliar feeling descended

over Riordan; there was a pressure wrapped around his heart, and if only for a moment he diverted his eyes, unable to bear the sight before him. His knees sunk into the earth, he cupped her cheeks in his hands, and whispered. “I’ve found my weakness, and I really need you to pull through. I can’t fathom my life without you.” He then looked at Nicolai and Kieran. “We should have been there. We should have fucking known.”

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