Page 150 of A Crown Without Mercy

“What have they fucking done to her?” Kieran snarled.

Nicolai removed his cloak and draped it over her half naked body and Muriel discretely backed away. However, a firm hand landed on her shoulder.

“Going somewhere?” Astaroth asked as a low rumble rose from his chest.

“I have to get back. If they find out, I took her, they will kill me,” she lied.

“Muriel,” Sylvana moaned. “It was—she took me—”

“She saved you?” Kieran asked.

“Yes—but—she helped them.”

Riordan’s, Nicolai’s, and Kieran’s eyes snapped in Muriel’s direction and there was a fury intricately woven behind their onyx-black irises, letting her know the end was near, a very painful end. Muriel hadn’t seen Riordan move, but she was now face to face with him, her feet were no longer touching the ground, and he had a vice like grip around her throat.

She grabbed onto his forearms and, other than his narrowed eyes, his face was absent of emotion. Although a low rumble rose from his chest, he spoke with an ominously calm and monotonal voice. “There will be no mercy. No one will come for you, no one will save you, and no one will take away the pain my brothers and I are going to inflict upon you. Now look upon me with one eye, as my mate does now.”

She felt an intense spike of pain when his elongated finger nail slid across her pupil. She tried to cry out, but the grip he had on her throat muffled any and all sounds.

Riordan then tossed her into one of his warriors. “Take her.”

“You need to feed, take my blood,” Kieran offered. He slit his wrist and let the tiny droplets fall into Sylvana’s mouth.

She cupped her lips around slit and took a few meager swallows. “I’m not healing,” she moaned as she released her grip.

“Shh, darling, it’s okay,” Riordan said, as he picked her up in his arms.

She tucked her face into the nape of his neck and sobbed. “Rio, I’m dying.”

He carefully adjusted her body and gazed into her eyes. “Look at my face. Is there one expression that would lead you to believe my mate is going to die in my arms?”

“You always look like that. Where’s Nicolai and Kieran?”

“We’re right here, baby,” Nicolai replied as he stroked the back of her head. “Riordan is correct. You are not dying.”

“Everything hurts,” she cried.

Kieran kissed the top of her head. “I know it does, my love. We are taking you home now.”

“Open the gates!” one of the guards yelled when he noticed the royal stallions heading in their direction from where he stood on the parapet.

They pulled the gates open, stood to the side, and the stallions thundered through the main entrance. “What are they doing?” another asked when the warriors spanned out in all directions.

“I am not sure,” another replied.

When Klyn heard the thundering sounds, of hooves he kicked his stallion’s hindquarters and headed to meet Riordan and his brothers.“Riordan, do you have Sylvana?”he asked telepathically.

“Yes. We are headed back now.”

“What do you mean ‘you are headed back now’? You just entered the main gate.”

Riordan, Nicolai, and Kieran looked at each other, confused.“What the hell are you talking about? We are nowhere near the castle,”Riordan replied.

One warrior who was with Kadric interrupted Riordan’s and Klyn’s conversation.“Milord, the stallions are gone and their tracks are leading back home.”

“It’s a fucking ruse,” Nicolai stated.

“Fuck!” Riordan yelled. He then turned his attention back to Klyn.“Klyn, it’s a fucking breech!”

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