Page 117 of Wrath of the Fae

‘How are you sane?’

‘Who says I am?’

I drop the dress over the back of a chair.

‘Do they know?’ she asks.

‘Does who know what?’

‘Reid. Cyrus. Do they know what happened to you? That you were in pain?’

I shrug.

‘Don’t tell them,’ she says quietly. ‘If they know you were suffering the entire time, I’m not sure how they’ll cope.’

‘Well. We wouldn’t want them upset now, would we?’

‘They love you.’

‘I know. I know they love me. But the problem is I look at them and want them to hurt. I want them to suffer. I want them…’

‘Want them to what?’

‘That’s it. I want them. How I saw them before I looked into the memories of my mother’s wings and saw what they did. Saw what they caused. I want them to bleed and scream and beg. And I want them to be mine again.’

‘I promise you, Raven. They have bled. They screamed and begged. For two years, that’s all any of us have done. And I assure you, they are yours. They always will be. Even if you never speak to them again, refuse to see or outright kill them, they will always belong to you.’

Those words are her truth. And they weigh heavy in my heart.

‘Where are you going?’ she asks, following me as I look out into the hall.

‘Just looking. Why are there no guards? If they are so insistent on Rhea staying put, why no guards?’

‘Because The King wants Rhea to disobey and sneak out, so he has an excuse to torment her.’

‘Has he or anyone else raped her?’

El shakes her head.

‘The last few months, the King has enjoyed hurting her and likes to make her think he will take her. He tried to kiss her once, and she stabbed him with a fork.’

‘Good on her,’ I smile, closing the door again. ‘We’ll need water for the journey. It’s a long walk.’

‘Here.’ She hands me a flask and nods to the bathroom.

As I fill it with water, I feel ready. Ready to face this. To try and work through it with them all. To regroup and make our stand.

We’ll free the Fae they have captured. Free the humans.

And destroy the King and his soldiers.

As I fill the flask, I notice strange shadows on the floor beneath the window. I walk towards it and see two winged soldiers hovering outside, looking right at me.

As I peer down, I see soldiers everywhere. I’m at least four stories up, but I make out the weapons they have aimed upward.

Right at my windows.

My stomach roils before dropping like lead. My skin becomes coated in a cold sweat.

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