Page 139 of Wrath of the Fae

‘Don’t you fucking dare give up. Don’t you dare call yourself a monster. And don’t ever hide from us. Ever, You hear me?!’

‘I can’t see. I can’t fight. I hurt you, Reid.’

‘We’ll see for you. We’ll fight for you. And you could never hurt us, baby. Not enough to ever make us stop loving you. To make us want to leave you. To ever make us turn our backs on you. There is nothing in this life you could ever do to make us love you an ounce less. You have us unconditionally, so get used to it.’

I try to hide my face in Cyrus’s shirt.

Reid pulls me back, tugging my hair at the roots.

‘You’re ours. We’re yours. To hell and back, broken and bloody, monster or not. That will never change. We finally have you back. We’re not letting you go. Not ever.’

Another screech.

‘Where’s safe?’ Reid asks Cyrus. ‘Where do we go?’

‘Follow me.’

We take flight.

twenty-seven

Reid’scryofpainas I tear into him follows me from my nightmares as I wake. The darkness follows me too.

I feel the ropes around my wrist in a second. I know I’m bound. With a jolt, I try to sit, panic flooding me as I think of who has me now and why I’m tied up.

‘Calm. Calm, Little Bird,’ Reid says, reaching out and taking my face in his hands so he can smooth the hair from my sweat-covered face. ‘You’re safe.’

‘W-why am I tied up?’ I pull against the restraints and scream as my wrist shoots with dizzying pain. ‘Let me go. LET ME GO!’ I scream those words at him again and again. ‘Let me go! LET ME GO! MOONLIGHT! I SAID MOONLIGHT!’

He quickly sets me free, undoing the knots with ease. I shuffle away, hitting a rough rock at my back as I pant and gasp, holding my broken wrist to my chest.

‘I don’t like being tied up. I don’t.. restraints aren’t…’

‘It wasn’t a sex thing. Or to keep you captive. Nothing like that. Just protection.’

‘P-protection?’ I repeat. ‘From what? From me? Did I try to hurt you again?’

‘You were scratching yourself, baby. Clawing at your face. And your wrist is badly broken. I… I didn’t know what else to do.’ He shifts, and I jump, struggling to determine where he is. His hand rests on my foot. ‘Take a breath. Hear my words. Know my truth. You’re safe for now. We’re looking after you.’

Truth.

‘Where are we?’ I ask.

‘We’re in a cave, high in some cliffs. It’s a steep drop outside, so stay put. I don’t want you tumbling out to your death.’

‘Maybe you should,’ I whisper.

‘Say that again, and I’ll smack your arse. Queen or not, I mean it.’ I hear him slide across the ground before his hand rests on my cheek. ‘The wound is angry. Does it hurt?’ His thumb rests just below my eye socket.

‘A little,’ I reply, pulling away. ‘Where’s Cyrus?’

‘Cyrus has gone looking for food and something to help with your injuries. He’ll be back soon.’ He returns my face to his. I can’t see him, but I know he’s looking intently at my eyes.

Or lack of.

‘Are they gone completely?’ I ask, terrified to hear his answer.

‘Yeah,’ he says softly. ‘They’re gone, Little Bird. I’m sorry.’

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