Page 145 of Wrath of the Fae

‘Blind. Stuck in the human world. Hunted.’ I lower my head. ‘Disgusted with myself.’

‘We don’t do that with each other. Embarrassment. Shame. Self-consciousness or fear of judgment. Not allowed.’ Cyrus runs his fingers through my hair. ‘Talk to us.’

‘There is no us. You’re not my Mates. Not anymore.’ I lean away from his touch. ‘And I doubt you ever will be again.’

‘Meaning?’

‘I was a fucking mess before all this. Look at the state of me now. What kind of queen could I be, looking like this? What kind of…’ I swallow painfully, desperate not to cry. ‘Forget it.’

‘What kind ofwhat?’ Cyrus asks.

‘What kind of woman?’ I whisper shamefully. ‘What kind of partner? I have no eyes. A Darkness spreading over my skin. A craving for your blood and pet fucking monsters.’

One of them rests a hand on my arm. I pull away.

‘I told you to let me die. I fucking told-’

‘We would remake that Bond this fucking second!’ Reid thunders, cutting me off. ‘In a fucking heartbeat. We even talked about keeping you in here until you agreed to it, so don’t you dare presume to know what we want. Because you know full well you are all we want.’

I hear him stand and start to pace about.

‘You spoke about trapping me here?’

‘Just in passing,’ Cyrus teases. ‘You looked too cute as you slept. We couldn’t resist hypothetically discussing what we would like to do to you. But we decided against it.’

‘Very big of you. Not kidnapping a blind girl.’

‘A queen who led a revolution and saved thousands of lives yesterday. Who retook two Kingdoms from a tyrannical leader and his army. Not just a fucking blind girl.’ Reid spits his words with rage. I hear a thump.

‘He punched a wall,’ Cyrus mutters in my ear.

‘Oh.’

‘Welet this happen,’ Reid continues, utterly raging. ‘Everything that he did to you. Everything you have been through, we did it.’

‘Can you calm down?’ I try.

Thud.

‘He punched the wall again.’

‘Thanks, Cyrus. I got that.’ I stand but sway as I struggle to get my balance. ‘Can you calm down? You’re making me nervous.’

He huffs and continues pacing.

‘We tried, Raven. With everything we had. Tried to save. To protect. To do your memory justice. All it did was make you hate us. Make you suffer. Take your sight. And I can’t even bring myself to ask what happened to you after we were taken from the First Kingdom.’ His voice shakes, and he carries on, storming back and forth. ‘The thought of his hands on you again. Forcing himself on you again. The knowledge he’s still breathing. And Ivan almost... you almost faded…’

I take a step closer as he continues ranting and raving. Only when he finds me in his path does he stop. I rest my hands on his chest, feeling his racing heart as he takes in angry breaths.

‘He didn’t fuck me,’ I assure them both. ‘He hurt me, but he didn’t do that.’

‘We let you down again, Raven.’

‘You were kidnapped by an army. And you still managed to get free and come back for me.’

He’s in no mood to listen as he carries on. ‘How many times do we need to beg for your forgiveness? How many times do we have to wash your blood off our skin or watch as you pass out from pain? I can’t…’ His words get stuck in his throat. ‘I can’t keep watching you scream and bleed. I can’t watch you die again.’ His finger traces along my jaw. ‘I can’t let you leave either. I won’t. Ever. Even if you beg me, I won’t allow you to leave me, and it’s not right. It’s unfair to you that I will stalk you for the rest of time.’

‘I’m personally okay with stalking you,’ Cyrus chimes in. ‘The rest… not so much.’

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