Page 26 of Wrath of the Fae

‘Oh. She’s fine. Keen to see you again,’ Lucca smirks. ‘She owes you some serious pain.’

‘Sure she does,’ Ezra scoffs. ‘How’d you do it, huh?’ His eye twitches. ‘How did you destroy the portal to the human realm? That was one hell of a bomb you set off.’

‘I bet your dear old daddy is pissed. Losing his trafficking pipeline. Losing his supply of iron. Is that why you’re all the way down here at Midnight’s End instead of living it up in the First Kingdom?’ Lucca laughs and nods towards the rest of the house. ‘All this destruction. I bet that was you throwing a temper tantrum. Smashing up Daddy’s shit cos he sent you down here. You never change, do you…Stick?’

Ezra’s fingers tighten on the handle of his sword. Lucca’s clearly touched a nerve.

‘You know. I hear your Mate didn’t hesitate when your best buddy took her as his wife. I hear they fuck like rabbits and laugh about your pathetic attempts to try and make a stand against them.’

‘And I hear that even after everything you’ve done for your sick, tyrant of a father, you’re still the bastard son he doesn’t want. That you’re still as much a disappointment now as you were back then. Surprising, considering your power. But I guess no amount of power in this world or any other could ever make a father love a disappointment like you. You should thank me for destroying your portal. Otherwise, you probably would have found yourself in the next shipment to the human realm.’

Lucca yells at me again through his powers. But Ezra senses it through his ability to mimic the power of others. He senses Lucca speaking to me and finally makes an effort to look past Lucca to me, still lost in the chairs behind the table.

‘Who’s that you got there, Lucca? Strange. I can feel…something.’ He shuffles a little closer, and I struggle to contain my rage. My fists are clenched so tight, my fingernails have pierced my skin. And worse, the room has started to shake. The ground trembles. The enchanted glass showing a summer's day cracks. Ezra looks at it with utter excitement. ‘She’s a find. I can taste her. But I can’t grip her power. What-’

‘Funny that men are entitled to women under your father’s rule. Yet here you are. The sycophant false King’s son. And utterly alone.’ Lucca’s words pull back his attention. ‘You can’t even get a girl when it’s the law that women can’t refuse you.’

‘Who do you have over there, Lucca?’ Ezra licks his lips as if he's starving and has suddenly been presented with a three-course meal.

‘Yeah. I bet your father would like to get his hands on my friend,’ Lucca answers, clearly reading his more than apparent thoughts. ‘But sadly for you, you’re about to die. The only thing your father will be getting is your severed head with your mouth full of your own cock. I hear it’s small enough to fit in easily. Will probably be able to fit your balls in there too, with room to spare.’

‘If anyone should know about having a mouth full of cock, it would be you,’ Ezra sneers. 'And your Mate, of course. Reid spends most of his time passing her around with his friends. And she’s been choking on dick for the past two years. So many, many dicks. Sweet El.’

Lucca attacks like a feral beast, hacking and lunging at Ezra with far less skill and care than before. Rage has taken hold of him. Rage and hate and grief for the loss of his lover. I know he’s been feeling much the same as me as he imagines Reid and El together.

But I felt the lie ripple through the air and run over my skin, sending goosebumps over my body and leaving behind the metallic taste of dishonesty on my tongue.

Lies. Everything Ezra just said was a load of shit!

As I go to help, to tell Lucca to fight with his head, not his raging heart, I get thrown aside as the doorway explodes, and in crashes a swarm of soldiers. Chunks of stone and wood fly across the room, and glass cuts my face as it shoots past me. Warm blood trickles down my cheek.

The soldiers are entangled with Wolf’s warriors, slicing and stabbing or tossing powerful magics at one another. Waves of power erupt from hands, casting opponents away. The shouting, screams and cries of the dying echo around this vast ballroom. None yell so much as Lucca, whose raging roars could shake the manor to its foundations.

He’s going to get himself killed!

I shake off the debris and get to my feet, but Tessa is in front of me before I can get close.

‘We have to go,’ she pants. Her lip is badly split, and bruises are already forming on her cheek. ‘Where? Where do we go?’

‘Lucca-’

‘Forget Lucca!’ Tessa hisses, giving me a sharp slap and pulling my focus back to her. ‘We’ll all die soon if you don’t do what you promised. Where do we go?!’

I look at the doors across the room. As she follows my gaze, she sees Lucca fighting.

The look on her face when she sees Ezra… such hatred. Such blood-chilling rage.

What happened between her and Ezra?

Now is not the time to ask.

She grabs my arm and starts pulling me towards the back of the room. We fall through the doors and slam them shut behind us before sprinting through the kitchens. In the corner is a steep set of stone steps. As we run down, I feel it. That call. I hear the whisper of that monster from my dreams. It grows louder with every step.

This way, child. This way.

We run further into the cellar. As our feet hit the stone slabs, torches spring to life all along the walls lighting the way. The flames flicker, casting shadows all over the domed ceiling. We stop as we meet a dead end.

‘Well?’ Tessa gestures to the sealed room filled with huge wooden barrels. The smell of wine fills the thick air so much I can taste it.

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