Page 33 of Wrath of the Fae

‘Stay out of my head, Lucca,’ I warn. For what feels like the millionth time. ‘What happened?’

‘Well. You kinda… exploded.’ He lets out an unsure chuckle as he steps out from Wolf, who hasn’t moved an inch. ‘This gold shit flew out of you, and I’m told it swept over the whole Kingdom. Right up to the borders before stopping. Every First Kingdom soldier the gold shit hit turned to fucking nothing. You exploded the lot of them!’ He’s buzzing with excitement. ‘How did it feel?’

‘It worked,’ I sigh the words and slump with relief. ‘The shield is up?’

‘It is. In place around the Kingdom and holding fast. We can pass through either way, but any who intend harm to us turn to…’ He mimics an explosion and then rain falling. ‘A couple of soldiers tried to get passed. Was funny as shit to watch.’

‘How many did we lose?’ I dare ask.

Lucca’s face falls.

‘Enough,’ he replies.

I hear the sound of hammering and sawing. I walk to the large window and peer out to see men and women working on fixing homes and creating makeshift healers’ tents.

‘What time is it?’

‘Mid-morning.’

The sky looks as if the sun has just sunk beyond the horizon. A layer of deep pink traces the horizon. The sky then goes blue, then a velvet black. This Kingdom endures an eternal night, but the stars and brilliant moon above cast us in an ethereal glow. I can see everything. It’s an odd kind of night. It’s stunning and, strangely, kind of peaceful.

‘Ezra?’ I ask, looking up at the sky.

‘Gone,’ Wolf replies. ‘He escaped the shield.’

‘He saw me,’ I tell them, facing the two and wrapping my arms around my middle. A warm breeze kisses my neck and sends a shiver down my spine. ‘He knows I’m alive.’

‘We’ll deal with it, Pup,’ Lucca tries. But we both know this means trouble.

‘They’ll come. The King. More soldiers.’ I swallow painfully. ‘Reid and Cyrus…’

‘If anyone does reach us, they can’t get through the shield surrounding us.’

‘Well, thanks be to The Goddess that whoever put those marking there did,’ Wolf says gruffly. ‘We have a safe place now, so we can really get to work. I have sent word to my contacts in three other Kingdoms sheltering those who will stand with us. They will make their way here.’

I nod. Finally, we can start getting more people out of danger and get them here to build our forces and prepare for an attack on the First Kingdom.

To kill the King.

My gaze lands on Lucca.

‘He was lying,’ I tell him.

‘Who?’

‘Ezra. What he said about El. He was lying.’

‘You can’t be certain, Pup. He’s a Mimic.’ Lucca gives a dismissive wave of his hand and stares anywhere but at me. ‘Doesn’t matter anyway. She made her bed.’

‘I felt his lies, Lucca. Before, I never felt his dishonesty. Never felt any of his mistruths. I felt it this time. And I was wearing this.’ I hold up my hand and show him the ring on my finger. ‘The dampener hid my power from him. He didn’t use my power against me.’

‘It doesn’t matter.’ He drags his fingers through his hair.

‘It doesn’t matter?’ I scoff. ‘Of course, it matters, Luc-’

‘She is still with them. She is still in the First Kingdom. Still working for the King. She is still my best friend’s wife.’ He points an angry finger at me. ‘Your Mate’s wife. She’s sleeping in his bed and working with those fuckers.’

As he speaks, all of him shakes and spit flies from his lips. This unbridled rage appears whenever I try to talk to him about them. Every single time.

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