Page 34 of Wrath of the Fae

‘He was lying.’ I state the words clearly. ‘I think we need to-’

‘What?’ he scoffs. ‘Pop over to the First Kingdom for a chat?“Hey, guys. How’s it going being a bunch of traitorous, backstabbing fuckers?”I don’t know about you, but there’s nothing I wanna say to them and nothing they could say that I would wanna hear, Raven.’

Wolf lifts his brow slightly as Lucca uses my real name. Something he only does when he’s royally pissed off. Wolf remains stood there as if a statue. Watching and waiting in complete silence.

‘Just because El isn’t being handed around as Ezra said, she is still probably fucking your sister. The girl she left our Bond for and who tore my fucking face off!’

We stare at each other for what feels like an age.

‘I think I’m seeing their dreams,’ I add. ‘I can feel-’

‘Feel what? Their sadness? Their grief? Then why aren’t they with us, huh? Why didn’t they join us and fight as they swore they would? They swore it to you. They swore to fix this shit, but instead, they sided with the enemy. And for what? A place at the King’s side? For wealth? For power?’

‘If we spoke to them-’

‘If we speak to them, they will turn you in. That’s what they will do.’ He turns and slams his fist into the wall. Wolf instantly steps between us and faces Lucca, showing me his broad back. He mutters something to him, and Lucca calms. Only when Lucca nods does Wolf step aside.

‘Sorry, Pup,’ he offers. ‘Guess I’m still sore about everything.’

No shit. Aren’t we all? Aren’t we all lost and missing at least one soul mate?

‘What room am I in?’ I ask, keen to change the subject.

‘Reid’s bedroom,’ he says, eyes firm on me.

‘Why would you put me in here?’

‘I didn’t. You kept walking in here. Or… sleepwalked, I guess. We kept trying to get you to sleep in a room down the hall, but you just kept coming back.’ Lucca shrugs, and I swear I can feel his accusations through his glare. ‘You can’t seriously miss them,’ he adds quietly.

I wonder if he meant to say it out loud.

‘Where’s Tessa?’ I ask.

‘Resting,’ he replies, absentmindedly gesturing to the hallway. ‘She’s…’ He laughs. ‘What am I saying? She’s not sorry for what she did to you. Dumping all that negativity on you so you would lose control. But she’s regretting it now.’

‘The bitch dumped a ton of trauma on me to power up those markings. She knows what happens when I lose control.’

‘Yeah. But it worked, right? And you didn’t fade completely. Nor did you turn into a psycho. I call that a win.’ He slaps Wolf on the shoulder. The man doesn’t move at all.

‘Ancient runes.’

‘Huh?’ he asks.

‘That’s what Ezra called them. Those markings on the floor. He called them ancient runes. And he said that we can’t use them anymore.’ I look between them. ‘What are ancient rune markings?’

‘No one really knows. They’ve been here since the beginning of time,’ Lucca shrugs as if that’s obvious. ‘Like those strange neolithic structures humans have. The pyramids. Stone circles. Impossible temples. No one really knows what they are or who put them there. They just… are.’

‘When I was a boy, my great great grandfather told me they were from what came before Fae.’ Wolf adds. ‘That they used them to commune.’

‘What came before Fae?’ I ask. ‘And commune with what?’

‘Dunno,’ he huffs. ‘Not sure there’s anyone around old enough to know for sure. It’s more a fairy tale, My Lady. Ancient and primitive civilisations drawing in stone.’

‘Well. Those drawings created a shield around an entire Kingdom.’

‘Then they are handy drawings,’ Lucca chirps, clapping his hands together and showing me a smile. ‘We’re all working on the manor. Getting it fit for a queen. Come down to the banquet hall. Everyone is gathering for food soon, and we need to start planning our attack.’

Lucca turns and heads for the door.

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