Page 79 of Wrath of the Fae

‘How the fuck do you think you got out, huh? Who do you think got you out of the First Kingdom? Who saved your life?’

‘They have been killing and kidnapping,’ he argues. ‘They have been there, working for the King. Doing as he said. What Ivan says-’

‘And yet you are alive. Free. Someone got you healed and out.’

‘But they didn’t leave! How can we know-’

‘I know liars, Lucca. Reid and Cyrus weren’t lying.’ I look down at him, still on the floor. ‘And I know my sister. There is no way she would ever have sided with a monster like the King or Ivan Walker. She would die first.’

‘You were with her for a matter of months, Raven,’ he bites back, returning to his feet. ‘And fucking Reid and Cyrus for hardly any more than that. You don’t know them. Not really.’

‘And I know you?’ I step back and shake my head.

‘We heard stories of what they had been doing.’

‘Stories,’ I scoff. ‘People told stories about me when I lived in that shit hole Fae city. I was a whore. You could screw me in any hole for a slice of fucking pizza. I fucked Dark Fae for fun. Stories mean nothing, Lucca.’

‘We saw what they left behind, Raven. The men you knew were as good a version of them as possible. But the men they were before you… they were cold, selfish and calculating. I was there when they killed your brother to take the throne. I was there when they locked up your mother. I was there when we were in the human world, and I saw what Reid and Cyrus were willing to do to thrive in that place. I had no trouble believing those men would do what they did here.’

‘They would never have left you. I know that.’

‘I was angry, okay!’ he yells. ‘They were together. Married. Living in comfort with power. With each other. I was alone. Outcast. Wandering from place to place. ’ He gestures to his face. ‘I was left with this. No Mate. No family, except Tessa, who has become so cold and hard, I barely recognise her anymore. All because of them!’

‘Don’t bring me into this, Lucca,’ Tessa snaps.

He ignores her. ‘They have done terrible shit, Raven. There’s no denying that. They’ve sent countless of our people through the portal to Ivan for turning. They’ve-’

‘I could list a lot of shit you and I have done too, Lucca. Monstrous things. Maybe we’re all monsters. But they’re our monsters. And Rhea is my sister, and you left her behind.’ I turn and stretch out my wings. ‘You should have gone back. You should have checked.’

‘Where are you going?’ he calls after me, following as I take to the skies.

‘I’m making a plan to get them back.’

‘We have Fae flooding into the Thirteenth Kingdom seeking shelter. You can’t just abandon them! You can’t go to the First Kingdom. They’ll rip you to pieces.’ He grabs my wrist, but I pull away. ‘They’re not worth your life!’

I give a few hard beats of my wings to get some distance between us. I know he’s angry at them. So am I. But they can’t be kept there like that. Rhea can’t. I’ll be smart. I won’t rush in. I’ll plan.

His body slams into mine, and we both fall to the ground, rolling over each other until he lands atop me.

‘Get the fuck off me, Lucca!’ I demand, thrashing beneath him.

‘You can’t abandon me for them. We’ve got too much to lose.’ He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a vial of water. He pops the cork and pinches my nose shut.

‘Lucca, stop!’ Tessa shouts, running towards us. ‘Let her go!’

‘If I let her go, she’ll go after them. I’ve already lost everything to those bastards. I will not lose her too.’

‘I am not yours to lose in the first place!’

Lucca looks down at me and seeing my eyes start to shimmer, his narrow in hate.

‘You’re our Queen. You belong here. With me.’

I watch the contents of that bottle tip towards my lips.

‘Open your fucking mouth, Pup.’ He whacks my head into the ground and takes his opportunity. I’m stunned, so he prises open my mouth before pouring it in.

He holds his hand over my face so I can’t breathe. Even as I scream, feeling the iron in the water burning and stealing my powers, he refuses to let me go.

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