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But then her uncle pumped his wings, putting more distance between them. The red-eyed creatures moved as if one body, completely surrounding her. She sucked in a scream when she saw them, thousands of black, hairy spiders with red distended abdomens and glowing eyes.
Demonlings, her witch hissed with glee.
She thought she’d die from fright when the creatures raced up her legs, spinning a sticky substance around her. She tried to fight them, her heart pounding in her ears when they landed on her head, tangling in her hair, but they had trapped her hands to her sides with sticky film as strong as iron.
No! No! No! “Uncle!” she pleaded, turning her gaze to the sky.
His eyes were wide with horror as he gaped down at her, his wings slowly flapping. A vine slapped his leg like a whip, curling around his ankle and snatching him downward. He shifted into a dragon creature, a burst of flame erupting from his throat, though he was no match for the power of the vines as dozens more encircled him. His terrified screams were muffled as vines folded him in two like he was made of nothing more than stitching and straw. The loud snapping of his bones cut through the stagnant air before his cries were silenced. She watched with an odd mixture of fascination and horror as a giant, flowery plant rose up from the forest floor like a ghoul emerging from a crypt. It opened its fanged maw, a long green tongue unfurling and snatching his lifeless body, swallowing him down in one gulp.
The last thing she saw was a spider crawling across her face before she collapsed and surrendered to the darkness.
Tari
I WRAPPED MY ARMS AROUND myself as I sat at the edge of the bed, facing the stone hearth, letting the fire’s warmth seep into my bones and dry my wet hair. After I’d grown enough food for the town to last through the winter, the innkeeper had given us the same room Helian and I had shared last time. Shiri and her mates had retired to another room on the other side of the inn. My mates and I had just finished bathing after eating a repast of fish stew and warm, buttery bread. My head was slightly swimming from all the magic I’d used in combination with the memory tea. Healing Torund had taken longer than expected. His rotten teeth were easy, but his head wound was old, and the skin had grown around the axe. Luckily, the cyclops had a thick skull, and the axe hadn’t penetrated the brain. He’d been so relieved to finally have it out that he sobbed like a baby while his wife, a small human woman, held his head in her lap, mouthing her thanks as we left.
The townspeople were so in awe of the garden that they’d offered us all kinds of gifts, from silky new cloaks and new soles for Shiri and me, to shiny new blades for our mates. Many had asked me to heal their ailments, but I was far too exhausted and promised I’d do so early morning. Truthfully, I wasn’t looking forward to it.
By the time we’d reached our room, so many thoughts swirled around in my head, from missing the girls and Finn, to the impossible task of defeating a demon who possessed a spider army and would soon have mind-spinning powers.
I was still in shock over what we’d witnessed today. There was no way Thorin would survive an encounter with this mistress. I didn’t think, even with his cunning, he could fool her into releasing him, which meant the man who’d been pretending to be my father the past two years would soon be dead, if he wasn’t already. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about that or how to begin processing it.
Dressed in nothing but a loose-fitting robe, Helian sat beside me, brushing his lips across my shoulder. Are you okay?
“Yeah,” I blurted, not wanting my mates to fuss over me.
“You sure?” Ash asked as he sat on my other side, taking my hand in his.
Unable to speak through a constricted throat, I answered them through thought. He defied her for two years. He was supposed to bring me to her. Now she will make him pay.
Ash knelt in front of me, naked with the exception of a tight pair of shorts, and squeezed my hands. Water drops clung to his wet, golden skin, making him glisten beneath the candlelight. “He didn’t keep you to protect you. He kept you to use you. He’s evil and deserves what he has coming.”
Helian voiced his agreement.
“I know.” My shoulders fell with the admission. So why did I still feel terrible about it?
Ash arched a brow. “But?”
“I can’t explain.” I pulled free of Ash and covered my face with my hands. I know he doesn’t deserve my pity, I projected to my mates. He took me from my children. He tried to rape me. But for two years I thought of him as family, my father.
What was wrong with me that I felt sorry for my abuser? Did that mean Thorin still had control over me?
Helian pulled me to his side, kissing my forehead. “What can we do?”
I lowered my hands and blinked at him through a hazy sheen of tears. “Just be here for me,” I rasped.
He kissed me again. “Always.”
Ash rested his chin on my thigh while whimpering like a puppy. His large feral eyes that narrowed to wolf slits did something strange to my insides, and even though the timing was probably wrong, I wanted nothing more than for my mates to make love to me, so I could sink into oblivion in their arms.
I cupped Ash’s face, pulling him toward me, and then I turned into Helian, taking him by surprise with a kiss, forcing him to open his mouth to me while I tugged on his robe.
Are you sure? Helian projected to me.
Yes, please, I begged. I need you both.
Ash let out a growl of approval, pushing me onto the bed while spreading my legs. I know just what you need, he said in a dark rumble while fur sprouted on his face.
My sex instantly swelled and dripped with desire when Ash licked his lips. I fell back on the bed, spreading my legs while letting my wolf devour me. He dug his clawed fingers into my thighs, his thick tongue slurping up my sex and making me writhe beneath him. But then Helian was there, tenderly kissing me while pushing open my robe, his calloused fingers roving across my breasts and pinching my nipples. I sank into the mattress with a groan, surrendering my body to them as magic pulsed through my veins.
