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Heat and light ripped through the dark, assaulting my eyes. Meallan staggered to his feet, bleeding heavily from a cut on his forehead. Fire magic consumed his hands—twin deadly torches aching to return the favor. But it wasn’t that bastard I cared about.
“Alisdair!”
My husband swayed on his feet, panting like he felt every mile of his run from the castle. And I had no doubt that he did. Never had Alisdair looked more... human. Not fae. Not faeriken.
Standing there wheezing in the snow, covered in blood and bruises, but not horns, claws, or fangs. He seemed smaller. Weaker.Harmless.As harmless as the clunky, awkward humans with their blunt ears and magicless bodies. He didn’t look like he could win this fight even if he had iron weapons.
The wolves picked themselves up, laughing as they circled him as if they were thinking the same thing.
“You fool.” Meallan’s laugh was nasty. “You came running to the rescue of a traitorous whore who poisoned you? She threw you off a cliff, then came to me to help her get away fromyou. That was our plan the whole time,” he taunted. “From the very beginning, she poured nothing but lies in your ears, all so you and I could end up here on your last day.”
“Liar!” I screamed.
“Every word is true!” Meallan crouched, preparing to strike. “She stole the flower. She gave you a deadly kiss. Last night, she laughed about how easy it would be to tempt you into your own downfall—”
“So?” Alisdair sliced in—voice steady even as he swayed on his feet.
Meallan stiffened. “Excuse me? Did the poison stuff your ears? She planned this! Luring you to your death. Throwing you off the throne, and then running back to Lyrica and her stunted little life. She doesn’t love you.”
“Shut up!” I cried.
“She never loved you,” Meallan hissed, “and she never will.”
A strange, husky growl dropped from Alisdair’s lips. “And again,” he said, laughing, “So? What does any of that matter? She is my wife. She can murder me a thousand times, but no matter what, it is my honor to die for her... and my pleasure to kill for her.
“No one who wishes to keep their hand lays it upon my queen.” Alisdair began circling him, keeping in pace with a growling Meallan, but with his stumbling, it was more accurate to say my husband was tripping in a circle. “But since it’s you, I’m going to rip off that filthy paw and feed it back to you.
“Come now, boy,” he barked, making Meallan jerk. “You lied, cheated, and manipulated from the shadows to get me this far, all because you were too much of a cowering little bitch to face me beast to beast.
“Now that you have made me as weak and helpless as you—attack. Claim the hollow victory handed to you by a little bird who’s smarter than you’ll ever be—”
“Kill him!”
The wolves charged, leaping on my husband four-on-one. Alisdair disappeared under a torrent of fangs, claws, fur, and blood. My scream shredded my throat.
For all his bluster, the poison had done its work. Alisdair should’ve transformed into his unstoppable beast form and ripped out their throats without blinking. He should’ve summoned fire from the pits of hell itself and burned their eyes out of their skulls. He should’ve been sauntering over a pile of corpses, smirk riding his lips, and claiming his prize—me.
But none of those things were happening.
Alisdair covered his head and face with his arms, his only protection against the onslaught. Meallan raked his fire-tipped claws across his stomach, spilling hot, steaming blood on thepure snow, sizzling his skin, and bellowing a roar out of Alisdair that made me sob. The woman was right next to him, sinking her teeth in his leg and tearing free a chunk of flesh and muscle.
Alisdair couldn’t stop them biting and tearing him apart, while the two focused on his head—pummeling, stomping, kicking on his arms to get through and bash his skull in, ending the fight before it started. Their laughter howled above the whipping wind.
“Stop it!” I shrieked. “Get off him. Leave him alone!”
I may as well have been an ant before a thunderstorm. They didn’t hear my screams. They didn’t care for such a lowly creature when there was devastation to wage. I was nothing. Queen of Nothing and feared by no one.
I twisted this way and that, looking for a weapon—something. Anything!
Nothing met my eye except for more snow and dead trees.If that’s all I have, at least I have something!
Meallan snarled when I jumped on his back and smashed a handful of snow in his face. He tossed me off and spun around, eyes widening in the bare second before I smashed the branch into his face.
His head snapped around, but didn’t bring his body with him. Meallan weathered the blow without rocking an inch off his feet. His growls ratcheted up tenfold as he slowly turned on me—eyes red and fangs glistening with his blood. It was impossible to me that this monster had anything to do with the sweet, kind, patient Foalan.
“I’ve had enough of you, bitch!” He raised a backhand, fire dancing on his knuckles. “Shadowsoul, I hope you’re watching this!”
“Don’t you fucking dare!”
