Page 81 of Filthy Fae

The cold knot of tension coiling in my belly tightened. I would not consider that possibility. If my mate was dead, I would know. I would feel it. She was alive, and I was going in to get her and killing every fucking person who attempted to stop me, even if I had to kill the queen of the fae herself.

I would do that.

Yet again, Lance was right, though. This was a delicate situation, and if we didn’t go into it the right way, the queen would kill my mate before I could get to her.

“I think I have a plan,” Lance said. “But it’s going to risk all of our lives and then some.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Scarlet

There was a certain comfort in constant pain after I’d been chained in silver for… I wasn’t sure how many hours. It woke me each time exhaustion pulled me under. It whispered that I was still alive. When Mack had confided about his day chained in iron after Jacob kidnapped him, he’d said he went into a meditative state. I’d thought he said it to ease my guilt over his capture, but I found myself slipping into mindlessness, a place where no thoughts existed, only that low, constant agony.

The worst pain was in my face where the queen’s kick had shattered my bones. My wolf had no chance of healing the injury. She couldn’t even muster the energy to wake. We were dying. The silver would kill her first, and I wouldn’t survive without her.

The fire in the hearth had died hours ago. At first, my mind kept marveling at the trust these fae princes had in one another. What other reason but absolute faith would keep the Autumn prince from checking in? And then I realized. They were dying. The four princes were dying right along with the queen.

No one was going to interrupt us.

The queen’s four guardians were tied to her lifeforce, meaning their own life force was draining with hers. They couldn’t save her. Obviously, she hadn’t thought the implications of that one through when she so selfishly tied four men to her.

The idea made my mind slip to another group of men. Fuck, I missed them. With the revelation that Mack and I had been in love for years, I realized that I could have had all that time with him, but I’d thrown it away. Now, I wanted decades. I wanted it with all of them. Darrel and I had an almost instant, soul-deep connection. I’d had to wake up and smell the roses with Aaron. With Lance, we both had to work, but he was worth it. We were worth it.

I’d lost minutes, hours, years, with these men because I was afraid to let them in. And now, I would never get them back.

There was a swishing sound behind me like a door opening. I wanted to check, but I had no hope of moving.

Hands jostled me, and I felt the chain from around my feet uncoiling.

Holy fuck, yes.

The person continued to roll the chain from around me. They flipped me over, sending a shock of agony through my jaw. My vision blurred, but I could still recognize my rescuer’s face.

Princess Mab.

I wanted to thank her, but I was gagged, and my jaw hung from my face, smashed and broken. Mab continued to untangle me until the silver chains were completely off.

The reality TV star crouched down before me. Her hands went around the back of my head, and she yanked out the gag.

Pain exploded through my broken jaw, and even though I was trying to be silent, I couldn’t stop a moan from escaping. The princess heaved my shoulder, sending me toppling to my stomach, and my broken face hit the floor.

Pain seared every inch of my body, and though I couldn’t move, I finally felt my wolf stirring.

Mab pulled at my robe, ripping it off. Several seconds later, the noxious aroma of burning hair filled the room. My wolf rose within me. She had almost no energy, but my cheek began the tell-tale scorching sensation of healing.

I pushed onto my forearm, looking over at the beautiful celebrity princess. She stood at the hearth, silver chains dangling from her hand. A scrap of burning silk robe fluttered out of the fireplace, and the princess plucked it up and set it back in.

Beside her lay a familiar figure. For a moment, I thought it was the incubus pretending to be Prince Summer again. Then I noticed the prince’s pallor and the sweat rolling down his brow. His eyes were wide open, though they didn’t seem able to focus.

“Are you healing?” he whispered, his chest heaving.

“She’ll heal soon enough,” Princess Mab said. “Maybe she’ll even give you pity sex as you die. Unlike other werewolves, this one doesn’t discriminate against fae in her bed. Do you, Slutty McSlut Slut?”

She turned to me, her eyes shining with triumph. Up until this moment, I’d held onto the hope that Princess Mab was simply too selfish to use care when handling my broken body. She’d helped me before. But seeing her incinerating my clothing and removing my chains, the truth hit me like an oncoming truck.

Princess Mab wasn’t helping me. She was removing evidence that I’d been taken here against my will. She was covering her tracks.

Fuck. It was Princess Mab. It had been her all along.