AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Frustration churned through her, tears pricking her eyes. What the hell was happening? Why wouldn’t her beast respond? She could feel it inside of her, pacing and roaring and hungry for blood. Why would it not comeout?
The Queen let out a light laugh, one that whispered away on the cool wind. “You must think I am an amateur, and you must be wondering why you cannot shift.” She leaned down and hissed into Bree’s face, her breath smelling like iron and salt. “I brought a Hawkborn with me. It will not allow you to shift in mypresence.”
Shit, Bree thought. So much for that brightidea.
And, unfortunately, it also meant that Bree was completely out of bright ideasnow.
The Queen wrapped her icy hands around Bree’s wrists and yanked her to her feet. She was surprisingly strong, and her grip was so tight that it made Bree’s hands begin to tingle inresponse.
Dropping back her head, the Queen called out toward the gates of the castle that looked as silent and as still as a graveyard. “King Taveon. I have your champion, and I have your newest recruit. Surrender your Court and your castle to me or Iwillkill themboth.”
Bree’s heart thundered hard. If only Taveon hadn’t been forced to break the bond between them, Bree could communicate her plans to him. And she could use his power as her own. She could try to free Eurig and sacrifice herself to the Queen. She wouldn’t know about theimmortality.
The Queen waited, and silence rained down all aroundthem.
Bree sniffed and gave the Queen a wicked smile. “You’re barking up the wrong tree here. The King is...indisposed. I thought you knew that though. Or did someone else come up with that clever cursething?”
The Queen’s eyes glittered, and she did not deem it necessary to give Bree even the slightest of glances. “Do not play coy. I know that you were somehow able to reverse the curse I put on these fae. And the villagers. And the Wilde Fae. The King is very much awake, and he is watchingus.”
Shivers coursed along Bree’s skin. So much for thatapproach.
After several more moments of brutal silence, the Queen wrapped one hand around Bree’s throat and dug her sharp fingernails into her skin. Bree swallowed hard, and sparks dotted her vision. As much as Bree did not want Taveon to succumb to this Queen, she also knew exactly what this meant for herlife.
The Queen would not hesitate to kill her. She was not bluffing. If Taveon did not surrender, Bree wasdead.
Bree closed her eyes, letting her mind replay every moment of her life. From her childhood spent exploring the Manhattan streets with Norah, to the moment when she’d been infected by the Redcap virus and she’d fled to the safety of the Light Fae realm. To the moment when she’d passed through that Faerie Ring and into Underworld. Knowing Rafe. Knowing Taveon. KnowingEurig.
Both the good and the bad, shecherished.
“This is my last warning, King Taveon,” the Queen called out, the screech in her voice betraying her calm and collected exterior. “Surrender. Or she dies thisnight.”
In the distance, Bree heard the unmistakable clank of the iron gates openingwide.
No, her mind raged.Stop!
Her eyes flew open, and Bree spotted Taveon’s tall and commanding form striding through the open gates, his hands held up as if insurrender.
He couldn’t. Taveon could not surrender his crown and his court to this monster. She would kill them all. She would tear every last one of the fae to shreds. And she wouldn’t stop there. There was greed in the Queen’s eyes. She would not be satisfied until she sat on every single throne she could. And that included far more than just those found in thisrealm.
Taveon strode closer, and Bree’s heart ran wild. Her eyes flicked to Eurig who stared down at the ground in defeat. The Hawkborn would prevent her from shifting, but there had to be something else she coulddo.
The dagger, a little voice whispered into her mind. Dagen’sdagger.
She’d shoved it into the little hidden folds of the Dark Fae fighting leathers when she’d been forced to change into a new set of clothes. It was right there, just within her reach. If she was quickenough...
Without giving her mind a chance to talk herself out of it, Bree shoved her hand into her leathers, wrapped her fingers around the golden hilt, and then whirled toward the Queen. The blade found its mark, sinking into the Queen’s forehead with a sickeningcrunch.
Bree’s hands flew to her mouth, and she stumbled back. Horror churned through her gut. Blood poured from the wound, pooling around the hilt that protruded from the Queen’s head. The female’s eyes went round, and then she fell straight back, slamming hard against theground.
Shouts exploded all around her and rough hands grabbed her arms. The soldiers leapt from their horses, surrounding both Eurig and Bree. Their faces were screwed up in anger, though others looked jubilant and surprised. Every sword was raised, and every bow was drawn. And Bree had no idea who was pointing at who, and who was pointing ather.
“Let me go,” Eurig said, his voice as clear as the moonlit sky. “I am Eurig, son of Clarke, and I demand that you let mego.”
The fae who held him dropped his grip and stepped back, and several of the outposters fell to the ground on their knees, bowing beforehim.
“Let her go, too,” he said to the half a dozen outposters who had surroundedBree.
“Eurig,” one of the males said, frowning. “She stabbed ourQueen.”
