Page 68 of Accidental Fae (Fae War Chronicles 1)
Chapter18
Rafferty
“You’ll get your chance as soon as I get that key and free you.”The fire in her eyes when she muttered those words re-ignited my own quest for freedom.
Perhaps, if I’m lucky, I won’t die down here. I’ll have the chance to seek out the rightful king and turn Ember over to him so she can spend her life happy, loved by a man who will also be a kind and fair ruler.
The mental image of her happy on some faceless fae’s arm makes my gut clench with disgust, even as I know it’s the only outcome for her. Unless—
“Get to the gate!” a woman whispers loudly as she rushes down the last half of the stairs.
Features illuminated by the soft firelight of the torches on the wall, I recognize her instantly. “Bea? What the bloody hell are you doing here?”
She whips out a golden key and yanks the door open. “We need to get upstairs and get the human woman.”
“Ember?”
“Yes. She managed to retrieve the key, but the king is hell-bent on wedding her.Tonight.”
Fear shoots up my spine as I flex muscles I haven’t had to use in quite some time. “He’s not going to lay a fucking finger on her.”
“He already has,” she says sadly, and rage unlike anything I’ve ever felt overcomes me.
My vision turns red, and I rush toward the stairs. Bea grabs my arm, and I whirl on her. “I’m going to murder him.”
“It took me far too long to sneak down here. We need to get back upstairs before they take her to the wedding hall. By then, it will be too late.”
I nod and swallow hard, trying to choke back the rage. It won’t be helpful now, not when I need to keep my head long enough to rescue Ember. We’re just reaching the bottom of the steps when soft boots thud against the stone. I grab Bea and spin, plunging us both into the shadows and tucking her behind me as the guard comes into view.
“Rafferty, have some great news for you—” The fae skids to a stop at the bottom, eyes narrowing on the empty cell. He turns, ready to alert the others, but I rush forward and grab him, covering his mouth with my hand as I snap his neck like a fucking twig.
Without hesitation, I retrieve his sword and bound up the stairs right behind Bea. The hall is empty, and I know it’s because they’ve more than likely all already gathered in the wedding hall. Which means next up is them retrieving Ember.
“Bea!”
I step back into the stairs as Bea continues walking. “Yes, Joaquin?”
“Where the hell is the human?”
“I’m heading to get her now.” Bea winces, and my hand tightens on the blade. “Release me, Joaquin.”
“You should have already brought her to the preparation room.”
“I am headed to get her now. In case you forgot, I had a wound to clean and dress on the future queen’s back.”
A deep breath keeps me from audibly growling and removing Joaquin’s head from his body. If I still possessed the ability to dematerialize, I would have done it already and killed the fucker right where he stands.
But the likelihood of me being successful in remaining unnoticed while killing him is far too slim a risk to take.
“Go get her and get back down. Now. If I have to come find you, neither one of you will appreciate what happens next.”
“Are you seriously threatening me?”
“Was I not clear enough?”
“Crystal,” Bea shoots back. “Be down in a moment.”
“See that you are.” I press all the way into the corner as he walks past me and disappears down the hall. As soon as he’s out of view, I rush out, and together, Bea and I race for the stairs.