Page 79 of Cursed Fae (Fae War Chronicles 2)
“Fin!” I roar. But I do not hear him.
“Hello, pretty,” a woman yells behind me.
I turn, blade raised. The female fae stands a yard away from me, wearing the same leather kilt as the men, but her breasts are covered with thin fabric while their chests are bare. She grins, showing sharp teeth. “What the fuck are you?”
“I am ancient,” she purrs.
My blood runs cold, and my gut churns with unease. They shouldn’t be here. How the fuck are they here! In the blink of an eye, the woman is standing in front of me.
Her sharp nails dig into the back of my head as she wraps a hand around my throat. I bring my blade up, but I’m too slow. She catches it quickly and rips it from my grasp. “Such a strong beast,” she replies then leans forward and runs her tongue over my cheek.
Bile rises in my throat.
“I will enjoy a taste of you, beast.”
Blood splatters my face a moment before her head rolls to the side. Behind her stands Wally, a snarl on his face.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I growl as I retrieve my blade from the ground.
“Saving your ass, it appears.” In an instant, he’s gone, and I whirl, searching for him amid the battle. A fae falls to the ground, and he’s back, moving fast—even by fae standards. “Where is Ember?” he demands.
I rush forward and fling my dagger at a female fae heading straight for one of my men who is barely holding his own against another ancient fae. “Not your concern.”
Wally growls at me, his youthful face a stark reminder of the time he spent lying to Ember. “I am not going to hurt her, you miserable ass, but if you think for a second any of you will make it out alive, you are sorely mistaken. Now, I will only ask you one more fucking time. Where. Is. Ember?”
Wally can dematerialize.
He’s faster than even Fin.
A scream rips through the battle, and my decision is made. I cannot leave Ember to these monsters. Not if Wally can save her.
“This way.” Turning on my heel, I race toward the tent.
Wally runs beside me, easily keeping pace.
I burst into the tent, and my heart dies right within my chest. Dark magic surges in the same moment, overtaking all other rational thought.
The place isdestroyed.And two fae men are rummaging through the trunks.
They turn toward me, and something within me breaks. “Where is she?” I snarl, orders layered within the dark energy.
“That magic won’t work on them,” Wally explains. “Where is the woman?”
One of the men grins. “Off with her new master,” he says, voice little more than a gravelly growl.
Fear claws through my insides, shredding me from the inside out. “What the fuck does that mean?” I demand.
“Master loves her new plaything.”
Her.Ailis. It has to be. Ember saw her in the Veil. She must have been testing for a way out or sizing Ember up. Why the fuck didn’t I take it more seriously? “Where is she?” I spin my blade and take a step forward, fury extinguishing my fear.
“We’ve already told you. Are you hard of hearing, then?” The other man steps forward. “Not that it matters. I’m going to cut your ears off and wear them as a necklace.”
“You are on the wrong side,” the first man addresses Wally.
“Your side was never the right one,” he argues and disappears. He reappears right behind one of the other ancients, but the man is too fast. He kicks out, sending Wally spiraling back into the tent.
I rush forward and swing out with my blade. It cuts through the air, only to meet nothing when the ancient fae ducks down. His fist cracks my ribs, and I grunt, but with the dark energy flowing freely through me, the pain is muted.