Page 90 of Cursed Fae (Fae War Chronicles 2)
“What the hell did Fearghas do to you?”
“He left me to rot in the Veil,” she retorts. “Or did he leave that part out when you two last spoke?”
“You’re going to let us walk out of here.” Rafferty changes the subject and reaches down to snap the chain around my ankle. Then, he straightens and withdraws his blade.
“That does not sound like something I will be doing.” She purses her lips in a pout. “I’m sorry, my love. I really am.” Then, she snaps her fingers. Two fae appear on either side of us. I scream as one rips me away from Rafferty.
“Ember!” he roars, but the other fae slams his elbow on the base of Rafferty’s neck, taking him to his knees. I yank against the hold, terror icing my veins.
“Let him go!” I scream.
The fae holding him slams a fist to his back, and Rafferty goes all the way to the floor. When he’s down, the fae rears back and kicks him in the ribs.
My warrior grunts and folds in on himself as the other fae continues his assault.
“Please, Ailis! Please.” I nearly choke on the last word, and she shifts her attention to me. The hands holding me loosen, and I pull away, rushing toward her. “You have me. You loved him enough to risk everything and convince him he was your mate, so please don’t hurt him.” For effect, I sink to my knees. My pleas are all I have now with Rafferty pinned to the floor, his breathing ragged, and me being helpless to fight back. I have to hope there is still some part of her that loves him. Some part that will spare his life.
“You beg me to spare him, why?”
“I love him,” I choke out honestly.
She smiles softly. “I appreciate you telling me the truth, Ember. It takes quite a lot of courage."
Rafferty groans. “Ember. No.”
“Please,” I ask again. “Don’t kill him.” Tears flow from my eyes freely now. I’d been afraid to show weakness to my captor, but to spare Rafferty’s life, there is nothing I won’t do. Nothing I won’t sacrifice.
I only wish I’d figured that out a hell of a lot sooner.
Ailis pulls away from me and moves toward Rafferty. “Tell me, my mate, why should I spare your life?”
“Spare. Ember,” he chokes out.
“Interesting.” She shifts her gaze to me. “You believe I should spare him, he, you. Tell me, how do I make my choice?”
“Please,” I ask again. Exhaustion pulls, and my vision blurs as I splay both hands on the ground beneath me. “I’m already dying, he is not.”
“Which is the problem.”
Using most of the energy I have left, I shift my gaze up to hers as she retrieves Rafferty’s blade from the ground.
My chest tightens, my throat constricting as she raises it above her head.
“No,” I cry, barely able to speak through the emotion burning my chest. Agony unlike anything I’ve ever felt pulls at me, threatening to completely consume me should she do what she is threatening. “Please, don’t kill him. You love him.”
“Wrong.” She brings the blade down on Rafferty’s throat, and I scream, closing my eyes to avoid seeing what she’s done.
Ailis’s laughter fills my ears as I let out another scream, and another, until they are nothing but hoarse sounds from a broken woman.
She killed him.
“Pathetic human.”
She’s close now, so I open my eyes and risk seeing carnage I will never be able to forget. But there is no blood. And I’m not on the floor where I was mere seconds ago.
I’m lying on something hard, cold, my entire body held down with heavy chains strapped to my arms, ankles, and throat. Ailis looks down at me, a smile on her face.
“Where is he?” I choke out.
“Not here. He never was.” She grins again, and a fae steps out from behind me, his silver eyes blazing brightly even in the dim light of this room.
“I don’t understand.”
“Because you are a human,” Ailis taunts. “A weak, pathetic creature whose only purpose is to amuse me.” She moves across the room toward a bed and lies down.
“Where am I?”
“My bedroom. Where you will be until the day you die, my sweet, sweet, pet.” Her smile broadens. “We are going to have so much fun.”