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“What can we do for you?” the woman asked, her voice curt as her hand lifted to her hip. She stepped backward into place beside the king, and the massive man who had been fighting with her followed suit. Though, he didn’t look as critical of me as she did.

“I need to speak with the king,” I said, hoping my voice came out strong. “Alone.”

The woman made a noise of disagreement.

Was she his lover?

Fae took mates, but only if they were fated, as far as I knew. If the woman and the king had been fated, it would’ve shown on their throats in the words of a forgotten language.

There weren’t many mated couples, according to Akari and Vena. But those who were, were inseparable. They were so possessive and protective of each other that most fae hoped never to possess a bond like that.

So most fae took lovers, and held on to each other only if there was no sign of their connection being soul-deep.

I had no feelings on it either way; my only focus was my freedom. Should my friends and I end the lives of the kings without losing our own, we had plans to meet back at that inn we’d spent days in together, precisely one year from the day we left. If we didn’t survive, we would mourn one another fiercely.

Should I survive without getting sent to the bright isle and find one of my friends missing on the day we met again, I would do whatever it took to reach the isle myself, to free whoever was lost or remain there with her permanently.

“Out, Lavee. Jesh, make sure she puts something on the leg wound she’s ignoring,” the king said, slipping his hands into the pockets on his pants.

The woman—Lavee, I assumed—grumbled something about his stubborn ass as she stalked out of the room, walking past me with a warning glare.

The man—Jesh—followed her, nodding politely at me as he passed me.

As the door closed behind them, I focused on my memories and my emotions.

“What do you wish to discuss?” the king’s eyes slowly trailed up and down my body as he crossed the room, stopping a few feet in front of me. A few of his shadows slid off his skin a bit, whispering something I couldn’t understand, but I forced myself to ignore them.

My eyes closed, and my anger and pain flared. The magic within me bloomed furiously, raging through my chest and middle.

Shadows leaked from my skin as if they could no longer be contained within my body. My control slipped away, and the monster that raged within me took complete control. Shadows consumed my flesh as the power transformed me, changing my figure.

A savage snarl escaped the monster inhabiting my very soul as she flew toward the Shadow King, her teeth bared and ready to tear through his throat.

Chapter3

Surprise floodedthe king’s eyes as the monster’s teeth clamped down on his throat. I’d seen him in action—I knew he could’ve reacted—but either surprise or lack of worry had stopped him. He stumbled backward, crashing to the ground with the massive weight of her, but he didn’t seem to care. His eyes looked up at her in wonder, of all things.

Though her teeth clamped onto his throat, they didn’t cut his skin—they didn’t tear his flesh, either. It was as if he was covered in some kind of invisible shield that protected him from the sharpness of her fangs.

His fingers slipped into her fur, and she released his throat.

Confusion flooded the monster.

The moment her rage—and my rage—calmed, the magic rippled over her skin, and sank back into my chest.

I panted hard, glowering down at the king I was now lying on top of. My hand shook as I reached for the knife from the sheath on my thigh, wrestling the infuriatingly-silky fabric away from it.

The king made no move to stop me as I ripped the knife from its sheath and plunged it toward his throat.

The tip of the blade halted a breath against his skin, just like the monster’s teeth had.

There were no shadows, no form of night magic blocking my blade.

Confusion and panic had me stabbing the knife downward again, and again, though I saw no results from the motion.

The king’s huge hand wrapped around mine. He dragged my knife away from his throat—and then from my grip—and tossed it across the room. His gaze was locked on mine, and he stared at me with wonder as he murmured, “You are absolutely magnificent.”

His eyes were a disarming light gray, the shadows within them swirling slowly, but I forced myself not to acknowledge that.