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They are the same eyes I stared into yesterday.

He runs his hands through his hair, taming his wild mane. This man’s not bestial, not like Karnon. He’s cultivated. His eyes are focused, shrewd.

Interest sparks in his gaze. “Beautiful slave. We meet again.”

This … is not the same person I was speaking to a moment ago. I’m used to having two aspects of myself, so I know the signs fairly well.

The way Karnon is now studying me, his expression piqued—and hungry—makes me worried. The Karnon I met earlier was crazy, unpredictable, feral, but he didn’t seem evil. Not like he does now.

I begin to back up. In response, the fae king prowls forward. This man is brutal, violent, unforgiving. He’s the kind of man who takes and takes and takes.

He closes the distance between us, wrapping his hand around my wrist. Karnon’s palm moves over my bracelet. “What is this?” He fingers the beads. “You are not to wear anything but what I give you.” As he speaks, his fingers curl around the bracelet. He yanks hard on it, and I let out a small sound as the beads dig into me. But it doesn’t break.

Frowning, he tries again. Again, my charmed jewelry holds fast. I’d enjoy his frustration if my arm wasn’t getting flayed in the process.

“What is this magic?” he growls, peering closer at the beads. All at once he jerks his head back. “The Bastard of Arestys,” he snarls, releasing my hand. “Guards!”

They enter the room.

“Why was I not informed that she wears Desmond’s magic?”

They look at each other, obviously confused. As if they would know. These guards are obviously just muscle.

“Your M-Majesty,” one of them stutters, “we weren’t aware—”

Karnon takes a menacing step forward. “Not aware?” he says. “Are you blind?”

He waits for response.

The guards shake their heads.

As the three speak, I begin to edge towards the door. My heart pounds faster and faster. This might be my one opportunity to escape.

“You brought foreign magic in here,” Karnon says. “It can be traced.”

Traced?

“Your Majesty, we had no involvement—”

But the Fauna King is done listening.

Karnon roars, slashing a clawed hand through the air. Several feet away the guards scream as each of their stomachs rip open in four long, jagged lines.Claw marks. Karnon did that with his magic.

Almost immediately blood and innards spill out from their guts.

Not wasting another second, I bolt for the door.

I never make it out.

Karnon grabs me from behind, his claws slicing into my skin as he spins me around. “We’re not done,” He whispers into my ear. He grasps my jaw, squeezing it to the point of pain. And then he breathes into me once more.

Chapter 27

I’m dying, mybody rotting from the inside out.

I think a day or two has gone by since my last visit with Karnon, but I can’t be sure. All I know is that my life consists of shivering, sickening, and sleeping.

The guard I’ve dubbed Lion Tail walks by my cell every so often, banging on the iron bars with his gloved hands, taunting me. I weakly manage to flip him off, but I have no idea whether flashing someone the bird is even offensive in the Otherworld. All I know is that Lion Tail didn’t freak out at the sight like I hoped he might.