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“Language,” Niall tsked.

“What are you saying?” Arianna asked even as she already knew.

Niall smiled again, a cruel, vicious upturning of his lips. “Did you really think the High Lord of Fiadh came up with such an elaborate plan? That boorish male can’t do much more than murder his own people. It’s a shame, really. So much strength and potential wasted.”

Grief settled over her heart. How many times was she going to hear a different story about her mother’s death?

“I can’t take all the credit, I suppose. My father was the one who gave the order.”

“What does your father have to do with it?” Talon asked. What had Avalon been close to discovering, she wanted to add. But she couldn’t move. Here she was, finally staring at the male who’d ordered her mother’s murder. Or one of the males, at least. And she’d frozen in place.

Niall shrugged. “He has his own plans and doesn’t feel the need to share them with his son.” He tapped his nose. “Makes it easier to lie when you don’t know the full story, but between us, I think he likes to play games a little too much.”

“Says the male willing to imprison an innocent female for decades,” Ellie said.

“Innocent?” Niall raised his brows. “Have you not been told the brutal histories of The Lady of Brónach?” He stopped himself. “No, I guess you wouldn’t know them. I believe those stories were among the many things deleted from history.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It’s hard to keep track of everything these days. I can’t fathom how my father manages it.” He eyed Rion again. “Even The Demon doesn’t understand the role he has played in shaping my father’s idealistic future.”

Arianna’s face paled at that. He said “played” as if they were all nothing more than pawns on a chessboard waiting to be sacrificed.

Niall cleared his throat. “It seems we’ve gotten off track a bit. You’ll know more soon enough. But it’s time for you to make a decision.”

He crossed the space and only paused once to glance at Raevina, who was struggling against her restraints despite the blade at her throat. Talon didn’t move, but the guards charged them. Niall flicked one hand and the four fell to their knees, clutching their throats as if trying to pry away invisible hands. They gasped for air and their magic died back.

Arianna didn’t back away when Niall stopped directly in front of her. Ellie’s eyes didn’t leave the male.

“You are going to come upstairs with me.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “You’re going to lie naked in my bed and I’m going to take what belongs to me.” She shivered. “Afterward, we’ll set a date for our official marriage ceremony and march across the continent. You will declare me as your mate, husband, and the King of Alastríona.” She clenched her teeth. “And once you’ve produced a male heir, we will talk about the living conditions of your companions. Should they prove themselves compliant, then perhaps I’ll even allow them to roam the manor in chains.”

Bile rose in Arianna’s throat at the mere thought of Niall’s hands anywhere near her body. “And I’m just supposed to trust you to keep your word?”

He stepped over the ice at her feet and glided his hand beneath her chin. “Do you scent a lie?”

Arianna tried not to pull away. “And your father?”

He smirked. “Getting smart to our ways, aren’t you? Yes, he’ll let them live.” Niall’s gaze drifted toward Rion. “Though I can’t make any promises on that one’s condition. My father harbors a particularly nasty grudge toward his kind.”

What did that mean? Niall leaned closer still and his windswept scent washed over and through her. “Well?”

Arianna met his gaze without flinching. She squeezed her mate’s hand and studied his stiff shoulders and locked jaw. Then she looked at Talon who stared between Arianna and Raevina, his anger rising at how Niall had rendered him useless. Arianna met her little sister’s gaze; she looked ready to leap in front of the arrows directed at Rion. Then her eyes locked with Raevina’s. The female smiled.

“I want your word that no harm will come to any of them.”

Niall’s voice lowered and his eyes darkened with fantasies Arianna wanted no part of. “You have it.” His lips were so close they brushed hers when he spoke. “All you have—”

Arianna plunged an iron blade into his gut, twisted, and shoved him so hard that they both toppled to the ground. Niall roared and Arianna heard the unmistakable twang of arrows as they loosened from their bows.

Talon’s and Ellie’s magic ripped from the air and the arrows bounced off their combined ice as it rose and domed to encase them in a protective shell.

Niall slammed his palm into the bottom of her chin, but Arianna buried another iron blade in his gut. She pushed it so deep she couldn’t grasp the hilt anymore from all the blood coating it. Arianna grabbed his tunic and her magic broke free, covering his torso in a thick layer of ice and sealing off the wound.

Niall cursed and his long fingers wrapped around her throat. He slammed her head into the hard marble floor and stars shot through her vision. Arianna kneed him in the groin and the male gasped for air. She bucked her hips and rolled him so she sat on top, then Ellie clamped a shackle around one of his wrists.

Niall didn’t stop fighting. He sank his fangs into Arianna’ forearm, then the ground itself seemed to shake as Rion’s magic billowed around them all. It clamped around Niall’s arms, legs, and throat and squeezed until Niall released his hold. Arianna scrambled off him, her chest heaving.

Rion moved so fast she barely had time to watch him yank Niall to his feet only to slam the male to the ground again. Then Rion leapt and punched Niall right in the face.

Again and again and again, Rion’s fists came down. Blood sprayed and it felt as though everything around her had stopped. All eyes watched that rhythmic pounding and Arianna found that for once she didn’t want to stop her mate. Let him kill Niall, let the world be rid of the filth.

Rion paused with a fist drawn back, his chest still heaving as he observed the bloody face pinned beneath his body. Niall coughed, spluttering blood, then he began laughing. A crazed sound that sent chills racing through Arianna’s body.