Page 180 of A Bond so Fierce and Fragile

“Lies,” he spat. “Meyah told us they’d try to mess with our heads.”

“It’s not—” Amalise tried to break in, but another swipe of those claws, closer this time, had her gasp as Frelina pulled on her hand to get her out of the way.

“We’ve heard all about your mind-control powers,” the Fae continued, spit flying from his thick lips as he moved again, crowding them against the wall.

Everyone but Kerym, who Pellie couldn’t even get to move an inch now, even as she slapped him, cried at him, and pulled at his hand.

He just… stood there.

“That’s one of the Siphon Twins.” The Fae waved a hand toward Kerym. “Did he take his own energy? He looks dead.”

Frelina’s heart had never beat so hard as when the Fae drove a fist right into Kerym’s face, making Pellie cry even harder, clinging to him and begging him to move. But he still didn’t.

“Kerym!” Frelina screamed as blood formed a trail from his nose over his mouth and down his neck. “Wake up!”

“Shut up!”

Frelina didn’t have time to react as the half-Fae’s hand struck her instead, sending her face slamming into the stone with a crack she prayed wasn’t her skull breaking open.

She tried to blink, but it was pointless as the Fae punched her again, on the other side of her face this time, making her hurtle into Amalise, whose arms flew around her.

Frelina’s head lolled forward, and the blonde’s arms were the only thing holding her up as strange suns began flickering before her eyes.

“Frelina!” Amalise shook her, but it only made it worse, those suns spinning faster until she vomited—apparently to someone’s disgust, as she heard them exclaim “Just fucking kill her!”

“Frelina!” Amalise cried into her ear now. “Look at me!”

She couldn’t open her eyes. It was…

Too heavy…

Too much.

“Do you know who she is?” That half-Fae’s harsh voice was like nails being hammered into her head. “That’s Frelina Rantzier! Didn’t you see her eyes and hair? I shall want to have fun with her before we kill her and nail her to my ship.”

“F-fuck you,” Amalise spat as Frelina felt arms drag her away from her friend. “Leave her a?—”

Something hard hit flesh and bones, and Frelina squinted to see Amalise’s knees colliding with the ground as that claw swiped across her chest, making blood spurt all over the already dark ground.

“Pl… please,” Frelina whimpered as the Fae continued pulling her away from her friends. “K-Kerym,” she cried, but her words were only whispers, too low even for a Fae’s hearing.

Her head was turned away from the group when hands wrapped around her neck, and she didn’t have time to draw another breath before her air supply was cut off.

Red-lined eyes burned into hers, and she would have winced if she could at the vile breath fanning across her face as the half-Fae spat at her, “Do you know what your dear uncle did to us? He had us killed for sport in the streets. He’d chain some of us up until we died in our own filth, on fucking display! Do you know what for? Stealing food from damned trash cans!”

“I…” she tried, but her eyes bulged as the male tightened his grip.

“You carry his fucking name! You and your sister and your uncle and anyone else left with the Rantzier blood are going to die. We’re going to display you like Rioner did us. A fucking example for others, hanging down the gates to his castle.”

She could feel her life draining.

A sense of tiredness, of warmth, wrapped around her as she started choking, and Frelina struggled to keep her eyes open when she realized the male was continuing to speak, but the words were lost on her, his moving mouth only occupying her gaze.

He wasn’t evil, she thought as she began drifting away, her body convulsing under his hard grip.

He was in pain.

Like all the rest of them.