Page 70 of A Fate of Ice and Lies (Fated #1)

The sides of his eyes crinkled in amusement. It was enough to give me hope that Eiran was right, and I’d be able to bring him back if he were to submit entirely to his primal instincts. Still, I didn’t like that he’d have to sacrifice who he was to save my realm.

“Throw around some bones and make them urinate themselves.” He winked. “Are there any other orders my lady has for me?”

Come back to me. Always, always come back to me.

I was certain he saw the words on my expression when he brushed his lips across my temple and whispered always .

As I watched him stalk to the center, both bags in his clenched hands, Brenton sidled beside me with Everly and George standing on my other side.

“Want to take bets on how long it’ll take until someone pisses themselves again?” This from Everly, who months ago would’ve balked at such a crude word.

I smiled, wanting the people gathered to see it. To know if they were part of the plan to break me, break us, they hadn’t succeeded. If anything, they’d brought my group of human and fae friends closer so that I’d gained a family.

“Five minutes, tops,” I answered.

“I say three,” she replied.

Brenton tugged on my hair, mouthing the word behave before we turned our attention to Elias.

Suddenly, a ruthless power surged from Elias.

It emanated from every fiber of who he was although nothing about Elias had physically changed.

It was in him—an instinctual power that lived beneath the surface of his skin.

It was both ruthless and dominating. A shiver ran down my spine as my heart spiked.

This was Elias, fae heir to the throne of Niev, whose power called others into submission.

Elias dug through the first bag, and when he pulled out a skull, he held it in his palm.

The butchered skull still had remnants of blood and flesh on it.

Although I was sure baring it for all to see had the intended effect, I barely noticed anyone’s reaction—my attention solely on that magnificent male whose power seemed to thrum through his veins to mine.

He stalked the circle of people who surrounded him.

Seemed to make eye contact with every person in attendance.

His fangs lengthened, and he took his time running his tongue over his teeth.

When he spoke, his words came out calm.

“Yesterday,” he said slowly, drawing out that single word, “there was an attack on my family. On my Guardian, on my mate”—his smile was equal parts beautiful and cruel—“and on my best friends. To think you could kill or hurt a dragon with your guns. . .” With a dark chuckle, he shook his head.

“Whoever this was”—he angled the skull to face him—“learned what happens when you anger a dragon. As did his companions.” He kicked one of the bags so that it fell on its side, spilling several other bones out.

“What angers me, though . . .” He paused, clenching the skull harder in his hand until a thick crack appeared.

“What angers me isn’t that you came after my dragon or me.

Like other dragons, Nalari doesn’t simply have magic, but is magic.

” As if the skull meant nothing to him, he let it drop from his hand and didn’t bother watching it sink into the snow.

“What angers me is that there were children in Teddy’s home when someone thought to make it explode.

What angers me is that someone hates us, those who have ensured your survival, enough to try to kill us.

” He kicked the other bag, and two more bloodied skulls rolled out of it.

“You will find we are hard to kill.” He strode closer to the crowd, his mighty legs eating the distance between them.

“You’ll find us hard in forgiving this transgression.

I have been lenient with the people of my region.

Merciful, even.” A few steps separated him from the crowd now.

He tilted his head back, and with his eyes narrowed, he took in a deep inhale.

“I find I like the scent of your fear.” He licked his lips. “The taste of it.”

He took another menacing step forward and grabbed a man who stared at Elias through hateful eyes.

With his arm, Elias encircled the man’s neck and gripped him in a vise-like hold, putting the man’s back flush against Elias’s wide chest. George stepped toward them and angled the man’s head to the side so that his neck was bared for Elias.

My mate ran his fangs across the man’s throat, and I couldn’t stop the ridiculous jealousy that flared deep in my belly.

When Elias’s eyes met mine, I could’ve sworn a promise swam behind those black eyes.

I jutted out my chin in challenge. His grin built slowly, but he kept an edge of savagery to it.

“I wonder,” Elias said, keeping his face close to the man’s neck, “were you part of the group who came to harm us yesterday?”

The man’s throat bobbed in reply.

Elias threw him to the ground, close to where the bones and skulls had fallen. Elias squatted beside him, lifting another skull in his hand. He shifted it around his hand, seeming to examine it.

“You don’t have to reply now,” Elias continued.

“We have other ways of making you talk.” He let the skull drop when he stood, but when the man went to stand back up, Elias kicked his shoulder, forcing him to stay down.

“If you are missing someone in your family as of yesterday, you are welcome to look through these remains to see if they seem familiar.” His taunting smile held no sympathy.

“There are also four bodies in the woods behind the remnants of Teddy’s home unless the hydras got to them.

” He shrugged. “Unless Donnie gives you permission to search Teddy’s property, you will not go near her home.

” He paused to look at the hushed crowd.

“Those who sought to harm us didn’t just destroy our homes but also the livestock and vegetation I use to feed you.

I hope whatever satisfaction they prized was worth the risk of starving everyone in this region.

Our food supply is down to scraps. We have nothing but the vegetations the farmers tend to.

We have nothing of worth to trade with other regions. ”

Those words, the threat of us starving, seemed to break whatever stupor the people were in.

“What do we do if we know who else was responsible?” a woman about my age asked. “Or if we hear plans of another attack?”

I jolted, staring at these people who now seemed more foreign to me than the fae from a different realm.

“Speak to Donnie,” Elias said, his tone gentler before he hardened it again.

“Teddy, Brenton, Everly, George, and I will be leaving for a few days. Commander Hudson will return with Everly and George. Acting as adults and not petulant children is in your best interest. I will not be here to stop the commander from punishing you, and if I’m being honest, if it came down to it, I may very well be the one wanting to use a whip against you.

” He stared down at the man still kneeling on the ground and smiled.

“While I’m away, Donnie and two fae of George’s choosing will be in charge. What they say is law.”

With that, he turned away, kicking the first bag enough so the rest of the bones fell out.

While everyone stayed, watching Elias silently as if they were afraid to draw his attention, I went up to him, where he stood next to Donnie while George stayed close to the man still on the ground.

While he kept his attention on the man, he wrapped me in his arms.

“Did your super-fae senses pick up any smell of urine?” I asked.

Donnie drew his brows together while Elias chuckled darkly.

“I can keep toying with them until someone does,” he offered.

I kissed his chest in reply and ran a finger over the arm that held me. All while keeping my attention on his eyes to watch them when they finally started lightening in color.

“Nalari said he knows something.” Elias jutted his chin toward the man.

Donnie nodded toward one of his men, who handcuffed him and guided him away with George close behind.

“Have George tell you which two fae to use,” Elias continued. “I’d like the fae to learn how you handle this situation. If he doesn’t talk, then the fae will teach you how we do things in our realm. Either way, I want answers by the time we come back.”

Donnie nodded.

“Does that mean we finally get to go to your world?” I asked, not trying to hide my excitement.

When he pulled down my beanie, I poked him in his side.

I laughed when he jumped, shooting an annoyed glare my way, which wasn’t all that annoyed when his eyes slowly started to lighten.

That raw power that quavered beneath his skin seemed to lessen as he reeled it back in until it vanished entirely.

There, staring back at me with his dimples on display, was the man who owned my heart.

Having already said bye to my friends and the kids, I tucked my hand in Elias’s as he walked us to the tear he’d created inside the food bank. To where it all began.