Page 33

EMBER

M elodina’s scent was faint, yet present, as I combed the palace corridors.

It wasn’t hard to seem like a concubine that was simply enjoying a leisurely stroll. After all, the other concubines regularly walked the palace and the gardens outside. I kept a vacant look to my eye and didn’t focus on any one thing for too long so as to appear nonchalant. Harmless.

Four days had passed, and I filled my days with trying to pinpoint my daughter’s exact location by day and skirting the king’s advances by night.

Melodina’s scent was smothered by many others—the many fae and the foreign earthy scents of the summer land.

I found it harder to find her exact location.

Anxiety clawed at my throat as I realized I was no closer to rescuing my daughter.

Every night, when I was alone after the king had fallen asleep due to the potion, I contacted Drake.

Using the mating bond, I imagined opening the door to my mind and letting Drake walk in.

His voice flooded my mind soon after. I kept him updated on my search, and he provided words of encouragement that fueled me with renewed hope each day .

I passed a narrowed corridor leading to a spiraling staircase in the back. At least ten guards heavily guarded the passage. Then, a strong burst of vanilla and rain entered my nostrils.

Melodina!

I whirled and looked at the entrance to the corridor. She was in there! I felt for her spirit, reaching out through the maternal bond I shared with her. Terror sank its icy talons into my heart.

Melodina’s spirit is fading…

My inner wolf threw back her head and let out an anguished howl.

I forced myself to turn away from the corridor to keep walking.

Every step I took away from my daughter shredded my insides.

But I couldn’t stay, couldn’t take on all of those guards, grab Melodina, and hope to make it out of this palace alive. I had to devise a plan.

I made it to the gardens before I sank to my knees on a bed of grass by a small fountain. Tears spilled down my cheeks in rivulets.

Drake, I cried through the mating bond.

I felt the bond ripple, a response coming down the other end.

What’s wrong? Drake asked, his thoughts laced with worry.

It’s Melodina. I found her Drake. I pressed a hand to my mouth to stifle my cries. They’re doing something to her—her spirit is fading; she’s dying!

I felt rage simmer along the cord of the bond. Like a raging fire, its heat funneled into me and streamed through my blood. I grit my teeth as the wave of anger became my own. Righteous fury over my daughter being harmed.

I’ll kill every last one of them—anyone who touches my daughter !

Then, I felt Drake: his soothing touch, a caress along the bond.

I know you will. His thoughts touched my mind. And I know you will save our daughter. But right now, you cannot cry. You cannot give any of the summer fae room to question why you’re there. You have to stay strong for our daughter.

I sniffled and swiped at my tears with the back of my hands. You’re right. I will be strong. Thank you, Drake.

I’m here whenever you need me, Drake responded. Just be careful…please.

My cheeks warmed at the note of concern I heard in his voice. A smile curved my lips. I will be, I reassured him.

Another caress through the bond. Then he was gone.

I sat on my bed that night, wracking my brain for ideas on how to escape with my daughter when the door to my quarters opened.

I lifted my gaze. The summer king had entered, a benevolent smile gracing his lips. I pushed off the bed and dipped into a curtsy.

“Hello, You’re Majesty,” I said sweetly.

“Hello, Emeri,” the king replied.

I straightened and made my way to the wine that I had already called for ahead of time. The female servants had brought in the red wine bottle and two glasses on a tray. I had already poured the wine and put a few drops of the potion into one of the glasses .

Picking up the glass, I returned to the king’s side and offered him the drink, a coy smile on my lips, my eyes half-lidded. The king dipped his head in thanks and took the drink. I stood back and waited, as I did every night, for him to drink the sedative potion.

He walked over to the nightstand beside the bed and set the wine glass down without drinking so much as a drop.

Cold dread speared my gut.

The king turned around, his smile turning wicked. “Surprised?”

All the moisture fled my mouth. My throat closed off. I couldn’t draw in a full breath.

The king prowled toward me like a dark panther.

I backed up, my legs numb with fear. The back of my knees hit the bed, and I crumpled onto the mattress.

The king pounced. He leaned over me, his thighs bracketing my legs, his arms encircling my wrists.

I tried to rip my hands free, but his hold was like an iron manacle.

I bucked my hips to throw him off, but his heavier weight sank onto me like a stone boulder—unmovable.

“I realized after the second night I fell asleep before touching you that you must’ve done something to me,” the king said, his tone that of nonchalance—easy.

I glared up at him. “Then I thought back. Every time I visited you, I had a drink.” His grin broadened—a flash of teeth.

“So the pretty little female must’ve spiked my drink with a potion. ”

My eyes snapped wide, and I knew at that moment I was played.

I called upon my inner wolf to feel the flare of pain and ecstasy from the shift. Yet it didn’t come. I looked up at the summer king. A bright aura haloed his body. I followed where the halo seeped from his arms into mine, forming an amber silhouette around my form. His power was blocking my wolf.

The summer fae king cocked his head. “So you’re a werewolf, wearing a summer fae form…,” he murmured. His eyes narrowed. “How…interesting.”

He switched my wrists into one hand and tightened his grip.

The summer king trailed his fingers over my bare thigh using his free hand.

He dropped his head, delivering a heated kiss to the hollow of my throat.

I writhed beneath him, trying to break his hold, but his grip only tightened, sending a sharp pain biting into my wrists.

I hissed at the pain. Tears pricked my lashes as he trailed kisses further down my neck, his tongue flicking along my collarbone.

His hand inched up higher, sliding under the short hem of my nightgown.

Oh stars…he’s going to rape me! I thought in horror.

Gritting my teeth, I screamed for Drake through the mating bond.

Help me, Drake! I poured every emotion and feeling into my cry for help. It blasted down the cord, thrumming with intensity.

I knew the instant Drake heard my call. The room rippled with power.

The summer king felt it, too, for he stilled above me.

Then a burst of dark shadows slammed into the king’s side, tossing him off me and across the room.

He hit the wall hard before collapsing onto the floor; I scrambled to sit upright.

Drake stood in the middle of the room. His hair whipped about his shoulders, amethyst eyes blazing with fury. Dark flames haloed his body, sparking and crackling in the air around him. His power thundered like a tempest, unleashed upon the world.

The summer king sprang to his feet. Snarling, he shot a bolt of pure energy out of his palm.

The lightning bolt crackled and beamed across the room, straight toward Drake.

Drake threw out his own power, a beam of dark energy shooting outward to meet the lightning.

Both collided with a force that shook the very walls.

I dropped to the floor as light and dark exploded in the middle of the room with a deafening roar.

The summer fae leaped across the bed and threw himself at Drake.

Spinning around, Drake delivered a vicious kick to the summer fae king’s midsection.

The summer king stumbled back a few steps before he retaliated.

He launched into the air flipping over to land a kick across Drake’s head.

Drake threw up his arm, countering the blow.

Both males spun into a series of punches and kicks.

The door to the quarters flew open, Guards streaming inside the room, unsheathing their swords at their hips.

I lunged at the closest guard, catching him across the chest with my claws.

I dropped low, avoiding the slash of a sword as I kicked the second guard’s feet from under him.

I whirled in time to see Drake blast the summer fae with another burst of dark power that sent him careening into the bedpost with a crack.

Drake raced to my side, sending the guards backward with a wave of dark energy.

He trapped my hand, and the world spun. I blinked rapidly as the weightless feeling dissipated, and the world righted itself.

We stood outside the palace gates, along the main road leading away from the grounds.

Drake grabbed my wrist and began running down the road .

“Drake,” I cried. “We have to go back. We have to save our daughter.”

“I’m not staying there if it means putting you at risk,” Drake snarled.

I ripped my wrist from his grasp, halting in the road. Drake stopped and whirled on me.

“So you’ll sacrifice our daughter?” I cried in disbelief. Tears pooled in my eyes as I stared up at him.

Drake peered into my eyes, and I could read the swirl of emotions that roiled within him. Fear for me. Anger. Frustration.

“Please, Drake,” I said. I grasped his hand. “We have to go back. I can’t lose her.” I swallowed. “And neither can you.”

“Stars-dammit,” Drake hissed. He raked a hand through his locks. “Stay close to me. No matter what,” he growled.

I nodded. “I will.”

Drake stared at me and gave a hard nod. He wrapped his arm around my waist, and we winked out of existence, traveling through time and dimension till we materialized in a large room. My knees grew weak from the teleport, but Drake helped right me.