Page 5

5

Malice

“I beg your finest pardon?”

At Dagny’s stunned whisper, I bring a clawed finger to my lips, telling her to hush. They’re listening. Speak to me through the bond.

Dagny shakes her head, her eyes glossing over as her voice enters my mind. It’s quiet and soft and soothing, and it eases some of the tension between my shoulder blades. Out of all the things I thought you were going to say…

I shuffle closer, taking her hand in mine despite the obvious risks. Instead of rage, a pleasant rush of satisfaction vibrates down the bond, intensifying as I rub my thumb along the back of her hand.

Wildfire… I know you don’t trust me now—that you probably never will again after what I did—but you need to listen carefully, and you need to pay attention to what I’m about to say, because I only have time to once, and all of our lives are over if you refuse.

Again, her head moves side to side, causing greasy dark strands of hair to fall over her eyes. What the fuck is going on?

Though the words aren't for me, they ring out clear as day, filled with a desperation that makes my chest ache. I slide my palm up her arm, over the crest of her delicate neck, stopping to cup her cheek in the gentlest embrace I can manage. You’ll understand soon, little one. I promise.

That anger from earlier enters her gaze in full force. And what good are your promises to me? Just fucking tell me why you want me to bond with Fenryr and how that’s supposed to help us escape and then go away .

I sigh, retracting my hand and allowing it to fall limply at my side. It will take time to explain.

I’m not going anywhere. Dagny raises her arm with a wince, rustling the chains on her wrists to showcase her words. Start talking.

I run a clawed hand over my face, fighting off the desire to pin her to the wall and do the things I really want to instead of talking.

What I said about Zairn earlier is true—he will not tell Slaine about what he saw in you, or what he knows of your heritage—but that does not matter. Slaine is already beginning to suspect you might be a halfling, and before long, he’ll try to kill you, and then me, I say, my voice coming out a lot stronger than I feel.

Why you ? Dagny demands, her tone skeptical. You’re his loyal little minion. Surely, he wouldn’t harm you .

I bristle at the insinuation, but I can’t show my hand too early. She has to be kept in the dark somewhat for any of this to work. So instead of telling her the whole truth, I opt for a part of it.

Why? Because if he so much as laid a finger on you, I would be forced to burn his kingdom to ash. Those types of actions tend to get people killed.

She frowns as the bond flares to life, attempting to pull us together. But I have to resist—Dagny doesn’t want me to go near her right now, let alone touch her—despite what the thrum of emotions down the bond would have me believe.

If you can burn this whole place to the ground, why not do it? Or at least, use some of your spooky magic to get us out of these chains and away from here.

I frown. It’s not that simple .

She rolls her eyes. Of course not—I shouldn’t have asked. For one blissful moment, I forgot how impossible you are.

Heat roils in his veins as a bright red filter falls over my vision. Suddenly, I’m in front of her, my hand wrapped around her neck and body pressing flush against her.

I lean down to her ear, allowing my true voice to rumble out in a dark whisper. “You don’t know the first thing about me, little one. Though I gave you the chance once…” I nip her lobe, a silent chuckle shaking my chest as her lips part with a gasp. “Do you remember what you said to me that day?”

Her breath catches as she leans into my touch, the ring around her iris sparking with a blinding silver light. Unable to form words, she shakes her head as the silver consumes the warm chocolate of her eyes. I brush my lips against hers, the intense thrumming of the bond making it nearly impossible to concentrate.

“I remember,” I whisper, my tone a sinful caress. “ I remember every little thing about you, Dagny. The things you want others to notice, and the things you don’t.” His smile widens. “ Those are my favorite. The dark and wicked nature you hide from the light—from anyone who dares to get too close.”

She shivers as I reach up, fisting a hand in her long black hair. I pull her head to the side, exposing her neck and allowing me to drag my tongue up the base of her throat.

“ You taste devine, ” I growl, jerking my hips and pressing the outline of my hard cock against her center.

Dagny gasps, her eyes fluttering closed as her lips part, full and pink and begging for a kiss. I’m about to steal one when a high-pitched meow breaks out over my shoulder, startling me out of the trance Dagny dragged me under.

Blinking to clear away the fog, I force my hands back to my side and take a step back, the lack of contact causing bolts of agony to strike my heartless chest. I tear my eyes away from the stunning creature before me, my entire body thrumming with agony as I turn them to the far corner of the room.

“Ah. Just in time.” A small smirk tugs at my mouth at the sight of my familiar Nya materializing from the shadows.

Nya’s fluffy black tail is the last to form out of the swirling darkness, swishing side to side as she lazily slinks across the floor, her glowing red eyes trained on Dagny. Just behind, a wolf pup follows, bounding after the small black cat with a dark green tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. Bright emerald eyes latch onto Dagny before widening, the pupils narrowing to pinpoints as the pup freezes mid-step. His rear end plops onto the stone floor, tail swishing in the blood and vomit carelessly as he gazes at the beautiful little halfling with unabashed love and adoration.

This is Echo. I speak into her mind as I gesture to the dark-haired wolf pup. If you couldn’t tell, he’s as enamored with you as I am.

“I see that,” she murmurs, her eyes widening in embarrassment when she realizes she wasn’t speaking through the bond. What’s he doing here?

My smirk widens to a full-fledged grin at her question. I already told you, sweet little thing. It’s time to bond with Fenryr.

Dagny’s gaze is drawn to the space over my shoulder, tethered by that invisible thread—and I know when I look, I’ll find a pair of familiar green eyes gleaming through the dark.

Sure enough, when I turn, Fenryr is awake, his emerald irises trained on Dagny’s swollen pink lips, gleaming with a hunger I know all too well.

Though I've experienced the intense sensations of the bond firsthand, it’s another thing entirely to witness Fenryr enraptured with the possibility of bonding with Dagny. Seeing a creature so possessed and consumed with a mere possibility… defies all logic.

Yet it’s what’s happening.

“ Mine, ” he growls, his tone full of desperation. “My mate. No one else’s.”

I sigh, shaking my head in a show of indifference despite my own bond thrumming rapidly, threatening to send me over the edge. “Yes, yes, I know. Just stay quiet for a moment, would you?”

I watch Echo stand, then bound over to Dagny with twice the intensity as he did with Nya—pulled by that invisible force tying all of our souls together—like it’s the most natural thing in the world. His head knocks against Dagny’s calf, and the pup stumbles back, blinking rapidly as he tries to right himself. Unprompted, Dagny crouches and pulls the wolf into her chest, running her hands over his back and up by his ears, giving him the tender scratches he’s been craving.

While she’s petting him, her eyes find mine, the silver ring around her iris growing with each rapid beat of her pulse. Malice… What's going to happen to me? You know… if I…

Only what you want, I whisper into her mind, crouching in front of her, careful not to touch. Echo will leave if he senses any hesitancy—as the other familiars would have. This is all up to you, Dagny. I can’t force this kind of bond. No one can.

She looks at the wolf pup, a frown creasing her forehead. You can only facilitate it…

Clever thing. As always…

Dagny takes a deep breath as she closes her eyes before offering her hand to Echo. The pup sniffs the back of her hand as Fenryr looks on from the shadows, straining against his chains in a desperate attempt to get to her.

It happens so quickly, I nearly miss it by blinking. One moment, Echo’s coal-colored nose is pressed against her skin, that strange green tongue darting out and licking her palm lovingly. In the next, the wolf pup's razor-sharp teeth are lodged deep into the flesh of her hand, and Dagny’s eyes are glowing with enough brilliance to rival the silver sun.

And on her left hip, just above the crease of her thigh, is a brand new swirling bond mark, beaming with the same light that’s in Fenryr’s eyes. Vicious snarls and howls break out over my shoulder as Fenryr loses control, and I don’t need to look to know his transformation is well underway.

I keep my eyes locked on Dagny, my skin shivering as I attempt to remain calm. Sweat beads across my brow despite the coolness of the dungeon, the veins in my forearms bulging as my canines lengthen, piercing my lower lip and causing blood to flow down my chin. It lands with a delicate plop onto the stone floor, and Dagny whips her head toward me, her eyes like twin fog lights in the night.

“ You, ” she whispers, her voice holding an otherworldly quality that has my spine tensing, freezing my muscles and sucking the air from my lungs. “ You hurt her.”

I try to take a step back, but despite all the power I throw against her hold, it does nothing. What is going on? This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t part of the plan.

One look at her, and it’s clear her demon half has taken over—pushed her consciousness to the furthest corner of her mind in an attempt to protect her. It’s exactly what I wanted to happen that night long ago, when she was attacked by the antethorpe herd outside of Kaebl’s palace—but not now. Not here, not when she’s just bonded with Fenryr.

A wicked smile tugs at Dagny’s lips, showcasing the row of razor-sharp teeth lining her gums. And for all the animalistic energy building within mine and Fenryr’s veins, Dagny looks calmer than ever. Scarily tranquil.

I blink, and her smile is gone, her attention focused on Fenryr and the awful black blood spattering against the walls as he yanks and claws at his restraints.

“ Stop that.”

Her voice fills the room, brimming with enough power to thicken the air. And to my utter surprise, the green-eyed demon obeys. Like a switch was flipped, Fenryr takes a seat on the ground, his muscles taut and attention focused solely on the silver light exploding from Dagny’s outline.

“ Good boy.” That same eerie smile spreads Dagny’s mouth, pulling at her eyes and giving her a deadlier appearance than before. And when she turns her gaze on me, I know I’m a goner.

“ Does the kitten want to show his claws? ” Her smile morphs into a smirk, throwing my earlier taunt back in my face. “ Pity. It seems you no longer have use of them. ”

She blinks, and precious oxygen sails in through my gaping mouth, allowing me to think somewhat coherently again. But it doesn’t matter because, in the next blink, Dagny takes it all away again, showing me just a fraction of her glorious power.

“ Get on your knees.”

Against my will, my body follows her command. My knees slam against the frozen stone as a cruel, high-pitched laugh echoes along the walls. “ Good. Now crawl to me. ”

I lower my palm to the floor, unsure if she’s using her power or if I’m going willingly. My claws slice out of my fingertips, raking against the stone as I slowly crawl to her, pulled by that ethereal thread tying our souls together.

I stop at her feet, and Dagny crouches, formless black smoke billowing at her back, gradually taking on the appearance of feathered wings. She leans forward as far as her chains will allow her, cupping my chin in her small, clawed hand. My head tips back, and the weight of her malicious sneer hits me full force.

Dagny tilts her head as her canines lengthen, her razor-sharp claws scraping the skin of my cheek, leaving tiny red gashes in their wake. “What was it you said to her earlier? Oh, I remember!” Her palm tightens painfully around my jaw as she jerks forward, stopping when our noses barely touch. “You said she can only harm you if you let her. Isn’t that right?”

This time, when she smiles, I have no doubt what emotion is hiding there—it's the same one I see every time I stare into my reflection, the same thread that holds my soul together. Malice.

“ Seems you’re not quite as clever as you think.”

An explosion of power smacks me in the chest, vibrating through my body and turning my bones to dust as I’m propelled backward through the air. I smash into the opposite wall, sending rubble and dust flying from the force of the blast. My skull is the last to impact, echoing throughout the room with a sickening crack as stars swim behind my eyes.

I slump to the floor just as the dungeon door slams open, followed by an unmistakable utterance of rage. Slaine.

“Malice! What have you done ?”