Page 77 of Rebellious Royals

There was no conjuration planned. I was reacting too instinctively for that. Instead, I relied on what I was rather than who, and I was the monster every fae feared.

My wings snapped out and I lunged toward the idiot with a blade, a single flap propelling me. "Wilder, stay back!" I ordered as my hands found the man who'd been about to stab myboyfriend. I felt his skin break when my thumb pierced his arm, yet my eyes were already jumping around the room.

"Eyes!" Wilder warned a split second before the lights magically came on.

Then the doors iced over. This time, it smelled right. That was the clean scent I expected in here, which meant Wilder was locking these fools in with me. The man I was holding tried to pull away, and I was completely fucking naked, but right now, none of that mattered.

I just wanted to make them pay.

My mother had worked hard to teach me tothink. She'd struggled to make me fit into the sidhe society, but it was merely a mask. I may have been raised to be a person, but deep down, I really was the monster they accused me of.

"You thought you could come afterhim?" I asked, slinging the attacker towards the bed without letting go.

I wanted to rip his arm off. I longed for the bloodshed, but I needed to keep my hold attached to the threat. The knowledge wasn't even truly conscious. I just felt that I couldn't pull him apart, but the urge was growing as the fool snapped out at the end of my arm, but then I pulled him back, preventing him from doing more than whimpering as he was whipped around. Then, and only then, did I pull at his magic.

I drained that fucker as hard as I could. I wanted more than his magic. I wanted his life as well. Maybe the sidhe relied on planned use of their magic, but we wildlings were made from it. We were designed to survive in a world of impossible things, so we had to be even more impossible.

Behind me, my rust-colored wings were spread wide as a shield. One of the intruders stared at them in something like horror. The other was trying to break the ice on the bathroom door so he could get out. Panic was taking over. They knew they'd picked the wrong target this time.

Three of them; two of us.

Yeah, they were fucked, and the guy I was draining was weakening fast. I could feel his body weakening, and my eyes had narrowed, making every movement in the room stand out even more. I could see their chests rising as these idiots panted in fear. It excited me in a way I couldn't explain. Not sexually. No, this was more primal: I wanted tohuntthem.

Then Wilder said, "Don't kill them, babe!"

I immediately dropped the carcass I was holding, letting him slide off my talon. "What? Why not?!"

"I can't interrogate them if they're dead," he hissed.

Yet in the few seconds I'd turned to talk to my lover, the other two men had become brave. The first, the guy shocked by my wings, rushed in. I heard him, so I spun, using one of those wings to fling him across the room like a battering ram.

Our dorms weren't small, but they weren't big enough to get a good throw either. The guy bounced off the wall, hit the ground, and then began scrambling up to his feet, dazed. The other? Guy number two came at me, conjuring an ice blade while he moved.

His first swing made it clear he knew how to use it. I felt the cold slice across my shoulder and was shocked enough to miss grabbing him. The asshole jumped back, barely dodging my hand, but he was watching my thumbs as if aware those were the weapons he should be scared of.

"Wilder, secure the fucker I drained," I snapped as I rushed the fighter with the ice blade.

"This is proof the Winter Court has been corrupted!" the fool screamed. "Monsters! You have no place here."

"Hawke, your back!" Wilder warned.

I turned to grab the guy I'd flung with my wing, but the other tried to rush in, using my distraction to his advantage. I jerked back, getting neither.

Fuck, they'd cornered me. These two were placed just right so I couldn't fight them both! I needed to back up and turn, forcing them both to be in front of me, but this room wasn't big enough.

So I feinted, loving the way they both flinched when I took a step closer. My eyes were jumping between them, hoping for someone to give me an opening. Behind me, I could hear Wilder moving, likely making sure the asshole on the floor couldn't join in. Sadly, we were at a stalemate.

Then something dark rose from the floor. Two circles appeared at the top even before the pool of darkness formed into a solid silhouette. Then the crack of a terrifying smile began to spread.

"Shadow!" Wilder gasped, clearly seeing it too. "Don't kill them? We need to find out what they know."

Shadow just pointed at the door.

Fuck if I knew what that meant, but the ice blade guy was rushing me again. I had no clue if Shadow could hold off the other one, but I couldn't risk them getting near Wilder. If they wanted him, they'd have to come through me.

I snatched at the man before me, needing to get my talons into his skin. Flashes of pale light on the walls proved Wilder was engaged, likely helping Shadow with the other. Something crashed in the vicinity of the table at the back of the room, and I'd had enough of this. Fuck trying to spare them.

"He," I snarled, narrowing my eyes on my prey. "Is." I waited for him to look at me. I just needed to see his eyes. Just one glance would do it. "Mine!"