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Her brows lower into a thunderous frown. “Lock,” she mutters. “My overprotective fur-between-the-ears mate. Thinks he’s protecting me.”
“From what?” I have to imagine if she’s ‘de-throated’ someone before, a frail human would be no match for her.
“Probably from getting blood all over myself when I kill him.” She motions to the guard. “Open the door.”
His eyes widen in alarm and he hesitates.
“Are you really going to kill him?” I ask Sarina.
She nods. “Yup. He gave the order for my best friend to be tortured. I thought he died when all those witches were released from the Pendle asylum, but I guess he managed to escape.”
“Your Majesty, I can’t allow you to kill this prisoner,” the guard says respectfully.
She turns to him with a growl that has the hair standing up on my arms. “You are refusing to allow me to avenge my dear friend, Magdalene?”
He pales and takes a step back, which would be laughable given he’s much larger than his Queen, but the tension now filling the dungeon is not remotely amusing.
Thinking fast, I ask Sarina, “Do you think Magdalene would want this man to die?” I don’t know Magdalene, but I’m hoping she isn’t quite as bloodthirsty.
Sarina’s head tilts and her brows wrinkle. A moment later, she answers seriously, “It depends on her mood. She was really cranky after Rush was killed and she did murder several humans that day. But she has since calmed down and I suppose she probably wouldn’t want him to die.” She lets out a ferocious growl and hits the door with her fist. “Which is why I should do it for her.”
Desperately, I turn to the guard. “Why is he being kept here?”
“We need him alive,” he says quickly. “He has information about a network of anti-shifter humans and their magical allies.”
Gripping Sarina’s arm, I pull her away from the door hoping I don’t lose a hand. “You see? They need him alive. Maybe when they’re done with him, they’ll let you de-throat him.”
She brightens and stops resisting me. “You think so?”
“Does your husband often deny your requests?”
“Almost never,” she says seriously.
“Then you have nothing to worry about. Where to next?”
As we ascend to the main floor of the castle, she gives my question some thought. “I haven’t shown you the gardens yet. I had them installed so I can feel closer to nature when the castle starts getting to me. Let’s go collect the children and take them with us.”
I stop and turn towards her. “The children?”
Sarina smiles softly. “Twins. Their names are Ebony and Winter.”
After the children join us, we head towards the gardens, which are nothing less than spectacular. They sprawl over several acres of wooded land behind the castle. As we enter, the trees seem to close around us, welcoming us to the royal sanctuary. The city noise dies away and we’re enveloped by nature, exactly as Sarina described it.
“Come, there’s a small lake at the center,” she says, her wolf children running ahead of us, nipping at each other and tumbling in the brush as they play.
“You built an entire lake?” I ask incredulously.
A soft smile curves her lips. “Lock had it added because it reminds me of where I used to live.”
We wind our way through the trees, stopping when we emerge into a brightly lit glen next to a beach. The lake isn’t large but it’s private and the clear sparkling blue of the water is inviting.
So inviting, one of the pups takes off in a furry blur, cannon balling into the lake and splashing everyone. Not to be outdone, the other chases after and they continue their game of rough and tumble in the water.
“Your children are beautiful,” I tell Sarina.
She pulls her cloak from my shoulders and spreads it out on the sand. As we sit, she says, “I love them so much, but they are definitely a handful. I tried to do it all myself, but eventually had to hire a nanny. It was that or drown one of them.”
I laugh. “I’m glad you chose the nanny.”
