I froze with only my eyes still functioning. When my eyeballs swiveled to the left, I saw Maverick caught between male and animal, limbs locked in painful positions.
A mid-shift freeze was fucking dangerous. Unless the mage deactivated the spell soon, Maverick would end up permanently stuck that way: part bear, part male.
“Do something, you asshole,” I yelled in my head, hoping the storm mage could hear my mental message. Fuck, if a demon attacked now, we were toast. Not only was I frozen, but my magic was too.
Someone shoved me from behind. My knees hit the pavement with a painful thud. Knowing my luck, the puddle soaking through my pants was piss, not water.
I hoped the mage had a damn good protection charm; I planned to flay him alive the moment this spell faded.
The storm mage with a death wish circled Maverick and me, staring at us, his expression blank. Every few seconds, his left eye twitched and he kept rubbing his temples, grimacing in pain.
The closer he got, the more I noticed the reek of dark magic clinging to the bastard, like radioactive ash in a nuclear fallout zone.
Had the asshole embraced the dark side? He wouldn’t be the first magical being to fall prey to the seductive allure of tainted magic.
Rumors had long circulated about Tiberius Vane’s experiments with dark magic.
Unable to curse the storm mage, all I could do was glare at the traitorous bastard and promise myself that, when I recovered, I’d hunt him down and slice him into a million and one pieces. After flaying him alive. Hell, I might even make him eat his severed cock first.
For fun.
“Let’s get the witch out of here,” the storm mage told one of the pathetic specimens behind me.
Fear wasn’t an emotion I was familiar with, but knowing Alaric had Raven while I was powerless to help her sent white-hot spasms of terror through my veins. If anything happened to my mate, the mini-series about my father’s infamous massacre would no longer be the most streamed true-crime documentary on Magiflix.
Alaric sneered at me one last time before kicking me in the head. Pain burst brighter than a comet. Before the darkness stole me, I silently promised myself he’d pay the ultimate price for his betrayal.
5
Kai
Acold, wet nose nudged my foot, jerking me awake. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep down here, but exhaustion pulled me under the moment I closed my eyes. I’d barely slept the last few nights. A sense of something bad coming permeated my dreams, most of which involved the sea witch pinning me to the floor of the cave while she forced a potion down my throat.
The rational part of my brain knew the bitch was dead, killed by my vengeful mate, but the scared little boy locked inside me still feared her return.
I hated that my inner child wasn’t brave. A mer prince was supposed to be fearless, willing to lead his soldiers into battle at a moment’s notice.
Not afraid of the dark or happier reading books than sparring in the fighting caves.
I’d often wondered why my parents didn’t try for another child. One better suited to the life of a prince. My inability to live up tomy mother’s impossible standards had proved a source of endless disappointment.
“Raven fed you before they left,” I told the pig, but it snorted and squealed in protest. “No, I’m not falling for that again.” Fig was highly manipulative. I strongly suspected the incubus had kidnapped it from someone who’d pampered the spoiled creature its entire life.
No pig I’d ever come across before expected to be hand fed and coddled like a baby. Was it any wonder the kitsune resented its presence?
I gently shoved the pig away with my foot. According to the clock, midnight was in less than an hour. My witch and her other mates would be back soon. At least I hoped so.
While the pig grunted unhappily, I yawned and dragged myself off the lumpy couch.
“You can have some carrots,” I told Fig with a sigh. Zane said the pig liked meat, but I refused to touch meat. If the pig didn’t like vegetables, it could wait for someone else to pander to its relentless demands.
Fig bumped my leg and trotted off toward the kitchen.
I moved to follow, but before I could take a step, a vision hit me, sending me tumbling to the floor as images cascaded through my mind.
A brightly lit room with white walls.
My mate strapped to a metal table.
