Slowly, I rotated my head to give him the full weight of my stare. “No.”
His jaw twitched. “No?”
“You’ll never charm another human again.” Gently moving Calem’s head out of my lap, I stood and stormed toward him. Rosewood light ruptured from my symbol. Onyx snapped to attention and flanked my side, teeth bared.
Wynn thrust his hand forward, white light sharpening around his fingers. “Stop, Leena.”
My body tightened. Froze. I fought for every twitch of my finger. Ground my teeth and glared at him with all my worth. “You willnotcontrol me again.”
The Council froze. Accusing gazes slipped from me to him.
His charm faltered, and I gained an inch. And another. My muscles protested as I forced them to push beyond his control. To listen to me instead of him.
“Leena.” He used my name as a warning.
“No!” Everything ached. I was a trembling mess, but it was my body to control. Not his. My mind and my thoughts and my feelings. They weremine. He’d done enough. “This ends now.”
Wynn flexed his hand, preparing to command his beast. “We’ll see about that.”
Noc appeared from the shadows behind Wynn. “No, we won’t.”
As he sank a blade into Wynn’s back, a splintering crack split the quiet clearing. Blood shot from Wynn’s mouth on the tail end of a gurgling cry, and Noc twisted the blade deeper. With deadly precision, he extracted it and made a clean swipe across Wynn’s throat.
The whole thing took less than a second.
Noc stared at the decapitated body with enough disgust to send chills down my spine. Turning on his heels, he stormed back to us. Pain shredded his features. Red-rimmed and heavy, his gaze found mine. And then I ran. Right into his open arms and clung to him with everything I had. He’d come for me. All those awful things Wynn had said, the poison that had steeped my mind and manipulated my thoughts, were gone. Noc loved me. And I loved him.
Noc pressed his forehead to mine. “Leena.” So much weight in my name. We had so much to fix. But I knew Noc had fought for me, that he would’ve given his life for me, and I was ready to fight and die for him, too, if that was what it took.
Lips trembling, I placed gentle kisses on his cheeks to catch his tears. “I’m here. I’m sorry. I love you.”
He broke then, a low cry ripping from his lungs and disturbing the quiet horror of the clearing. Slowly, I kissed his tears away. Gave what little solace I could and held him close. The remaining assassins wept around the fallen—some near Calem, the rest around members I didn’t know. Who I’d never get to know. Wrapping Noc’s hand in mine, I guided him back to Calem. We slumped to the ground by his head, and Kost and Oz looked up with bleary eyes.
What have I done?Throat thick, I swallowed and stroked the side of Calem’s face.
“Leena Edenfrell.”
My head snapped to the woman who spoke my name. She’d crossed the clearing to stand a few feet from us.
Dark eyes rooted me in place, and I sucked in a breath. “Kaori.”
“Wynn charmed you? Is that why you’ve returned despite your banishment?”
I nodded. “Yes. He brought me back a few days ago without notifying the Council.” A few of the members flinched, and angry scowls touched their faces. “I’m not the first person he’s done this to, either.”
Kaori studied me for a long moment before her pensive stare shifted to Calem. She scrunched her thin brows together. “An Effreft?” Effie snapped her beak and sank lower into his wound. Kneeling on the ground, Kaori extended her hand to Effie. Her sapphire symbol glittered against her skin. “May I?”
Kost, Oz, and Noc stiffened. Murderous stares targeted Kaori, and dark tendrils crept near their fingers. Effie eyed Kaori’s hand for a moment before gently clucking and moving aside.
My stomach threatened to upend itself. Mincemeat. My beast had turned him into mincemeat.
Kaori studied the damage. “If not for the Effreft, he’d be beyond repair. Even now, though, I can’t make any promises.”
“What are you saying?” Noc croaked.
Slowly, Kaori reached up and removed a white-gold leaf pin from her black hair. “Stella.” One of the legendary beasts moved toward her. Dipped in silver, the beast could’ve been carved from metal. Harsh lines. Daggerlike teeth. Piercing amethyst eyes. Stella brought her twitching nose inches from Calem’s wound. Kaori tilted her head toward Noc. “He will be different.”
“You can bring him back?” Noc gripped my hand.
