Page 104 of Fae Farewells

Alania growled in frustration, the noise coming from the back of her throat a little more high pitched than necessary. “You are hereby sentenced to death—”

I cackled, throwing my head back as I wiped at my eyes dramatically. Then I blanketed my expression with nothing but boredom as I sighed.

“You can’t kill me.”

“Your deal with Vaughn doesn’t affect me,” she repeated.

“Oh, I know. You just can’t kill me. I mean, you can… But I’ll bounce right back, and I don’t know that you’re ready to trade those kinds of blows with me.”

Radolphus Bowers, one of the previous owners of CBP, glanced between us. “Shall I arrest her, my queen?”

“She isn’t the queen,” Vaughn replied. “And she has no more authority in this realm.”

“She is my queen,” Bowers spat.

“Send in the guards. Take them both.”

Alania smirked at me as she glided down the marble stairs from her throne. She reached for the crown on my head, but it disappeared, landing in my hand.

“Did you want this?”

She grabbed my wrist, and the crown was back on my head.

“The first time wasn’t me,” I admitted. “But that one was. I’m getting the hang of these fae powers.”

“Give me my crown,” she demanded, her voice low.

I shrugged. “I would if you had one.”

Her attack was swift.

The wooden handle of her golden dagger jutted from the top of my chest, blood trickling around the smooth edges of the wound. I glanced down, watching the blade slide through my skin as I removed it.

She reached toward me, her hands outstretched as a watery blade formed in her palm. Vaughn shoved forward, slamming into her shoulder. Alania tumbled backward, landing on her ass as water sprayed across the room, leaving tiny cuts where it touched us.

And then Tilly walked in. “We couldn’t—”

Everything slowed as Alania turned her attack onto the youngest of the Winter children. She flung her hand outward, thin droplets flying through the room like shards of glass.

“Vaughn,” Tilly shrieked as he took the hit meant for her.

In my split attention, Alania was on me. Water circled me, spinning as it lifted me off the ground. The tainted liquid burned my eyes and lungs, but I could take this hit. Vaughn could protect Tilly, would protect her with his life.

If Tilly was here, then Thatcher wasn’t far behind her.

And neither were the rest of my guys…

Or the soldiers.

The inner layer froze in a flash of frigid temperature. It chilled me to the bone as ice formed around me, sticking to my skin. I held out for one more minute, then slowly began heating myself from the inside out.

“Where is that heat coming from?” I heard Tilly ask.

“Alania pissed her off.” I could imagine Vaughn pinching the bridge of his nose as he shook his head in disappointment.

Tilly’s gasp was as loud as the water dripping onto the floor, but her footsteps softened as she backed away. The teenck, teenck, teenck of droplets bouncing on the marble was what I chose to focus on as I pushed myself to scorching temperatures.

A crack formed in the ice, running several inches before it popped, splintering in different directions. I flexed my shoulders and took a deep breath.