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His chuckle grew louder and deeper, and a thrill spread across her skin in spite of herself. “You need to learn a better poker face. Someone is very naughtyindeed.”
Bree balled her fists by her sides and glared up at him, ignoring the way the flickering fire caressed his features, enhancing his already handsome face. “Don’t get so cocky. Just because I am not an idiot and I understand how the male mind works doesn’t mean I want anything fromyou.”
“Well, then it might be embarrassing for you to know that my male mind wasn’t thinking anything of the sort. I was asking you what you want to eat. If you have a particular food that you like best.” He winked. “I was not suggesting, as pleasant as I am sure it would be, that you should request my physicalaffections.”
Bree’s face flamed. “Good. Because I don’t want your physicalaffections.”
“Glad we got that settled.” Eurig pulled a bow from his back as well as an arrow, and then he arched a single eyebrow. “So, about that request? Is there anything in particular you like toeat?”
Bree shook her head. To be honest, she did not have much of an appetite. Her gut had turned so many times during the past several hours, after witnessing all of the fallen fae inside of the Great Hall. Carrying Rafe to his room where she had to say goodbye. Everything had happened so quickly, and Eurig and Bree had rushed out of the castle at lightning speed. It was hard to imagine eating now knowing what they had leftbehind.
Bree stoked the fire like Eurig had asked, anxiously awaiting his return. His warnings had put her on edge, and every crack and rustle in the forest made her jump. Finally, after several long, tense moments that felt like hours, she heard the sound of footsteps crunching through the leaves. With her heart in her throat, Bree jumped up from the ground and strode over to the tree line, peering through the thick brush toward the sound of Eurig’sfootsteps.
But instead of Eurig and his golden gleaming eyes, she found herself face-to-face with the red eyes of a growling beast. She could not see the full size of it, not through the thick darkness of the forest. She took one stumbling step back, and then another, fleeing to the bright glow of the fire. In the human realm, she knew that most beasts did not like fire, and she just had to hope the same would ring true inUnderworld.
With a deep breath, Bree kept her gaze locked on the glowing eyes. She placed her trembling hands behind her and curled her fingers into claws. If there was one thing she had learned in her time spent training, it was how to shift, even if only one part of herbody.
The beast sniffed a long shuttering type of noise that sent chills through every part of Bree. She trembled under its red gaze. She called upon her claws, picturing the way they looked carving out from large, thick, and fur-covered fingers. But nothing happened. Her fingers remained fingers instead of morphing into powerfulclaws.
She took another step back toward the fire, willing her body to change. The beast charged. With a roar, he was halfway toward Bree before she knew what was happening. It was then that she got a full look at him. He was nothing like she’d ever seen before. Half tiger, half bird, with fire-orange wings spread out far on either side of him. Bree stared, swallowing hard. His wings were covered inblood.
Tears sprung into Bree’s eyes as she stared at the fresh blood that coated his feathers. Whoever’s blood that was, they had only just beenkilled.
“Eurig,” Bree whispered. He had gone into the forest looking for food and he must have found…this, whatever itwas.
The beast roared, opening its hawk-like beak and emitting a noise that sounded nothing like a bird. More like a mountain lion. A massiveone.
Bree clenched her jaw as she made one final attempt to transform any part of her body into the beast that lurked beneath her skin. But for once, her wolf had abandoned her. She was nowhere to be found, not when it trulycounted.
And then the beast lunged. A sharp cry of alarm ripped from Bree’s throat. She whirled away from the beast, pounding her feet hard against the ground. Her hair streamed out behind her, the bitter wind of the dark night fighting against her skin. She pumped her hands by her sides, forcing her feet to move as fast as they could. If only she could change her legs into the powerful limbs of her wolf, this creature who chased her would never be able to catchup.
But that wasn’t happening. And she was far too slow. Something large and heavy slammed into her back, and her feet tripped underneath her. She slammed hard onto the ground and dust swirled into her face, stinging her eyes. She coughed and groaned as pain glanced lanced through her body. Through the bond, she heard Taveon roar inagony.
Something sharp sliced through her skin, sending new shockwaves of pain through her back. The sharp, tangy scent of blood filled the air.Herblood. It was spilling onto the ground all around her as the beast sunk its claws into herflesh.
The world began to grow distant and tears leaked down her face as she thought of everyone she had failed. Everyone’s fate had been in her hands. Taveon’s, Rafe’s, Dagen’s. Only she and Eurig could have stopped the curse from taking its hold on the Dark Fae forever. But they had failed. They had both fallen prey to this beast. And, after tonight, there would be nothing left of them but their blood on the creature’sfeathers.
Just as the world dimmed into nothing more than a dark tunnel, Bree heard a different kind of roar. This one was deeper, darker, and much more powerful. And she had heard it before. It was the last thought she had before everything winked away intodarkness.
* * *
When Bree awoke,the scent of cooked meat filled her nostrils. Sharp pain lanced through her entire body, and her head rang from the sounds of her own distant screams. She groaned and tried to push up onto her elbows, wincing as the world tiltedsideways.
He was beside her in an instant.Eurig. The male fae outposter who she could have sworn at one point couldn’t care less whether she lived or died. “Whoa, there. You took quite a beating. You need to rest. And give your body time toheal.”
“What happened?” Bree tried to think back to those last moments, to that distant memory where she’d heard Eurig’s unmistakable roar cut through the bloodied night. He had attacked the beast, but she could have sworn the beast had taken him down first. If the blood hadn’t beenhis…
“While I was hunting, I found some travelers. Or, at least the remains of them.” Eurig’s face clouded over, his eyes growing distant as he stared at the fire. “And then I heard your scream. I got to you as quickly as I could. The Hawkborn is a vicious kind of creature, but he is no match for mylion.”
“And he wouldn’t have been a match for my beast either,” Bree mumbled as a new wave of pain lanced through her. “But I couldn’t shift, and I have no idea why. These past few weeks, I’ve gained so much control over my shift. It just left metonight.”
“The creature has the ability to control magic. He prevented you from shifting. Hell, he could have forced me to shift back into my fae form, too, if I had not caught him bysurprise.”
Bree cut her eyes his way, and her cheeks warmed. “Thank you. For coming to myrescue.”
Eurig stiffened, clenching his jaw as he kept his gaze focused on the fire. “I did not rescue you. You would have survived, even without me. With Taveon’s powers running through your veins, it could not truly harm you, at least notpermanently.”
Bree stiffened, her heartbeat flickering wildly. How did Eurig know that? Even at this distance, she and Taveon were still bonded together. The beast’s attack would not have killed her, though it had felt like it the time. Eurig shouldn’t have known that though. There were only a few people in the realm that knew about Taveon’s immortality, and as far as she knew, Eurig was not one ofthem.
