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13
BREE
Lord Dagen scowled and shoved past her, striding into the room with shoulders as tense as the knot in her stomach. The chat with Taveon had been illuminating. As she’d hoped, the demons did have a weakness. It just so happened to be the one thing that could not be found inside this realm.
How did one bring sunlight into a world of endless night?
“What did you do?” Lord Dagen hissed at her. He snatched her wrist in his tight grip and squeezed the bone. Bree winced from the sudden flash of pain, and hurt pounded in her skull. He’d never before hurt her like this.
She lifted her chin and snatched her wrist out of his grip. “I redid the bond I had with the king. I missed it.”
His eyes narrowed. “I know that bond does more than give you a connection with Taveon. It gives you strength, power.”
Bree didn’t tell him that she already had access to all that strength and power. It had never left her. Instead, she lifted her shoulder in a shrug. “Just a bonus side effect.”
Lord Dagen surprised her by tipping back his head and laughing. “You really think you’re clever, eh? Do you think I can’t see right through you? You’re going to use that power against me.”
He snapped his fingers, and five armed warriors rushed into the room. She scanned each of them, taking in their thick leather armor, their glittering swords, their shoulders covered in heavier steel. Five against one. But it wasn’t enough.
“I didn’t want to do this to you, Bree. We could have been so much better together, us against the world. But I can see you’ll never listen to me. So, I’m going to have to put you in the dungeons, where you’ll be safe.”
Bree’s hands fisted, and she called upon the ancient power that thrummed in her veins. Hair sprouted along the back of her neck and on the backs of her hands. Teeth elongated, jutting out between her lips. Lord Dagen’s eyes widened as he realized what she had planned a second too late.
The beast roared to life from inside her. And then she pounced.
Her body moved in a whirlwind of death and rage. She took on the first soldier first, swiping her sharp claws through his gut. The leather armor did little against her. She moved to the next guard, but the rest had run shouting from the room, leaving Dagen alone to face her.
Snarling, she stalked toward him. A horrified gasp shook from his throat. The whites of his eyes grew as large as the moon.
And then he turned tail and ran.
Bree thundered into the hallway after him to see his frantic steps leading him closer and closer to the door that led out into the back courtyard. To the barracks. A part of her yearned to throw all caution aside and chase after him. The army be damned. She was a Redcap. She could take them on. Thousands of warriors would die, but it would be worth it to watch the light leave Dagen’s eyes.
But she heaved in a breath and another, taking control of her bloodlust. It was always there, always present, threatening to lead her down into darkness. Rafferty had taught her to hold it deep within her chest and let it breathe out of her pores, expelling it when it became too much.
Bree’s raging heartbeat stilled. With one last glare in Dagen’s direction, she turned and raced the other way. He wasn’t worth it.
* * *
The guards at the front gates had not yet been alerted of her treachery, so they didn’t stop Bree when she raced out into the world beyond. Her Redcap paws carried her fast across the ground, toward the Forest of Fireflies. She didn’t dare slow or cast a glance over her shoulder. She focused on the trees ahead. On their thick, evergreen branches. On the shadows that lurked inside the woods.
The Forest of Fireflies was a dangerous place full of beasts and monsters that feasted on blood. But the castle was no better now. As soon as she entered the forest, she headed straight for the village Eurig and she had found during their recent journey. There, she transformed back into her fae form and found a ragged pair of trousers and a threadbare tunic to don over her dirt-caked body.
At long last, she dropped into a chair inside the warped wooden hut and breathed a sigh of relief, though her heart still beat painfully against her ribs. She wasn’t safe yet. Dagen might still send some soldiers after her. He’d have a pretty good idea where she’d hide. The Forest of Fireflies was the closest landmark to the castle, and there were plenty of small villages tucked into the dense trees.
Sighing, she pulled her knees up to her chest and tried to plot her next step. She’d acted hastily in the castle. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, the only way she knew how to prevent getting locked up in the dungeons. Now she was here, and everyone—except Rafe—was inside those stone walls. Norah. Eurig. Taveon. How could they do a damn thing if they were all so disconnected?
Maybe she could sneak back inside, hide away inside Dagen’s rooms, and wait for his return. She could leap out from the shadows and stab him in the heart. And then what? Take over the castle, the throne, the crown?
The dark fae would never stand for that, no more than they wanted Taveon to remain their king. Bree was an outsider. Taveon’s power raced through her blood. They would see her as no better than he was.
Footsteps sounded from outside the little hut. Her back went ramrod straight, her hand flying to her mouth. Someone was out there. Had Dagen’s men found her already?
“Bree?” Rafferty’s familiar voice reached toward her. “Are you here?”
She leapt to her feet and thundered outside, launching into Rafferty’s waiting arms. He let out a little oomph as their bodies collided, but then he relaxed and held her tight. Bree could feel his heart beating in his ribs. The steady thump of it chased away her worry and fear.
“What happened?” he asked as he pulled back and searched her eyes. His silver hair cascaded around his face, a tangled mess. “I was soaring overhead and saw you fleeing the castle. Tell me what’s going on.”
