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27
RAFFERTY
Rafe spread his wings and chased after the cart that rolled through the Forest of Fireflies. A hammer slammed against his heart. With every pound, he felt as though he lost a little more of himself. The demons had captured both Bree and Taveon, the two most important people in his life. He would gladly die for either of them, and yet, there was nothing he could do to save them now.
If he dive-bombed the demons, he’d only end up getting himself caught or killed. For not the first time in his life, he wished his shifted form was more imposing. A bird could peck at eyes, but it could not swipe deep claws through an enemy’s gut.
Sighing, he dropped lower, tracking the procession. About twenty demons had gone with the cart while the rest of the army had stayed behind. They’d spread out a camp with leather tents and bonfires, sprawled across the fields outside of the castle. They were effectively under siege.
Bree and Taveon were stuffed in a cell that was strapped to a cart. Inside, they clung on to each other’s arms. His heart twisted. There must be something he could do. The demons would take them both into the Realm of the Dead, and that would be the last time he ever saw them.
He shuddered to think what the demons had planned for them.
With one last glance in their direction, he swung to the right and circled back to the castle. He had to tell the others, though he had no idea how they would turn this around. There was no way for them to get to Bree and Taveon, not with that army camping outside the castle walls. They’d never be able to fight through them all.
Rafe swooped in through his open bedroom window and changed into a fresh pair of fighting leathers before heading to the throne room. From the corridor, he heard angry voices shouting, the clamor echoing off the stone walls. He frowned and spun around the corner, only to find Queen Norah facing off against...
“Lord Dagen?” he asked, stepping inside the throne room.
The lord’s back was to him. Conlan and Branok hovered on either side of him, both pointing swords right at Norah, her mates, and Ethne.
“Get out of here, Rafe,” Lord Dagen said through gritted teeth. “Unless you wish to end up dead.”
Alarm burned through Rafe’s gut. “Please tell me this is some kind of cruel joke, Dagen.”
“It is no joke,” he hissed, back still facing Rafe. “This enemy queen stormed into our lands and took our throne. She tried to lock me up in a dungeon, the true acting king. She needs to die for this. I’m the rightful ruler of this realm.”
Rafe flashed a quick glance in Norah’s direction. Her gaze was heavy and dark, and the swords of her mates glinted beneath the flickering torchlight. “Your actions today have only confirmed that you’re not fit to rule, Lord Dagen. Instead of focusing your efforts on the enemy army just outside these walls, you’re trying to wrestle control of this damn throne again.”
“Don’t act like you’re any better,” Dagen said with a laugh. “If you cared about this realm at all, you’d stand aside so that a dark fae could rule.”
“Stop it,” Rafe said, his voice booming in the lofted space. “Both of you need to just stop. Have you not heard the fighting cease? Have you not seen the army stand down? Bree and Taveon reached the army leader, and do you know what happened? They got caught. They’re in a cage being dragged away as you stand here and argue about thrones and crowns.”
Norah sucked in a sharp breath, her cheeks paling. “Are you certain?”
“I saw it with my own two eyes,” he said grimly. “They’re being taken back to Munlin, where that damn Realm of the Dead gate is.”
“Well, we need to stop them,” she said. “Can you fly after them and get them out? Snatch a key from one of the demons?”
Lord Dagen’s eerie laugh stopped the conversation short. Rafe narrowed his eyes as he began to speak. “Taveon has been taken. You know what I say to that? Good. Maybe these demons will now leave our realm alone. They got what they came here for.”
“Good?” Rafe shouted the word as he rounded Lord Dagen, a move that caught the glares of Conlan and Branok. “You think it’sgoodthat Bree got taken, too?”
Dagen finally met his gaze. There was no softness there, no concern. Nothing but anger and greed. “Bree had a choice. She sided with Taveon and this enemy queen. That makes her dead to me.”
A low growl rumbled in the back of Rafe’s throat. He glanced over his shoulder at Norah, and she caught his eye. Pressing her lips together, she nodded. She knew exactly what he was thinking. As much as he hated to face off against Dagen, after everything they’d all been through, they clearly had no other choice.
The curse of the throne had gotten to him, just like it had done to Midas as well. Power corrupted. Greed had turned him inside out and had transformed him into someone that Rafe could no longer recognize.
“You’re a monster,” Rafe hissed at him, fisting his hands. “And you will never sit on that throne again.”
Lord Dagen’s lips curled into a smile. “We’ll see about that.”
Conlan and Branok sprang into action. Their swords sliced through the air as Norah’s mates ran forward, and the clash of steel filled the throne room. Rafe shifted back into his raven form, stretched out his claws, and dove into the fight.
