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White-hot rage burned through me.
I watchedFalling Star, the warship that had sent rockets after me, land on the old gladiator arena.New Hope, the battleship that had shot down two rockets settled down on the jagged beach between the gray sea and my jungle, andMistress, the middle ship, parked near the Witch Tower.
If the Wickedest Witch had still been on Pandemonium, she wouldn’t have taken kindly to anyone trespassing on her territory. But she had left with her coven and the wolf pack, so there would be no consequences for the hunters.
My eyes spat black fire, my three bodies taking up a battle stance, but we wouldn’t charge into the frontline where we couldn’t win.
We’d play dirty.
Restraining myself from shrieking, I flew toward my jungle, staying as low as I could to avoid attracting attention, and my two alter egos followed suit.
I was no one’s prey. These hunters would soon see who the ultimate predator on the hunting ground was.
CHAPTER 2
I trod through the jungle of eternal shade in my naked Fae form, my bare feet padding on pine needles.
Birds chirped, and the beasts yowled. Others might find it frightening and unsettling, but not me. None of aliens in the City of Nine dared enter the dark forest, even after Akem was gone.
Upon his leaving, I became the queen of the jungle and took charge of his former nightmare creatures. While he no longer enslaved me, my curse still bound me to this forsaken planet. Only when my true loves freed me would I be able to go wherever I wanted and choose to shift to my dragon form or stay in my Fae shape.
A two-headed hellhound darted toward me through the red trees, his onyx eyes flashing a hungry look. I arched an eyebrow, but I didn’t halt my stride for his sake. He slowed down and rubbed his shining black fur against my leg.
“That’s enough, Henry,” I said. “I’m not in the mood to play today.”
He stopped and raised his two heads, both pairs of fierce eyes gazing at me in adoration.
Sybil—a flying lizard with an owl’s face, and my messenger—managed to land on Henry’s back, tucking in her lone wing. The Archangel had cleaved off her other wing in a fight against Akem. When it came to defending his witch mate, the Angel was a number one asshole toward his enemies.
Following Henry, two giant Lamashtus—Akem’s former henchmen—huffed and puffed as they stopped in front of me, awaiting my orders.
These creatures wouldn’t harm me. They knew that even in my weaker Fae form, I could cut down any one of them, and no one ran faster than a Fae like me. Besides, I could change to three Furies in a split second if I had to battle more formidable foes.
I’d summoned the four of them with my mind, as we were linked by my bonding magic. I chose my Fae form to talk to them since I could think better in that form than I could when I was the three Furies. Three heads weren’t better than one.
“I have need of you,” I told them. “The invaders have come. They’ll enter our jungle to do me harm.”
Henry bared his fangs and snarled, Sybil blinked at me, and a Lamashtu punched a branch and broke it.
“Ridiculous, I know,” I said. “Divide them if they come as a group, but don’t eat any of them yet. Three of the hunters among them might be the tool to get us out of here. Herd them to me one by one, and I shall kiss each one of them. You can have those who don’t pass the test.”
Henry’s fangs dripped with spittle, and the Lamashtus laughed mercilessly.
“Akem betrayed us and left us behind,” I continued. “I am not like him. I vow to take all of you with me when I leave. I won’t abandon any of you.”
We’ll go with you, Sybil answered in my head.
“Now go,” I said. “Spread the word to others and stay on high alert. Don’t forget to send out all the birds to spy on the new ships for me.”
Our rodents are good at spying, too,Sybil said.I’ve been training them.
I nodded. “Then use them.”
Sybil tilted her head, flapped her wing, and took off west to deliver my message. Henry followed her, running beneath her wing, and the Lamashtus raced in the opposite direction.
I rubbed at my temples. If my true loves were among the hunters, why would they want to hurt me? If they had the intention to harm me, how could they be my true loves? Of course, they hadn’t seen my Fae form yet, so there was still hope.
I’d restrained my monsters from killing anyone who ventured into my jungle, because if my true loves died, I’d be doomed forever.
