Page 144 of Court of Nightmares


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I watch as she tries to crawl away. Laughing, I press my heel to her back, pinning her as I look around. “What is the penalty for those who drink from others without consent?” No one answers, and my grin widens. “It is an old law, so I will forgive your lack of knowledge. Nonetheless, your ignorance will not save her.” Reaching down once more, I turn her head and grip her fangs, ripping them from her mouth.

The scream that leaves her shatters my eardrums, but they will heal quickly as I toss her to the floor once more where she howls and covers her mouth, knowing what that means.

“You will never touch what isn’t yours again,” I tell her.

I cursed her to a long, painful death without the ability to heal herself or taste another again.

Leaving her there, where she screams and burns from the inside, I curl my hand around her fangs and look at the shocked guests. “Let that be a warning to anyone who thinks they can lay claim in my court. These men are mine. Their hearts, souls, bodies, and blood are mine. If you so much as look at them wrong, I will rip you to pieces and bathe in your blood while I fuck them.” I smile.

Striding back to Osis, I crouch before him and offer him her fangs. “My love, she will never touch you again.”

He smiles then kisses me wildly. “I love you.”

“Music!” Nathair calls, grinning at me as I grip Osis’s head and jerk it back until he moans for me.

His mate.

CHAPTERSIXTY-ONE

LYCUS

Iwatched my mate in awe as she defended my brother, taking the life of another in her jealousy and anger. Her power flooded the room, and I’m not ashamed to say it made me flood my trousers with seed.

I don’t regret what she did, and neither does she as she kisses Osis proudly, claiming him, but we still draw closer. They have seen what she is capable of now, and they won’t make the mistake of coming at her directly. I can almost see the treachery and plans forming behind their conniving façades.

They are all on alert, and the court members of the woman who dared to touch our queen’s man, our brother, are dragged away like naughty children. The others close ranks and wait, and so do we. They have no leg to stand on. That woman attacked unprovoked and drank without consent, so it was within Althea’s right as his mate to defend him and seek retribution. That doesn’t mean they will take it easily though. They came here to find proof of our so-called crimes and to take us down so they could implement their power in our court. They will use everything to their advantage.

Worried about what is happening, I shift quickly, and with a nod to Nathair, I take to the ceiling, hanging out of sight where they can’t catch me in the darkness while I listen.

If anyone tries to attack my queen, they will perish from my venom.

I build an intricate web as I wait, spinning my silk and throwing it from the rafters. It won’t cover the whole corner of the room, but I need to do something, and spelling my mate’s name in silk is a good waste of time. Once it’s done, and I hang from the edge, I can’t help but seek her approval. Like she senses me, she gets to her knees on the pillows and searches for me. As always, she sees through the darkness and straight to me, her eyes lighting up when she sees her name. Love pumps down our bond.

I’m about to swing down to see her when a flash of something catches my many eyes, and a warning vibration lifts the hair on my legs.

I spot a vampyr trying to sneak around my mate and brothers as something silver gleams in his hands. She hasn’t seen him yet, so I slam my warning into their heads, but I’m also already moving. Swinging across the ceiling, I land right behind him just as he lunges at my mate. One pincer clamps onto his arm, and the other pierces his shoulder as I lift him into the air. His screams fill the room as his blood runs down my legs. The blade he was going to sink into my mate’s heart tumbles to the floor.

She was his sister, I tell the others down the bond, sensing his intentions and emotions through the blood soaking my hair.He was going to kill Althea for it.

Nathair stands slowly, glaring at him. “Which court claims him?” he calls out.

There is no response, so Nathair smirks. “No one? Your court does not wish to claim the brother of the dying female who also broke our rules this evening. You foolish male, now you will die too.” He looks at Althea, who simply nods from her nest of pillows. For a moment, I hesitate, but then I see her bloodlust and excitement as she watches me.

She wants to watch me kill him.

She wants to watch her mate protect her.

She’s such a vicious little thing.

I lift him higher so his screams echo around the room, a hissing warning escaping my spider at his audacity.

My mate.

Mine!

I smell her desire in the air, and it only spurs me on, my animal side taking over as I strike. Swiftly and steadily, I sink my huge fangs into the man’s chest. His howls of agony only make me hold him tighter as I rise into the air, suspending us both as I pump my venom into him. My fangs pierce through him, sliding out the other side of his body, and then I finally release him, catching him in my silk. I keep him suspended as I watch and wait. A crowd gathers, both horrified and curious as he starts to scream and thrash in the silk, scratching out his own eyes as they melt and burn. His tongue liquifies also, and blood pours from every orifice. His skin begins to blister and bubble until it bursts open and peels away, leaving a muscle-covered skeleton before that melts as well. I leave him there and lower myself to the ground. The crowd surges away from me in horror, their hands covering their mouths.

I turn to my mate, but there is nothing but love in her gaze as she raises her hand for me. I hurry over to accept it, needing her. She tilts her head, and I hesitate when I reach her, but she urges me on by sliding her hand up my body to cup my jaw and draw me closer to feed.

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