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“Seems like you need to stop pointing blame where it doesn’t belong and learn when to stop talking,” Fynn chides, squaring his shoulders as he stands.
Draven steps in front of me. His whole body is rigid, and the air around him seems to grow darker, heavier. “You dare to speak to my mate that way?” His tone is calm. Too calm. It's calculating and promises punishment.
Aiden senses the danger drifting from Draven. In the next breath, his body blurs and then vanishes, only to appear behind me. He wraps his arm around my neck, while pressing a gilded dagger to the dip of my throat under my jaw. It cuts just past the first layer of skin as warmth trickles down the curve of my neck. The sting is a reprieve almost. It cements the truth I’ve always known about Aiden, though I kept letting him spew charming lies.
Draven’s roar rips from him, but he was already on the move. Spinning around to catch Aiden mid-phasing, he holds his own sword out to rest the blade on the side of Aiden’s jugular.
I can feel Aiden’s smile stretch over his face as he presses his cheek roughly against mine. “When will you learn, Emma? I will never let you go,” his harsh whisper slithers over my ear, and bile rises up my throat.
But Queen Zoraida’s words come tumbling forward in my mind, and understanding sinks in. “Sometimes, pretty hearts filled with lies need to be crushed,” I whisper, making Aiden tighten his hold, but I can feel his muscles trembling against my body.
“What?” Aiden sneers, but I don’t respond.
Fynn and Cora are tense, flanking Draven on both sides a foot behind him as my eyes stay trained on crystal blues that keep flashing to silver. My power stirs inside me, waking to expose the fake prince that lies through his teeth, the one who wants everyone to believe his heart is made of gold.
My eyes slide to Draven’s sword. The sharpened steel that always brought me comfort. Its silver can slice through every lie. My tongue rolls in my mouth, ready for a fight.
“One move and she is gone for good,” Aiden says, and I know Draven presses the blade harder into his skin when Aiden hisses. But my mate won’t go further because he and I don’t need shiny weapons to kill. We only need the shadows that bind us.
Fear never comes, knowing I can crush Aiden’s heart without him ever seeing it coming. So, I ask, “Why?” Curious to know a true villain’s intent before he dies.
A dark laugh from his chest vibrates against my back. “Because, if I can’t have you, then nobody else can. You must know, I really don’t wish to kill you. I’d rather take you home and lock you away so we can have a life together.” Knots twist in my stomach at how much he sounds like his father and King Oren. “But that’s a broken dream now. I’ve done my job, and my prize is your pretty little head. Though, it’s much more rewarding since you are alive and well.”
“What job?” I grind out harshly, gnashing my teeth tighter until it hurts as I pretend to strain against his hold.
“What did you do?” Draven seethes.
A devious chuckle grates in my ear, sending chills over my skin. “I thought Emma was dead. So, I was only a distraction for him to end you. Revenge for not staying away from her. But she’s not dead like I thought. So, the deal I struck with Whiro can still hold true. You in exchange for her.” A vile chuckle grates up Aiden’s throat. “I’m simply the lure to hook the bait.”
Shadows lash out from Draven like a raging storm. The room grows dark, and the air is weighted with power. He knocks Aiden’s dagger to the ground with one strong tendril of shadows before grabbing hold of his neck. I take a deep breath when Aiden’s dagger clatters to the floor, and watch his feet now dangle above the ground as Draven holds him in the air.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.” Draven’s low voice holds a dangerous threat, one that I know he will fulfill. Even though his eyes stay glued to Aiden, he speaks through the bond, “May I?”
I don’t hide the smile that overcomes me. “Yes, but leave the final blow to me.”
“Was already planning on it, little demon.”
A huff comes from him before he winds his hand back, tightening his fist and slamming it straight into Aiden’s nose. A crack splinters the air, followed by a yell as Aiden’s face gets thrown back.
His head limply falls forward, trying to right himself in Draven’s hold. His nose is bent unnaturally, blood dripping down from it, and his eyes are unfocused. Draven drops Aiden’s body like a sack of potatoes, towering over him, and waits.
“Get up,” Draven orders, roughly.
Aiden sneers as he spits blood on the ground, with his lip split. He pushes himself up, stumbling sideways as he raises his fists in front of his face. “That all you got?”
Draven laughs, low and deep. He doesn’t bother responding as he stands with his arms crossed over his chest, showing how unthreatened he is.
That pisses Aiden off more because he throws his whole body at Draven. But Draven is ready, moving faster than Aiden as he spins around him and plants his boot in Aiden’s back to knock him forward.
Grunts thunder from him as Aiden tries again with all his strength, his feet trying to kick Draven to the floor. Then, he lunges toward Draven with his shoulder to try and shove him with his body weight. Every attempt Aiden makes to land a blow gets blocked. His movements are uncoordinated with no thought behind them; he’s just swinging blindly.
Draven could pulverize him, but he’s only landing single blows to make a point: that Aiden will always be beneath him. When Aiden screams with another futile punch, Draven ducks and swings his foot out, causing Aiden to fall to the floor.
Draven’s breathing calms. The red haze hiding behind his movements fades away as he towers over Aiden, who still has the nerve to bare his teeth. Teeth that are now coated in crimson.
A metallic scent fills the air, but something else has my nose scrunching up in disgust. It’s foul and hangs in the space around us with no reprieve. Only then do I notice the dark stain that has spread on Aiden’s pants, right in the center. He pissed himself.
His arms tremble as he struggles to push himself off the floor, and his head is swaying.
