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Fuck buckets. This guy is horrifying when he’s mad. A tremble starts deep in my core. I can’t breathe. From my fear or his invasive magic constricting my chest, it’s a toss-up.
I flinch, shivering against his touch as he closes the distance between us. Strange golden light swirls inside his dark eyes, and something about the molten light fills me with innate fear.
He can’t touch you.
His eyes suddenly shift behind me just as the ripping sound of a portal fills the air. A wolfish grin plays over his face. “Are you following me, E? I thought we already discussed appropriate boundaries—”
Eclipsa flies through the air, smashes her knee into his chest, and connects her elbow with his sharp jaw.
Hell. Fucking. Yes!
The magical binds snap from around me as Hellebore rockets backward. A human male would have dropped, but Hellebore barely flinches as he finds his balance and rights himself.
“Get behind me, Summer,” Eclipsa growls, her eyes never leaving the Spring Prince’s. A part of me hesitates. I’ve never seen Eclipsa turn full Fae assassin. Even when we were fighting the darklings, she was lethal—but calm.
This Eclipsa could make the Darken her bitch.
Deciding to take my chances with the monster I know, I scramble to her side as Hellebore circles us. “That was uncalled for, E.”
“Screw you and your twisted aunt,” Eclipsa snarls.
He chuckles. “I don’t seem to remember you wanting to bring my aunt to bed when we—”
Twin daggers slice toward him, spinning end over end. Last second before they sink into his chest, he turns sideways and they thunk into the haunch of the closest centaur statue behind him.
Hellebore has the audacity to look wounded by the attack. “If I’d known breaking your heart would have made you this exciting, I would have done it sooner.”
Her voice is cold and terrifying as she snarls, “Next one won’t miss, Hel.”
He sighs. “Hey, it’s not my fault she stumbled into my portal. You know the rules. Once she enters my court’s territory without permission, she belongs to me.”
“Screw your permission. Summer belongs to the Winter Prince, so unless you fancy kicking off a war with the Unseelie Court, back the fuck off.”
Her words are like a punch to the gut. I know in Everwilde, everything is fair game to be stolen, like some cruel game of Monopoly, which makes the Fae possessive with everything they own. But to hear Eclipsa talk about me like a possession—
Ugh. I try to make excuses for her words. She’s pissed, not thinking straight. But stupid tears prickle my eyes.
No. I will not cry. Straightening my shoulders, I blink the tears away before either Fae can notice.
“I see the Winter Prince still hasn’t given you your freedom. Although after owning you myself, I don’t blame him.”
The balls on this guy. An emotion too brief to name passes over Eclipsa’s face, and then rage takes over. A deep, alarming rage that only ends with someone dead. This idiot should be terrified. Instead, Hellebore laughs like this is all a game. “The Winter Court might be formidable now, but I predict a time in the near future when that will change.”
“Keep dreaming, asswipe.” Eclipsa bares her teeth in a vicious snarl.
Hellebore’s focus shifts to Valerian’s brand winding up my bicep. His stare lingers, as if he’s taking the time to trace every line, and then he lifts his hands in surrender.
A grin curls his lips as he backs away.
“My mistake.” Something flickers behind his eyes as they meet mine. “Don’t get too used to that brand, little pet.”
A growl rumbles deep in Eclipsa’s chest. “She’s not for sale, Hel.”
The portal he creates is a beautiful, shimmering teal, the edges a soft blush-pink. The glow catches in his pale honey-gold hair as he tsks. “Stop lying to the poor girl, E. You know as well as I that in Everwilde, everything has a price. Just like you once did.”
The moment he’s gone, Eclipsa whips to face me. “You okay?”
“Yes, but—”
