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I continued shouting and running until the sleepy, pissed-off elf-shifter burst out of a room as I neared the door.
My chest rose and fell rapidly, my heart beating like a drum in my chest. “The Beast is here. He hurt Death—Kierden’s running toward him right now. You have to stop him.”
She blinked. “You want me to stop Kierden?”
“No, the Beast. Please, you have to help.” Images flickered in my mind, memories of my dad taking his last breaths while I held on to him as if I could anchor him to this side of the veil myself.
That couldn’t happen to Kierden.
I couldn’t let it happen to Kierden.
Alida’s expression darkened. “If there was anything we could do to stop our assassins, we would’ve done it centuries ago. You’ll have to stop the king yourself, or say goodbye.”
She took my hand and squeezed lightly. “I’ll strengthen the defenses on the city just to be safe.”
With that, she disappeared back into her room and left me standing in the hallway alone.
“They can’t help us,”I whispered to Bright.
She snarled into my mind.“Then we’ll have to save them ourselves.”
“How?”
“The beast wants power, right? You’re more powerful than any of the fae in the city. If you offer to mate with him after the eclipse so he can have your power too, it might buy time. We only need a few hours.”
“Or it might get me killed,”I whispered.
“He can’t kill you. Not completely.”
He could get really damn close, though, and let my humanity do the rest.
When it came down to it, it was a choice between certain death for Kierden, or a chance that we could both live.
There was no question what I had to do.
Alida burst back through the door, her eyes wide and bright. “Our assassins hunt through magical connections; that’s why your bond hides Kierden from the Beast. If you seal it, his magic will meld with yours and change permanently. The beast’s contract will dissolve, and he won’t be able to kill the king no matter how badly he wants to.”
I went still.
If I sealed my bond with Kierden, it would save his life.
But it would change mine permanently, and that was a massive commitment.
If it came down to it, and there was no other choice…
Well, I’d do whatever I had to, to save his life.
“I’m coming,”I told Bright.
She picked me up at the castle’s entrance a few minutes later and streaked into the Wilds faster than she’d ever run.
“I’ll grab Kierden and get him out of there as fast as I can,”Bright told me, her voice hard.“He’s on foot, and not far ahead of us. Do whatever you have to. The Beast thought you smelled good, so use that.”
“I probably smell like Kierden now,”I whispered back.
She inhaled, and then swore.
“I’ll figure something out.”
