AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The true beast in me nearly springs forward, but my good sense is enough to keep me planted to the spot. I swallow hard, tasting bile at the back of my throat. “She has nothing to do with this.”
“On the contrary,” Everan says with a sharp smile. “She haseverythingto do with this. She is your leash and your collar.”
I take a step forward, looking hard into Ariella’s desperate eyes. I have to save her, or she’ll become fodder for his sick games. If she survives his wrath at all.
“Come a step closer, and she’s dead.”
She issues a look of tired resignation. “Don’t do it, Zyranth.”
Frozen to the spot, I am torn between my dual nature. My future rests in the hands of a monster worse than myself, and I can donothingto save her.
27
ARIELLA
“Come a step closer, and she’s dead.”
The trees blow aggressively in the wind, and I can see the clouds darkening in the sky above.
Zyranth struggles against himself at Everan’s bold declaration.
Lord Everan is in the open, clearly defeated. His troops lay murdered by my hand within view. The satisfaction of taking their lives, given how they degraded and used me for years, was immensely fulfilling.
But the conflict is far from over. Lord Everan restrains me with his hands positioned suggestively over my waist. It’s one thing to be taken captive against my will, but does he have to make it so demeaning?
As a final and desperate effort, Everan wields silver claws, magically conjured, that chill my skin, digging gently into my throat. Everan’s hand trembles and I realize that at any minute, he could slip, killing me instantly. He manhandles me as if I’m one of his playthings, tormenting Zyranth with the knowledge that the fate of my life is in his hands.
“Don’t do it, Zyranth,” I say.
My own words surprise me. I should be encouraging Zyranth to defeat his captor - freeing himself from his bonds. I have seen the way Zyranth glances at this man. I know the pain he has caused.
He freezes in place, unable to reconcile the decision he’s currently faced with. I’ve seen the snarling, contorted expression he bears now once before, in this forest when he first met me. I remember how callously and thoughtlessly he devoured the dark elves chasing after me, this expression immediately leading to their bloody demise.
He knows that in spite of me, he should be charging forward, murdering the elf who caused him so much hardship. It’s more than a vendetta. It’s the grudge of a tormented animal, torn against his captor. The bloodlust Zyranth feels for Everan is more than personal. It’s natural.
The wind picks up, and nearby, the karasu caw out, their screams filling the air.
To fight it and stand, in consideration of my life, defies Zyranth’s every natural inclination.
“You’ve come too far for me to kill the girl in front of your eyes,” Everan says, sneering. “I wonder. If she dies here, do you genuinely feel pain? Or is it all an act, a callous mimicry of civilized behavior?”
If I die here, all of our actions up to now amount to nothing. Zyranth’s good nature dies, along with any hope for our happiness.
My death would not be a positive outcome, no matter how I view it. It isn’t just about me. It’s about all the women Lord Everan might take for himself against their will.
And while Everan’s forces might be diminished, there’s no guarantee that his leadership ends here if we fail.
It’s about the birth of something beautiful, and its immediate death at Zyranth’s hands.
“I’m more ‘civilized’ than you’ll ever be,” Zyranth growls. He snarls, approaching slowly. But even as he approaches, I can see his mind retreating. He snaps a branch underfoot, and its break reverberates against the still breeze.
“Please!” He chuckles. “You know nothing of civility! You’re a savage, created by strange powers deep below the surface!”
Zyranth’s expression changes in confusion, his spiky eyebrows raising. He seems poised to ask a question but stops himself, growling ferociously.
I have to break free.
Even if Zyranth backs down, Everan would have no reason not to kill me. And I’m sure that after he killed me, Zyranth would be his next target.
