Series: Lords of Rathe Series by Meagan Brandy
Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Ten
Knight
The hairs on the back of my neck spike, letting me know she's finally arrived. Not that I was waiting. My fist tightens around my glass.
I still can’t believe after publicly renouncing London, I’m forced to play this game. Finding a Queen in the four chosen was bound to be a nightmare and not the fun kind, but deciding on a Queen amongst them when the one who was created to be her is within reach? So fucking close I can literally smell the maddening scent of her flesh?
I shake my head.
Why is she sweating?
Is she hot?
Instantly, I look to the far-left corner of the ballroom where the fire fairy swings high in the air, each sway of her legs fanning the flame that frames the crown. I should tell London to move closer so she can feel the energy it bestows on the chosen—
What the fuck?
My brows crash in the center and I down what’s left of my drink, staring into the bottom of the empty glass and wishing I had the power to snap my fingers and find it full once more.
I could snap, and the staff zip in and do exactly that as quickly as I can blink, but what a gift it would be to be able to do it on my own.
“Another, my Lord?” Ophira, the redheaded siren, rasps, her long fingernails petting the golden snake wrapped around her throat.
“Is that how it sleeps?” I ask, noticing how the body appears as hard as real gold.
Her lips curve to one side, the rim of her eyes glowing red. “She never sleeps, my Lord. If she did … many men would perish.” A dark smile forms on her face. “Most would be unnecessary deaths.”
My eyes slide left, locking onto the purest of white hair I’ve ever seen, and I can’t look away as London climbs the steps towards the bar.
Her dress falls open, exposing her bare skin clear up to her hip.
She's showing others what’s mine and I should fucking kill her for it.
She freezes, her head snapping this way and our eyes lock. She swallows, and it’s not until her eyes drop to my hands that I look down.
Covered with dried blood and large shards of broken glass clenched between my fists.
A small ache forms in my chest, but it vanishes before I can figure out where the fuck it came from or why it’s there.
“Perhaps I can ask to share quarters with the young reject? I could rid you of your problem in the span of one moon—”
Before I know what I’m doing, I’m lurching for the redhead's neck, my claws drawn and starved for the feeling of broken flesh.
Silver’s deep groan fills my ears, and when I blink, it’s his scent that hits my nostrils, his body wrapped around mine in a tight hug, Creed's face over his right shoulder, Sin's over his left.
As one, they shove forward, driving me back until we're gone from the room entirely. Silver’s hands find my shoulders, and it takes a second to realize he’s pulling on me so he can yank himself away.
My eyes fall to the gaping holes in his chest, and I look to my hands, the sharp weapons that live within them nowhere to be seen.
Silver's skin begins to glow, the wounds sealing as he heals himself from within. When his eyes open again, he points his finger at me before stepping back through the open portal, closing it right behind him.
I’m left with my brothers in a room in the royal manor. I throw myself to my feet, snapping my fingers and creating a portal, but I’m so worked up I can’t fucking see straight. I don’t know what kind of shit they’re all playing but I'm not here for it.
Creed snaps the portal closed with a casual hand. “Relax,” he demands. “Now.”
“Fuck you.”
Legend joins us then, popping up behind me. “It won’t be him who’s fucked if you can’t control yourself.”
“It’s not me!” I shout, and my brothers pause, all three moving closer to one another, confusion pointed my way. “It’s not.”
“Knight—”
“It’s not fucking me, Creed!” I shout, rage building. “You think I would act like a fucking crazed animal during Midnight Mating over her? A traitor? A weak girl who loves humans like they’re worth more than the blood in their veins? A fucking Gifted who doesn’t even know how to open a damn door without grabbing the handle?!” I throw myself back against the cushions. “Fuck no and fuck her. I fucking hate her.”
As I say it, sharp pain slices through my sternum as if the earth fairy at the party tonight extended her thorny vines straight into it.
Creed glares, shaking his head, while Sin simply stares, probably wondering if he should torture her a little harder to make me feel better, but it’s my little brother who bends at his knees, bringing his face level with mine.