Bite Of Winter (Fae's Captive #3)(20)

He doesn’t stop, the ire in his eyes showing he’s already made up his mind. “You will pay for your crimes.”

“You choose death.” I send a vicious blast of cold shooting down the corridor.

Charging ahead, I raise my blade to shatter the soldiers as I go.

“Halt!” Keret shouts.

I look up and find him on the ceiling, his lizard-like claws gripping the stone.

He drops down in front of me, his tail sticking out behind him.

“We are leaving.” I don’t back down. I’ll kill him if I have to. Getting Taylor out of here is paramount.

“Wait.” He holds out a hand. “Delantis sent her feral to me as it died. She told me what happened. Vanara turned traitor.”

I advance on him and press my blade to his throat. “Did she? Or was she acting on council orders?”

“No!” He blinks one eye and then the other. “The council is prepared to stand by the agreements we made. The Vundi word is good.” The sizzle of magic reinforces his promise and tells me he didn’t order Vanara to break the Vundi’s oath.

“And what of Delantis?” The feral rides me hard, telling me to kill them all to keep Taylor safe. “There will be no retribution for her life?”

“Not against you or your companions. And I believe Vanara has already paid the price for her mistake.” He yells to the soldiers, “The council demands you all stand down. The winter realm is an ally, and they have done no wrong. Vanara betrayed us. She served the king beyond the mountain, not the Vundi. The winter king’s mate, Taylor, has given us a way forward with the crops, and the king has agreed to help sustain us until such time as we produce enough food to support ourselves. They are not our enemies.”

I wait and allow the winter freeze to retreat inside me, but it’s right on the edge, ready to explode should anyone make a wrong move. “We’re still leaving.” I pull my blade from Keret’s neck.

“The treaty?” he asks.

Movement has me tensing for a fight again, but Cenet appears behind Keret, his hands out, weapons stowed. “I came to help.”

“Your soldiers could have used it,” Gareth says wryly. He hands Taylor the obsidian sword, the blade cleaned of Vanara’s blood.

“I meant that I came to help you.” Cenet glares. “But I see Keret has it handled.”

“The treaty?” Keret presses.

“It is still good as long as we are allowed to leave.” I can’t keep the ice from my tone. “The Vundi shouldn’t suffer because of Vanara’s treachery.”

“You may leave as soon as you wish, and I’m happy to send Cenet with you to make sure you reach the border safely.”

“No, thank you,” Gareth’s voice carries down the hall. “I can see to the king’s security.”

“May we at least send provisions with you?”

“We don’t want to take what you have.” I eye the nearest soldier as the ice falls from him, and he’s able to move.

He steps back. Wise choice.

I hold one hand out behind me, warmth infusing me as Taylor takes it without hesitation. Leading her through the soldiers, I glower at them as they part for us. We return to our rooms, and Gareth guards the door as Beth and Taylor throw clothes and food into bags. I don’t leave Taylor’s side, my instincts attuned to every move she makes.

“Leander.” She pauses as she’s stuffing her hat into the bag and turns to me, her eyes troubled. “When Vanara came for us, it wasn’t Delantis who killed her. That magic, the black veins on her skin—it came from me somehow.”

A wave of foreboding cascades through me. “Are you certain?”

“Yes.” She stares at her pale hands. “I barely touched her. I was trying to get the obsidian sword from her, but when my hand grazed her arm, she sort of froze. Her eyes—” She shivers. “They turned black, and then she fell. I never meant to kill anyone. But I did, didn’t I? I took her life. It was as if there was something so dark inside me, almost like another person, and she wanted to kill Vanara. I could feel it under my skin somehow—that need to inflict death. Wh-what was that?” She stares at her hands again, as if they’re alien to her, as if they belong to another.

I’ve seen that sort of dark magic before, but only once. And I never thought I’d cross paths with it again—at least I hoped I wouldn’t. I don’t let my suspicions show, but I have some—ones that I dare not speak aloud. Pulling her to me, I wrap her in my arms where I know she’s safe. “Vanara wrote her own fate when she decided to turn on her own. You did nothing wrong.”

“You say that.” She presses her forehead against my chest. “But I can’t agree. I don’t know how to live with it. Can I?” Her eyes are brimming with tears when she looks up at me. “Can I accept that I took a life?”

“Put your burden on me, Taylor. Give me that worry and let me carry it for you. At least for now. When we’re safe in the winter realm, we can take it out of its box and examine it together. But for now, let me have it. All right?”

She sniffs and nods. “I can try.”

“And let’s keep this between us for now. At least until we return to High Mountain and speak with Ravella.”

“Who is she? You’ve mentioned her before.”