What Lurks Between the Fates (Of Flesh & Bone, #3)(2)
She knew it would be pointless and would only lead to her death. A death that Estrella and I had only just managed to distract Mab from claiming.
Imelda took her, wheeling her chair through the snow to put some distance between the Queen of Air and Darkness and the only one of us who had any chance at freedom.
“Take her to my mother,” I whispered as she passed me to stand with Holt and the Wild Hunt. Her nod of affirmation soothed the frayed part of me that hadn’t been able to save my mate.
At least I could give her human mother a safe place to live out her life, even if Estrella never saw her again.
“Do try not to have too much fun without me, boys. I need him alive still,” my stepmother said, her lips curving upward as her dark eyes shone with malice.
Mab stepped through the shadows next, disappearing into Tar Mesa as Malachi lingered at the edges of my vision. He didn’t demand my attention in the final moments where I could see my mate before his brother led her through to the Court of Shadows, allowing me to fixate on the sight that would forever stain my memories.
“Ophir!” I roared, flinching back from a kick to my face from one of Mab’s more enthusiastic children. Malachi scolded him for interrupting the moment, but the blow had never landed in truth anyway, only skimming my nose. “I will feed you your own intestines if you hurt her. Mab cannot always be there to protect you.” I coughed, spitting blood from the previous beating on the snow. From the injuries that would blend into new ones shortly enough.
“Perhaps you should be more concerned with what I have planned for you. Mab won’t hurt your mate just yet. She likes her victims aware when she plays with them,” Malachi said, chuckling beneath his breath as he closed the remaining distance between us.
He and his twin brother, Ophir, had been the fascination of Alfheimr when they’d been born all those centuries ago. Twins were unheard of among the Fae with the witch’s curse upon us. Naturally, Mab had felt compelled to add them to her collection, a rarity she needed to own for herself. Whereas many of her children were decent Fae—twisted by the bond forced upon them as children—the twins were demented, cruel things. They didn’t require Mab’s bond to behave in ways that should have horrified any living creature, because they enjoyed it.
Ophir stepped through the shadows, vanishing with the love of my life as the rest of Mab’s guards ushered the Fae Marked and humans who had joined us on our journey to follow. They struggled as they were led by their chained hands, being treated as prisoners in ways we hadn’t allowed.
They’d always thought of us as captors, and we were, to some extent, but not all villains were created equal. Some thrived off of suffering and lived to hear their victims’ screams.
There was only one creature in this world who could force me to do harm, and one more who could motivate me to do anything if it meant keeping her safe.
Neither could make me enjoy the suffering of innocents.
Malachi stepped forward, closing the distance between us as he pulled his iron blade from its scabbard. He ran his thumb along the sharp edge as he stared at me. “What should I do with you? It is so rare that Mab allows me to be the one to remind you what happens when you disobey her.”
“I think you’ve already made your point,” Imelda said from behind me, ignoring Holt’s attempts to quiet her.
It comforted something in me to know that my best friend would protect the witch, keeping her from interfering in things she could not change. I glanced back at her, watching as he grasped her around the waist and pulled her struggling frame against his side.
“Quiet, Witch,” he warned, his voice dropping low as he leaned down to murmur the words against the side of her head.
Imelda shuddered, squirming in his grip to get free. “Unhand me, Huntsman.”
“You don’t know Caldris very well, do you?” Malachi asked, touching the edge of his iron blade to my neck. My skin heated beneath the touch, melting away until his blade touched the sinew of muscle. “No, I think something much more severe is in order for his treachery in keeping this secret from our queen.”
I gritted my teeth, glancing toward Holt where he stood with Imelda and guarded Estrella’s mother.
“Get them to Twyla,” I said.
He was duty-bound to follow Mab’s command as they related to his position as leader of the Wild Hunt, but that didn’t infiltrate the rest of his life. He was free to do as he pleased as he went about his duty, and he’d clearly claimed the witch as his. Since she had no loyalty or affiliations within Alfheimr, he would care for her as long as she allowed him to do so.
Mab’s ownership of me made Estrella Mab’s property by extension, and I’d never hated the snake wrapped around my heart more than I did in that moment.
Holt held my gaze for a brief moment, then glanced toward Estrella’s mother and finally nodded. He led the Wild Hunt to their horses, taking Imelda’s hand and guiding her to follow him. He settled the witch upon his skeletal steed in front of him, ignoring the way she struggled against his hold even in the moments where her fear should have driven her to seek safety, in whatever form it came.
Aramis hoisted Estrella’s mother up onto his horse in front of him, helping to support her when she swayed slightly.
“I should take your head for the way you ignore me even now,” Malachi said, demanding my attention as the Wild Hunt departed for the Winter Court. For the capital in which I’d been born but had no memory of ever residing in.