Betrayals of Spring (Forever Fae #2)(62)
Once he turns into ash I peer around cautiously before walking towards the cabin. Aki makes his way beside me when I approach the door, and I see that it has been torn off its hinges and lying on the floor across the room. I take light steps while searching through the house knowing very well that this is going to be a trap. All that matters is that Kalen is here and I have to save him. Aki perks up at the same time I hear Kalen screaming my name.
“Meliantha! NO! It’s a trap! Get out of here, now!”
My adrenaline spikes at the sound of Kalen’s voice. This is the true Kalen screaming at me. He has to be crazy if he thinks I’m going to leave him here. I hear the dark sorcerer’s evil laugh and the anger it spurs inside me fuels my venom. I load my bow with an arrow while following the sound of his evil laugh.
I kick open the door and I’m momentarily shocked at what I see. Kalen is sitting there strapped and chained to a chair, and my heart rate instantly spikes when Kalen’s ice blue eyes find mine. The dark sorcerer is nowhere in sight, but I know he is here because I heard his laugh. I lower my bow and I rush over to Kalen.
“Kalen,” I whisper as I stare into the depths of his eyes, drinking him all in. These are the eyes of the man I love, and not the evil ones of the dark sorcerer looking back at me.
“You need to get out of here, Meliantha. He’s here and he’s not going to stop. The cuff is still on my arm which means he can take me over at any time,” he pleads.
It feels so good to see him again, but I know I have to hurry. I frantically search his body looking at the chains holding him to the chair. They’re bound tight, but I think I’ve found a way to undo them at the base of the chair. I move to the front of him quickly and I run my hands over his hair and face for my own assurance. I lean down to give him a quick, chaste kiss.
“I’m not leaving here without you. I didn’t go through hell just to fail now.”
He looks at me concerned and asks, “What happened to you?”
“I’ll have to tell you later, but right now I’m going to get these chains off,” I answer with haste. His feet are finally free from the chains so I continue to move up his legs, unwinding as I go. The hairs on the back of my neck begin to stand up and the sense of dread settles in the pit of my stomach. I don’t think we are alone anymore. I move quicker and now Kalen is free above the waist. Just a few more unwinds and then I will have access to the cuff around his arm to take it off. Only another few seconds and he will be free…
I freeze in place, chain in hand, at the sound of laughter. It’s not coming from behind me, but... in front of me. I look up slowly and the dark sorcerer is looking back at me through Kalen’s eyes. That evil bastard. I was so close to having Kalen in my arms, and now it’s all over.
I grab my bow and jump to my feet. He laughs the whole time as he makes his way out of the rest of the chains. He drops them to the floor and looks at me with a smug smile on his face. I scowl at him and narrow my eyes. He hasn’t bested me yet, and I plan on making it known.
“I wouldn’t be smiling like that if I were you. If I am not mistaken, I have made it through all your little games unscathed. You haven’t won yet, sorcerer,” I snap.
“Oh no?” he taunts raising his eyebrows. “I think I have won a lot, Princess. You may have gotten through the Tyvar and the Redcaps, but there is still one thing I know will haunt you for the rest of your life.” I stiffen because I know exactly what he’s going to say. He bites his lip while looking at my body up and down. “That’s right Princess. Knowing that I f*cked you long and hard all those times will be embedded in your mind every single day.” He looks at me with a gleam in his eyes and smirks, “But that isn’t the only way I know I’ve won…”
The sense of danger spikes my adrenaline and I quickly raise my bow when I see him reaching behind his back. “Easy there Princess,” he mocks with a devilish grin on his face. He pulls out two black gloves and begins sliding them on his hands. Why is he putting on gloves? My body trembles in fear because I can only think of one reason why he would need gloves being in a fae body.
“You know you’re not going to shoot me, Meliantha. If you do you’ll kill your one true precious love, but then again, it would save me the trouble of doing it myself. Or better yet, you could always join me. I could stay in the prince’s body and it would be like nothing ever happened.”
“I would rather rot in hell, and besides, I’ve seen what you do with your women,” I hiss.
He shrugs his shoulders, “Breena deserved it, and I would say she fits in perfectly with the Tyvar. I’ll admit that I’m surprised you left her there. With the way you like being a martyr I figured you would do anything you could to save her.” I keep my attention focused on him and I still have my bow at the ready. I feel the warnings in my gut screaming at me that something is about to happen.
I shake my head, “I’ll do anything to save the people I love. She was going to die anyway either by my hand or someone else’s.”
He nods his head and narrows his eyes at me. “You’re a lot stronger than I thought. I’m going to give you a choice, Princess. Either come with me now and your prince lives, or you can deny me and he dies. Which choice do you want?”
“I told you before. I would rather rot in hell!” I roar with venom in my voice.