Page 31 of To Love a Dark Lord

He kissed her, his mouth so insatiable and needy that it left her stunned. So wild that it shattered her dream entirely and she woke to find it was early morning, the sun just starting to peek through the trees, the birds around her singing their songs, blissfully unaware of what she’d been through.

She rolled onto her side once more in the clearing. Her head was swimming. She felt woozy, like she’d been drinking all night. Slowly but surely, the world stopped wheeling and she could breathe without fearing she was going to throw up.

Could she set the monster free?

Could she turn her back on the man she loved?

This time, she knew she’d have to make a choice.

And there would be no going back.

ELEVEN

Gwen decided she was going to take a long, long walk. Partly because she needed a clearing or stretch of road where she could take off from, partly because she was freezing, but also because she needed to think.

She had woken up shivering. It was the time of year in later fall where during the day, the sun kept everything wonderfully cozy and warm, but once the sun set, things became surprisingly cold.

It certainly didn’t help her mood. She had known that Mordred was likely to kill anyone who came after them after she freed him from the Crystal—that had never been in question. But she didn’t think he was going to go full killer psychopath on her either. She thought she could temper him. Convince him not to murder all the elementals for the sake of it.

Now, she wasn’t so sure.

A tiny part of her said maybe murdering the elementals wasn’t such a bad idea. They were dangerous, slaughtering villagers and innocent, defenseless people without a second thought. They treated the “normal” folk of Avalon like they were nothing more than insects.

But they’re not all like that. Just a shitty few, stirring everything up. It doesn’t mean they all deserve to die. Letting out a groan of frustration, she ran her hands through her hair, tugging on the strands.

Mordred was bent on revenge. Not just against Thorn but against everyone. If—when—Mordred went on a murderous rampage, she had promised to kill him before that’d happen.

Could she?

Sure, she’d promised to.

But if it came down to it…could she really?

Mordred would likely not bother the villagers at least. They weren’t a threat to him, and he seemed as keen on protecting them as she was. But the ongoing slaughter of elementals, both the ones currently in Avalon and all the ones to follow—really, really didn’t sit right with her. They weren’t all bad. Galahad was an elemental. So was Zoe.

Thorn could fuck right off, but whatever.

There were other nice ones out there. She just hadn’t had a chance to meet them. It didn’t help that they were terrified of Mordred, and she was his…what was she, anyway? Girlfriend? Lover? De facto fiancée? It didn’t matter.

She needed to talk to Bert. To get his advice. But there wasn’t time. The longer she left Mordred in that Crystal, the more his sanity was going to crack, and the more damage Thorn was going to cause with her half-assed play for the throne.

Rounding a bend in the path, she saw a clearing up ahead, large enough that she could get a running start to take flight. But as she drew closer, she saw she wasn’t alone.

“Hi, Zoe.” Gwen slowed her steps. She didn’t trust the Gossamer Lady. Especially with her appearing out of nowhere like this. “What’s up?”

Zoe stood up from the rock she had been sitting on, twisting her hands in front of her nervously. “I came to speak with you.”

Gwen didn’t bother asking how the Gossamer Lady found her. Letting out a heavy sigh, she rubbed her temple with her fingers. “You’re here to talk me out of freeing Mordred.”

“I am here to stop you, if I must.”

Oh, good. Good. “I don’t want to fight you, Zoe.” She dropped her hand to her side. “Please, can we not do this?”

Zoe frowned as she stepped closer. “Neither do I wish to fight you, my friend. But I cannot allow you to free the Prince in Iron. The devastation he will bring…this cannot come to pass.”

“Yeah. I know. But I can’t leave him in there to slowly die either. Besides, you want to talk devastation? Have you seen what Thorn’s already done? She and her goons destroyed a city. I don’t even know how many villagers died.” Gwen shrugged out of her coat. If she was going to get into a brawl, the last thing she wanted was to burn it to bits after she had spent so much time stitching the slits up the back. Sure, she could summon another one, but she was still getting the hang of it. And it tired her out, to boot.

“I mourn their loss. Truly I do. But there will be another chance to stop Thorn that does not involve freeing such a monster.” Zoe sounded sincere. She clasped her hands in front of her heart. “Please, Gwendolyn—please break from this path you walk.”

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