Page 126 of Crowned By the Fae King

I certainly didn't mind. I loved the way his touch amplified my connection to him—the way his sheer raw joy poured over me like the summer sun. As far as I was concerned, this could be the new status quo.

We'd gotten into the habit of taking our walks in the forest instead of through the gardens; the gardens were pretty boring during the winter, but the forest was still full of life. Nobody met us, and the guards merely nodded to us as we headed off down our usual path. I had a theoretical guard rotation, of course, but none of them bothered to stick to me like burrs when I was with Cass. They were my decorative guards, for formal events only.

The forest was a lovely place in the early morning. Bright daylight filtered through the naked branches of aspens and illuminated the snow on the dark evergreens, making everything sparkle. Our favored paths were kept clear and freshly sanded, so we crunched along easily next to two-foot-high barriers of snow, heading towards the overlook. It was a favored spot for outdoor sparring matches and duels, given the flattish stone underfoot and the sky-scraping magnificence of the spruce trees. The trees themselves made for an interesting arena, too; the huge trunks made for good cover and limited the movement of people who fought with polearms and heavy weaponry.

It looked to have been freshly cleared, too, maybe for a match. The snow on the ground was only the dusting from last night, and the sandy ground underneath was a bit rumpled.

I ducked under Cass' arm and laced my fingers through his, tugging him towards the more-open space. His brows went up and I grinned up into his face. "Let's dance."

"Dance?" he asked, following me onto the cleared ground. When I nodded, Cass stepped up close to me, setting my hand on his arm and tracing his fingertips down along my spine. "Well, alright," he said with a laugh. "What's your pleasure, majesty? Waltz? Pavanne? Something more sultry, perhaps?"

"Dealer's choice, splendor," I said, giddy with happiness. "Have any—"

A tawny bird appeared, literally out of nowhere, trilling prettily.

Cass' head jerked up as the bird landed on a branch. "A flicker-bird? The fuck?"

My connection to Cass cut with the same cold finality of opals.

I staggered, the sudden loss of sensation all but blinding me. "Cass," I managed to get out—and got flattened as he flung himself over me.

I hit the ground so hard it drove the breath out of my lungs. Branches scratched me through my clothes. Darkness, my vision dancing, TING TING TING thunk thunk TING thunk! Before I could catch my breath, Cass was already moving, flinging himself to his feet, dark bars sticking out of his back.

Arrows. Those were arrows, someone had shot him—

All around us, leather-armored fae materialized out from under their glamors of snow-covered brush, gleaming weapons in hand.

Cass crouched over me, his wings held awkwardly to shield his body and mine from arrows, his hands up in a defensive position as he faced down two sword-wielding fae. A hard-eyed woman, her longsword held in an easy grip; a grim man with a shortsword and shield, a scar across his jaw marking a battle fought with steel. Three arrows jutted out of his back, blood flowing freely, soaking his shirt.

Bleeding. Cass was bleeding.

My eyes widened, panic thrilling through me. Another volley of arrows hissed through the air, pinging off of Cass' wings. One struck him in the calf. Another hit him in the shoulder.

One thunked into the tree next to me. Black like tar coated the head of the arrow and the first three inches of the shaft. Poison—something to stop him from healing. Something to stop him from killing.

Cass snarled like an animal and lashed out with one wing. He hit the scarred man's sword arm, pinning him against a tree, walling off his companion. His foot dug into the ground as he shot forward, grabbing the shortsword before it hit the ground.

He threw himself against the swordswoman, his wing dragging across the pinned swordsman. He was full of arrows, bereft of magic, but he was a living weapon. He knew how to fight.

Blood splattered the snow. The pieces of the dead swordsman slumped to the ground as Cass turned and retreated deeper into the woods, leading them away from me, wing slicked with blood and sword held like a club. Two spearmen menaced him, driving him into position.

Another volley of arrows. One struck him in the back of the thigh. Cass only snarled, hunching his wings and backing away.

I stayed in the snowy bushes where he'd shoved me, keeping my head low as snow melted against me and chilled my skin. With a silent snarl on my face, I scanned the forest. Cass knew how to fight, but he couldn't maneuver while trying to keep the archers off of him. They were easy to find. They weren't even bothering to hide themselves, standing in a loose ring around our cleared area, upslope and on rocky outcroppings.

They didn't give a shit about me. They had their eyes focused on Cass, raining arrows down on him with grim precision.

I could hear him panting. My terror hardened into icy rage. That was my Cass—my soulmate. No one got to hurt him.

Shielded by the brush, with no eyes on me, I crouched, digging my fingers against the stone. My sense of the Court – the one I was used to, flowing so freely into me through Cass – had cut off in the same instant my connection to him had. But I could still feel it, something inside of me that I'd never noticed in the roar of magic from my soulmate, like a single voice in a chorus. I gritted my teeth and gathered my will, focusing on the stone beneath my fingers.

I didn't need to be able to hear Mercy. I just needed it to listen.

I slammed everything I had into the ground beneath my feet. Everything faded into a gray haze as I begged Mercy to help, to take care of them, like standing too fast and having all the blood rush out of your head.

Mercy heard me. Mercy answered. Men shouted—men fell. I blinked my vision clear to see a fallen archer rot into a skeleton, his bones tumbling down the stone to get lost in the snow.

My eyes jerked over to Cass. He didn't hesitate, taking advantage of the opening, pivoting towards a clearing where he could use his wings better.

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