Page 123 of The Forbidden Fae King

“He would have killed you, for being a mere inconvenience, like swatting a fly. For getting in his way and trying to stop him. I would have ripped him to pieces if he drew even a drop of your blood. I would have found who hired him and?—”

“But he didn’t,” I say. “And I was more than an inconvenience. I held my own until you woke up.”

My fingers stroke the war pattern across his face, disappearing beneath my touch, as though I wiped it away. I caress those horns, tracing their path, like small, thin antlers. They feel so real, so solid, until they dissipate to ash and blow away. His fingers are completely black, ending in long claws.

Only the strongest of fae reveal their roots to their gods in a physical form.

Aldrin looks away from me. “I was foolish in thinking Titania would not stoop this low. She is insane to hire an Assassin ofBelladonna to kill me.” Aldrin scoops me up into his arms and places me on the bed.

“An Assassin of Belladonna?” I ask as he pulls our prepacked bags out of a trunk.

“There are places in this world that don’t belong to any of the courts. They live by their own laws. The temple of Belladonna is said to be on a mountaintop between courts, but no one knows where. They breed and train the realm’s most deadly assassins.”

I glance to the dead, twisted body hanging from the ceiling and an icy shiver runs down my spine.

He had been someone’s son. Maybe a brother or a friend, too.

What makes someone give all that up, to lose everything they once were, to become an assassin? To die for such a cause, instead of risking being made to talk?

A deep sadness fills me at the loss of such a soul, not in their death, but in a life lived like that.

“Do they work for commissions only?” I ask. “Or do they have their own political motivations?”

“It’s not really known,” Aldrin replies over his shoulder, tossing travel clothes at me. “Get ready to flee. We can’t remain in the city. There will be more coming.”

“But you defeated him easily.” My hands tremble, but I do exactly as he says.

Aldrin pauses and turns to me, spreading out his arms. “Very few could take down a Belladonna Assassin, but I am the king of spring, standing within the seat of my power. That is why he came in here on silent feet and tried to kill me in my sleep.” He takes my hands and looks into my eyes, pure worship shining within them. “It would have worked, if you hadn’t saved my life. Thank you.”

I swallow. “You saved mine too.”

Aldrin shakes his head. “You wouldn’t have been at risk if it hadn’t been for me.”

This is what I will abandon him to. Plots and assassins in the night.

Aldrin shoulders his pack and tosses mine at me, then leads me out of the room.

I try and fail to ignore that dead assassin still hanging by branches within his rooms. “Are we going to leave the body there?”

“Yes. It's evidence of an assassination attempt and I am going to make sure the entire court hears about it.” Aldrin grunts. “We have to gather the rest of our band. They could have set assassins on them too, but it's unlikely that?—”

“Caitlin!” I yelp, spinning to him. “Would they have gone after Caitlin?”

Aldrin pushes me gently through the entrance hall. “No. She would not be on their list, but she is coming with us in case.”

A banging resounds loudly at the main entrance of Aldrin’s apartment. It starts as frantic knocking and rattling of the handles, then the entire door frame shakes as a man throws his shoulder against it. Aldrin pulls me behind him with a swift moment and a gust of wind rapidly whips around us as he readies his magic.

“Aldrin!” Silvan cries out. “By the gods open the door!”

My chest is pressed against Aldrin’s back, and I feel the tension release from him. The breeze around up drops, and the air before the doors shimmers as Aldrin removes his ward. Silvan barrels in, with Drake at his side. Both men stare at us, then their gaze passes over our shoulders to the bedroom and the dead assassin within.

“Fuuuuck,” Silvan breathes, stress tightening his shoulders.

The color drains from Drake’s face. “I’ve never heard of someone fighting a Belladonna Assassin and living.”

“Well, I’ve never taken one on before,” Aldrin snaps.

“Why did you come racing here, Silvan? What news did you hear?” I ask gently.

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