Page 125 of Steel Heart Iron Claws

A young doe gently presses her head against my arm, and only then do I realize I’m shaking.

“Sabine!” Artain’s voice tears like thunder through the woods.

Oh no.Oh, gods, no.

My muscles clench as I try to hunch further into the den, wishing I could disappear into the dirt. Ninth Hour hasn’t even struck—and he’s already found me?

How did Ieverthink I could make it until sunset?

“I know you’re here!” he calls. “You leave a trail as wide as a goldenclaw, princess. Here’s some advice for next time: get yourself a pair of boots with a tread that doesn’t catch every dirt clod in the forest. You might as well have drawn me a map.”

My toes curl in my boots. This can’t be happening. He can’t win this easily. I refuse to spend every night of my life at his beck and call, satisfying whatever lurid fae needs he can dream up.

A twig snaps loudly close by—that can’t be an accident. Not with him. Hewantsme to know he’s closing in.

I brace my hands over my head, huddling closer with the deer. My mind races. A part of me wants to just end it. This terrible torture. This awful anticipation. At least that way, I know Basten will live.

But for how long?a voice warns in my head.You know he’ll get himself killed trying to free you from being Artain’s plaything.

“Where are you, princess?” Artain’s voice cuts with a sing-song lilt. “Do I need to stab my knife through every fern until you squeal?”

The game’s terms state that he can’t harm me, only catch me. Still, that’s little reassurance now, when a much darker fate awaits.

“Ah…what’s this? A strand of your hair caught on a branch? By this hill marked with deer prints?”

Fear jolts through me as his voice blasts mere inches outside the den. I press my palm harder against my lips, but I can’t hide my rickety breath.

There’s a terrible moment of silence, and then a scuff as his boots come to stand at the den’s opening.

I’m trapped. Cornered.

So afraid that I might piss these damn trousers.

He stoops, smiling like a jackal as he peeks between the roots. “Hello, princess.”

In that instant, something changes.Ichange.

Awakened by fear, it’s like a different self takes me over. Some deep energy explodes through my skin.

Suddenly, I’m outside of my body, fracturing into six different pieces. Those pieces slam into each of the huddled deer, and before I can blink, the deer herd burst out of the den. A hoof smacks into my thigh, sending pain shooting through the muscle. The young doe knocks my other legover as she bounds out of the den. The big buck’s antlers crack against my temple, but I barely feel anything.

Because I’m not in my body anymore. I’m intheirs.

I puppet the deer herd on pure instinct and adrenaline, barely cognizant of my actions. My fingers twitch as I force the deer’s bodies to knock Artain to the ground.

The first two deer out of the den side-swipe him, making him lose his balance. A third gives him a sharp kick with her hind legs, sending him stumbling to the left.

But the damn bastard is still standing.

Baring my teeth, I dig my fingers in the air with a forceful shove. The big buck lashes forward with the same forceful movement, head lowered. He crashes his massive rack into Artain, who tries to escape the strike but doesn’t make it in time.

An antler spears his left shoulder.

My breath catches.I can hurt him—how?

The terms said they couldn’t hurt me or each other…but no one saidIcouldn’t.

I jerk my hand back. The buck mimics my act, pulling out his antler.

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