Page 66 of Fae Reckoning

When Xeno set him down, Ivar’s mouth dropped open. It was a look I’d never so much as imagined on him, let alone witnessed before.

“Take away the snakes, Hiro,” I told my friendsoftly. “They could scare the others.” In fact, several of the rescued captives were already struggling to drag themselves away from the vipers.

A wave of lavender light rolled along Ivar’s body and the snakes vanished. His tunic, and the flesh it concealed, were unmarred.

The woman tried to roll to sit up, but her body was too weakened; she collapsed on herself. Pru scuttled over to help. From where she lay flat on the ground, with a rough squawk that was clear enough, the female said: “Turtle.”

“It’s not possible,” Ivar uttered.

Elowyn sidled next to me, so close that the heat of her body mixed with mine. I wrapped an arm around her waist beneath the ever-present little dragon and pulled her close to my side with a possessive grumble.

“It’s not possible,” Ivar repeated, making it clear that whatever wasn’t possible was precisely that. “You … how … you were supposed to be dead,” he finally said in a strangled whisper.

21.WE’LL RIDE A DRAGON’S BACK THROUGH THE VERY IGNEUSLANDS

RUSH

Elowyn tipped her head toward mine and whispered, “It’s like he’s broken.”

Equally troubled by the unfolding scene, I pulled her closer to my side. Saffron nipped at my head, his spindly baby teeth gliding off my hair before El chided him and guided him to balance on her opposite shoulder, which he was rapidly outgrowing. He resembled a gargantuan bird clinging stubbornly to his tiny perch. The sight would have been comical if not for how Ivar leaned as far forward in his chair as the bindings would allow and stared and stared at the female on the ground. She swallowed wildly, apparently trying to gather the sufficient strength to speak some more. Ivar’s eyes shone as if feverish, regarding the female with such intensity I wondered if he saw her at all or if she was a blur at this point.

The queen’s most trusted advisor was ordinarily conniving and careful to a fault. At court he wascontinually aware of who was doing what, when, where, and with whom. He was a master of the queen’s game, every one of his actions a calculated move that advanced him along her chess board. Now he was completely unguarded in his reactions. Perhaps he was broken.

Pru tended to the female, and when she seemed finally able to talk again, Pru wedged herself beneath her head and shoulders to support her. Elowyn wrapped Saffron’s arms around her neck and pitched ever so slightly forward in anticipation. Everyone else was watching and waiting too. Whatever was happening, it was important.

“Turtle,” the female managed, before a debilitating wheeze. “I knew … you’d come for me … eventual-ly.”

At last, Ivar blinked and returned to himself. “Lis…” His shoulders shuddered against the rope. “Lisbeth? Is that … is that really you?”

The female chortled but it cost her. She coughed feebly, wincing at the ensuing pain. “Who else would i-it … be, Turtle?”

Evidently still in a daze, Ivar shook his head repeatedly. “But … you’re supposed to be dead. All these years … I thought you were dead.”

The female’s breathing was labored. This time she settled for a bitter smile. With her lips so parched and her face so thin, it was a grim sight.

In total silence, as a group we observed while Ivar lowered his chin to his chest, seemed not to even notice the absence of the snakes, and clenched his handsaround the armrests so viciously that the wood creaked. His muscles surged against his bindings, and as he began to shake, he threw back his head and bellowed so loudly that the few birds who’d returned after the queen screamed through Ramana took to the sky again. His head thrown back, he panted like an animal.

“Who the sunshine is she to him that he’s freaking the fuck out like this?” Elowyn asked me softly, showing Ivar more respect than he deserved.

“His sister, maybe?” I offered, mostly because my own had so recently been returned.

El hummed and cooed at Saffron, who was trying to burrow his snout in her hair. The little guy had no concept of personal boundaries.

Ivar flung his head forward. His nostrils flared, his eyes blazed. He pulled against his bindings with unbridled rage. The rope held, imbued with goblin magic.

“I’m going to kill her,” Ivar screamed at the top of his lungs. Underbrush rustled as small animals bolted away. Azariah squeaked and shuffled closer to the ranucu, who was unbothered that the pegicorn apparently wanted to forge a similar relationship with him as Saffron had with my mate.

“I’m going to kill her,” Ivar repeated at the same punishing volume. A pulse of storm-gray-hued power washed over him in waves until the enchanted rope dissolved wherever it touched him. Its remaining pieces fell limply to the ground at his feet.

I stepped in front of El, drawing the cutlass and dagger once again. Xeno was already beside me,covering Elowyn’s other side—as if I were incapable of protecting my own mate. Still, I couldn’t fault him for his protective instincts. The changeling was a formidable ally. Hiro, Ry, Roan, and Reed drew closer so that they could rush Ivar. West stood like a stone wall in front of Ramana.

But Ivar only screamed again, making no move to attack or even stand. His head plunked into both hands, while his shoulders and entire back shook. “I’m going to kill her,” he muttered.

Elowyntskedand stepped out from behind Xeno and me. On their own, my legs moved to follow her. I settled beside her in a defensive stance. When Xeno sidled up next to her on the other side, she rolled her eyes but spoke only to Ivar.

“I have no idea who she is,” Elowyn told him. “You can scream about her being alive all you want, but there’s absolutely no way you’re gonna kill her. We want to save them all, not let them die, asshole. You’re going to have to go through all of us to get to her.”

I grunted in agreement. Xeno growled, sounding like his dragon was already pushing against his flesh.

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