Page 25 of Tortured Royals

“How do we get ourselves out of this?” I snap at him. “How do we save Nate?”

He shrugs. “There is no escape from her.”

The fury I hold at his betrayal softens a little then, because I see it. That hopelessness in his eyes. That regret, and the overwhelming pain that seems to consume him. I think of the recording of him being tortured. Of how distant and cold he’s been from the moment I met him. How he’s always pushed me away. He’s known it might come to this, and there’s always been that part of him that rebelled at the idea.

“This isn’t you,” I tell him. “Your mother isn’t who you are. I know you did this for your sister, but she’s the one standing on the dais while we burn. Tell me, what can we do? Your sister must have a weakness.”

When he doesn’t answer, I growl in frustration.

“You would really risk starting a war with the demons over a crime that never happened?” I say to the queen. “We just put our necks on the line coming to the aid of your angels in Sailyn.”

“A choice you made, yourselves,” the queen says dismissively.

“If you take Nate, you’ll have to kill all of us,” I growl, sweat beading on my brow from the heat of the fire.

Queen Vespera’s eyes flash, and she taps her chin thoughtfully. “My my, you are determined to save this street cat, aren’t you?”

Nate scowls, and I lift my head higher. “Like I said, he’s mine, and if you try to take him from me, I swear you’ll regret it.”

The queen glances at the angels across the ballroom before looking back at me. “You know I lost some good archangels in that ridiculous competition of your father’s. All for what? For you to find these five? Well, I’ll tell you what. Seeing as I know how you demons like to play games, how about another competition. If you can best a selection of my finest warriors, then this…Nate,will be free to leave with you.” A sinister gleam enters her eyes. “Fail, and none of you will make it out of the arena.”

“Don’t,” Prince Callan warns.

I frown, thinking of her proposal.

“Oh, you can’t be serious,”Shade squawks.“If you agree and you lose, the queen can kill you without risking war.”

“What choice do we have? You said it yourself. Nate is the barbed one.”

“I’m serious,”Shade goes on.“You know she’ll make it impossible for you.”

She’s right, of course, but I can’t see another way out. There’s no way I’m letting Queen Vespera have my shifter mate.“She doesn’t know us. We’ll find a way.”

Shade continues to protest in my head, but I yell, “Fine. We’ll play.”

“Excellent,” the queen says happily, clapping her hands together.

The dark cloud comes from nowhere, soaring over the fire and smothering us with the queen’s magic. I hear my mates calling my name. Strong hands grab me, and I fight to keep my eyes open, but the darkness still takes me.

Chapter

Ten

~ Princess Blake ~

I’m woken by the roar of the crowd. The cries of thousands fill my ears, and I groan as I lift myself up. Grains of golden sand filter through my fingers, streaming from my hair and clothes. My nose itches, and I sneeze as I stagger to my feet, my head throbbing.

“Shade?” Panic sets in, but I spot my crow on the ground seconds later, her body half-buried in sand. Dropping down, I ignore the pain in my head and lift her into my hands.

She stirs, shaking the sand off her feathers.“Well, it’s official. Angels are just as deranged as demons, because this move seems like it was straight out of the demon king’s playbook.”

“You scared me,”I tell her.

“Enchantress?” Alaric’s growl is faint, almost drowned out by the din of the crowd, but it’s enough that I turn my head in his direction. The assassin lifts himself from the ground a few yards from me. He shakes his head, as if to clear it.

I blink, bleary-eyed back at him, and then I turn, searching for the others. My mates are on the sand, all of us separated a few yards from one another. Alaric was the first to wake after me, and Mason is next.

“My mate!” the centaur shifter calls, struggling to right himself. He staggers toward me, but Alaric remains where he is, his gray gaze going to our surroundings.

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