Page 76 of Wrath

The cuffs around his wrists were easier thanthe one around his neck, mainly because I didn’t need to create another magical key. The first one I made worked perfectly.

One by one, the manacles fell to the ground.

The goblin staggered back a step, a plethora of emotions flashing across his face too quickly for me to analyze. He placed both of his palms against his chest.

Slowly, the black magic began to slither away from him, disappearing back into the forest.

Wait…no.

Not just him.

The magic was leavingallof the goblins, almost as if it had a life of its own—which I was beginning to believe it did. Black coils danced on the wind and moved across the ground before disappearing from view.

No one was fighting now.

The forest was still, though not silent. I could hear my own heart pounding erratically and the ragged breaths of my mates.

The goblins stood there, not moving, not even breathing, their gazes fixed on the monarch.

And the monarch was staring at me.

Then, in a shaky voice rife with pain, the goblin whispered, “Thank you.” He dipped his head subserviently. “Thank you for freeing my family.”

TWENTY-FIVE

Z

That night, I dreamed I was in a garden.

The sun was high in the sky, glimmering like freshly polished gold, and illuminated the colorful flowers and bushes lining the paved walkway. In the distance, a fountain shot water into the air. Birds chirped overhead. Everything was serene and beautiful and?—

I paused, a frown tugging at my lips when something crackled beneath the weight of my shoe. I glanced down to see that the grass, once a vibrant green, was now brown and brittle, the blades snapping with every step I took. The flowers began to droop and wilt, and bugs scurried up their stems.

On closer inspection, I saw that the fountain was cracked and decaying, graffiti covering every square inch, and the water inside of it was a greenish-brown color. Dark storm clouds skidded across the sky, blotting out the sun, and the temperature dipped dramatically. Goose bumps pebbled on my arms as a cold wind skirted through the garden.

“It’s sad, wouldn’t you agree? How easily things can die?”

I spun on my heel, sucking in a sharp breath.

Aaliyah sat on the edge of the fountain, her long legs folded at her ankles. She wore a stunning black dress with lace sleeves and a plunging neckline. Her red hair was styled in loose waves today that cascaded down her back like a cloak of blood. One of her hands absently stirred the disgusting water while the other rested primly in her lap.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded, anger thrumming through me, briefly eclipsing any fear I might have felt in her presence.

“In this garden or in your dream?” Aaliyah turned to stare at me, her expression unreadable. “I didn’t choose the location, I’ll have you know.”

Even before she had finished speaking, I was shaking my head. “You’re not truly in my dream. You’re just a figment of my imagination.”

One of her brows lifted. It made her look even more arrogant than normal, a feat I didn’t think was possible.

“I happen to have a dream eater in my employment.” Aaliyah straightened and folded both hands in her lap.

“A dream eater?”

A smirk tugged up her blood-red lips. “It’s exactly as it sounds, my darling sister. He can help me enter dreams…and of course, destroy them afterwards.” She waved a flippant hand in the air. “But don’t worry. I want you to remember this dream.”

My heart rate spiked. “That’s?—”

“Impossible?” She laughed and then stood gracefully, smoothing her hands down the length of her skin-tight dress. “Nothing is impossible, my dear sister. Not when you have hell at your disposal. But don’t worry. I don’t enter your precious mates’ dreams…much.” A taunting smirk curled up her lips. “Though I have to say, the one time I paid a visit to Killian, he showed me things no man had ever shown me before. The things he can do with his?—”

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