Page 15 of The King of Frost and Shadows

Nightbane’s eyes glowed brighter, making them creepier and reminding me of the hue around the moon during a total solar eclipse. He lunged, his sizable paws pushing firmly on my chest.

The beast weighed more than me, and before I realized what was happening, Nightbane had me falling onto my back. I gritted my teeth, bracing for the inevitable impact and pain.

Strong arms circled my waist just as Tavish grumbled, “Blighted abyss. The worst decision you could make is trying to run away from a cù-sìth.”

He pulled me up, my skin buzzing where his arms touched me and heat flaring through me as my back settledagainst his muscular chest. He took the brunt of both my weight and Nightbane’s, though the animal’s paws kept digging into me while it towered over me.

Drool hit my cheeks, and I swallowed to prevent myself from vomiting. I had to get out of this, buthow?

“Calm down,” Tavish gritted. “It will be more efficient if you allow him to do his job. You’re irritating him, which will make this far more challenging than it needs to be and hurt worse than necessary.”

Did the sexy buffoon just tell me to die without a fight?

Fuck no.

Nightbane lowered his huge face to my neck, his mouth still open, while Tavish tightened his arms around me to hold me in place.

I refused to die without a fight. I didn’t care if he was king of the world in this universe.

Jerking my chin down, I caught the wolf’s snout between my head and neck. Nightbane flinched back, freeing himself from my hold. Then he opened his mouth, and a terrifying noise like nothing I’d ever heard before expelled from what could only be his soul.

Now I understood what Tavish had meant. Still, I lifted my knees toward my chest, hoping like hell Tavish wouldn’t let me go.

“Lira—” Tavish warned, tightening his arms to the point that my ribs ached. “Don’t—”

I used as much strength as I could muster to shove my feet into the mutt’s lower belly and get him off me. My right ankle throbbed, and my legs gave out. The huge beast merely stood on its hind legs and moved mere inches from me, and I doubted anyone here would believe that I’d practiced self-defense at least four times a week since I was ten, given how pathetic the kick had been.

Regardless, it was enough for Nightbane’s demeanor to snap. A threatening growl rumbled from deep within, and his putrid breath hit my face. His eyes shone bright like green lasers as the fur on the nape of his neck rose even higher.

If the wolf dog had been angry before, he was furious now.

“Does she want to die?” Finnian chuckled. “Because it sure seems that way. I get she’s Seelie, but—”

Nightbane jumped.

This was it … the moment I died.

My body shifted so that I faced the floor and dropped. I hit the tile floor, but it wasn’t a hard impact until a gigantic body landed on top of me. My body buzzed as Tavish tensed, protecting me.

The air left my lungs as his weight bore down on me.

“Nightbane!” Tavish roared.

The wolf whimpered and whined heartbreakingly.

Tavish’s weight vanished off me, and I could take a breath.

“You weren’t instructed to attack,” Tavish said sternly.

“Your Majesty,” the armored man who was with Nightbane croaked. “She’s a Seelie and a prisoner—”

I spun around to find Nightbane cowering and pawing at the floor, his once ferocious face looking more like that of a scared puppy than a grown wolf.

“Did I ask for your opinion?” Tavish interjected. His wings spread out, blocking me. “What is the punishment for providing something I clearly don’t want?”

I scanned what I could see of the room around his wings, noting Finnian sat at the edge of the couch. His light-blue eyes weren’t locked on the debacle but instead on me.He tilted his head as if I were a puzzle he couldn’t piece together.

When our gazes locked, he didn’t even pretend to be ashamed and continued to stare at me. I inhaled sharply.

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