Page 87 of The King of Frost and Shadows

Cold terror choked me as I movedtowardthe striking beast, but by me doing so, it didn’t have a clear angle to my body. Rotating, I lifted my sword, not wanting it to attack Lorne without him knowing, but the snake dissolved into gas.

“Be ready,” Lorne rasped as he landed back on the ground behind me. “It won’t wait long. It’s trying to tire us out.”

“Us?” I hated to ask the question, but he hated my guts. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, but I didn’t want to fall victim by being too trusting.

Fae couldn’t be trusted on either side. That was something my parents had told me multiple times. My brow furrowed, and the world shifted. Mom and Dad had never told me that on Earth. They didn’t know anything about fae, yet the memory remained, though the faces and voices weren’t clear.

“You saved my wings one too many times,” Lorne answered tightly. “I owe you, and that’s something I don’t take lightly.”

My body relaxed marginally, but the snake reformed and streaked around the arena. If Lorne felt like he owed me, I wouldn’t argue. I needed every bit of help I could get to survive and fight … for my life and my freedom.

The snake didn’t move like the ones back on Earth. Another random fact jumped into my head. It moved similarly to the ones in the Seelie kingdom that enjoyed playingin the Aelwen River back in Gleann Solas, with more of a glide than a slither because water coated its body. This snake was made of gas and didn’t need to move its body from side to side because it was as light as air.

I tightened my hand on the hilt and lifted my sword, ready for the snake to attack. My pulse thudded so hard that I could feel it in my neck. Every cell in my body was alive, and I swore my vision had improved marginally.

The muscles in Lorne’s back jerked, and I glanced over my shoulder to see the snake attack him. Lorne swung his sword, but the snake moved to the left, leaving Lorne open for its attack.

Screaming, I jabbed my sword at it. The snake evaporated, and I hit the dirt. My chest heaved from exertion and fear. How the hell were we supposed to kill the damn thing when it kept disappearing into thin air?

“Blighted abyss, Lira. I’m supposed to be paying off my debt to you, not adding more to it.” Lorne shook his head, but he placed his back against mine.

I almost wanted to laugh. “Sayingthank youworks just as well.”

He scoffed, but we faced away from each other and waited for the snake to reappear. This time, the gas charged toward me, moving faster than I could comprehend until the snake was upon me.

I needed to do something rash, or Lorne and I would die, so as the snake opened its mouth, I thrust the sword and my hand inside while wedging the armor right behind to keep the snake from closing its teeth on me.

A loud hiss gurgled from it, and I jerked my hand out, leaving the sword behind, not wanting to chance getting bitten. I was lucky it hadn’t bitten me already, and somehow,I knew the best way to take out these snakes was by handling it just like I had.

I could see the technique being taught to me, but my teacher was blurry.

Why were all these memories coming back to me suddenly? I wasn’t sure if they were comforting or not, but I couldn’t deny this one had saved me.

The snake rose forward like it was fighting for its life before it dropped toward me. I tried to move, but all I managed to do was turn around and shove Lorne out of the way before its massive body landed right on top of me.

I smacked into the ground with the weight of the snake bearing down on me. I waited for its head to lift so it could bite me before it died, but all I felt was blood trickling from its teeth onto my head and into my hair.

“Lira, hold on,” Lorne said.

Then, the sound of several feet hitting the ground caused my heart to leap into my throat.

Now that the three snakes were dead, the other fae had landed, and I didn’t have a hard time figuring out their goal.

Me.

I’d survived the snakes to die at the hands of the Unseelie prisoners who had magic and free wings. There was no doubt I’d soon be dead. It had been Eldrin’s goal the entire time.

Fear surged through me. There wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stay alive. As the blood coated my left side, I lifted my head to see Bran squatting ten feet away, his silver eyes glowing and his smile filled with glee … as if he could feel my terror.

Like he could very well be causing it.

Emotions could be manipulated as part of illusionarymagic to make someone feel something they didn’t truly feel. That had to be his power.

Gritting my teeth, I tried to take deep breaths, but more sand and dirt clogged my throat and filled my lungs, preventing me from calming down. I had to get the snake off me fast.

Blades clanged, no doubt from Lorne and the others fighting. I hoped he could hold them off and wouldn’t decide that his debt to me wasn’t worth dying for.

I clawed at the ground to free my body from the snake, but my chained wings were stuck. I couldn’t flatten them to get out.

---