Page 88 of The King of Frost and Shadows

“What’s wrong,PrincessSunscorched?” Bran winked, straightening and stalking toward me. “Having your wings bound and restrained causing you some problems?” he cooed, enjoying the fright on my face.

Even scared, I refused to be a coward.

I curled my feet underneath me and took a deep breath. I tried to stand. If I couldn’t crawl out, the next best thing was to shove the beast off me. I groaned, and my legs shook, but eventually, I made progress. My muscles screamed. Strength shot through me, and I stood enough that the snake rolled off my back and landed with athudbehind me.

Bran lifted a brow, and his smile spread wider. “This is going to be fun. I get to take the Seelie princess down when she’s starting to show signs of actually being afae. So much better than killing you when you seemed mortal.”

“Not so fast,brother,” Rona said from behind me. “You got to have your fun. It’s my turn.”

She lifted a hand, but I’d had enough. I was done with people seeing me as weak, including Tavish.

I stomped my foot on the snake’s head, opening its huge jaws, and reached down. I yanked out my sword. I’d killthem if that’s what it took to return home … wherever that might be.

Suddenly, spiders were everywhere around me, crawling toward me like they were desperate to reach me. I froze, glancing around and seeing more behind me.

Shit. The snakes weren’t the only obstacles Eldrin had created.

Lorne and Moira clanked swords, the two of them fighting. Lorne shot ice at Moira’s feet, and she fell.

The spiders weren’t around them; they were only around me, their target. Fear had my pulse rising and my mouth drying as my mind fogged over. I couldn’t hold on to any calm.

When a few of the spiders reached me, I yelled, swinging my sword at them. I spun around, slicing all the ones I could reach in half, but instead of bleeding, they flickered and disappeared like they hadn’t been there, and more spiders took their place.

Like they were an illusion.

With every ounce of willpower, I pulled my focus away from the spiders to Rona’s face. She wore a smug expression, just like her brother’s. Their powers were different but worked perfectly together, and I had to be stronger than them and not fall for their magic.

I stood straight, ignoring the fear that had my heart galloping.

This endednow.

Not wanting to leave my mangled armor behind, I bent down and got it. Then I lifted my head, knowing the first person I needed to take out.

Bran.

His fear-inducing powers made me struggle more than the illusions.

I spun and charged him. His smirk disappeared. He lifted his sword just as I reached him, and I swung at his neck.

He blocked me, our swords clanging, but the contact was immediately followed by a loudcrack.

My world tilted as half of my sword’s blade fell to the ground, just as Bran rebounded and jabbed at me.

29

LIRA

My world tilted as the sword pierced my side. Sharp torture consumed me. Bran pushed the sword in deeper, and my knees weakened.

Fighting against the urge to collapse, I locked them and jabbed my broken sword into his arm. Though the sword was only half its original size, it could still be used as a weapon. Grunting, he pivoted toward my injury. If I didn’t move the sword, he’d keep pushing until it killed me.

My head screamed not to do it, but I clenched my jaw, preparing to feel the most excruciating pain of my life. I stepped away from the sword, freeing myself. It felt as if I were being sliced open again, and bile churned upward from my stomach.

Blood spilled from my wound, and I tried to ignore my concern that an artery might have been severed. At this point, it didn’t even matter. Darkness clouded my vision as pain seared through me, but I stood ready to defend myself against the siblings.

“You had your pleasure; now it’s my turn.” Rona swirled her sword beside her without a care in the world.

In fairness, she probably had none. After all, Moira and Lorne were preoccupied fighting each other—which surprised me—so these two could focus entirely on me. They had their wings and magic, and I had access tonothing.

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