Page 4 of The Court of Thorns and Wings

Desperate to escape the agony, I tried to fight, but nothing worked. My body began to hurt in a way it hadn’t when I’d descended into peacefulness, a place I was desperate to return to.

My suffering continued to intensify.

A faint buzzing filtered through my brain, taking the edge off. A comforting sensation settled over me, and I stopped fighting.

The sensation was familiar, reminding me of something.

I racked my brain to rememberwhat. It suddenly seemed important, but then the torturous agony strummed through my body, and my head fogged, making it hard to ascertain anything.

“Lira…” A deep, sexy voice resonated from miles away. “Bedchambers… safe… keep… fighting.” The words kept going in and out like I was going through an area with bad cell reception. “Can’t… lose… you.”

Then an image of a man seared my brain.

Hair the color of darkness and eyes a stormy gray that made me feel things I didn’t understand. As if those two attributes alone didn’t make him the sexiest man I’d ever seen, leathery onyx wings spread out behind him, contrasting with his pale skin.

Then a name clicked into place.

Tavish.

He’d stopped the gauntlet to save me, risking his people turning on him because of what I represented to them.

TheSeelie.

Despite the agony, I stopped fighting the yank. I would gladly suffer through hell as long as I got to see and talk to him again. He deserved a thank-you for what he’d done for me.

Something stabbed my side, increasing the discomfort on top of the agony. I focused on the buzz, using it as my anchor, but then it vanished.

My breath caught, and I wanted to cry out for him, but I couldn’t form words. I whimpered, but then I faded back into the darkness, where pain couldn’t reach me.

A worried tone tugged at my consciousness, and agony washed over me again, though it had improved slightly. This time, as I tried opening my eyes, my lids fluttered. I stirred, and the warmth in my chest swirled toward the side of me that radiated pain.

What had happened to me?

Memories of the gauntlet slammed back into me. Bran had stabbed me in the side—both he and his sister, Rona, had fought with every intent of killing me. Little did either of themknow that they’d succeeded, even though I’d taken the blighted wildlings down with me.

My heart ached as I remembered that I had murdered Rona. I wished I could take it back, but I might as well wish that I didn’t need oxygen to breathe.

Futile.

I would carry her death with me for the rest of my life, knowing I’d killed someone who’d believed they were doing what they had to do to survive. The same as I’d done, but why should I feel justified in taking her life?

“If anything changes—” Tavish’s voice broke.

The heartbreak in his voice shook me. I couldn’t keep doing this to him. I needed to open my eyes and thank him. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here now.

Focusing on stirring, I couldn’t make out what they were saying anymore. I couldn’t believe how hard I had to struggle to do something so simple.

My chestyankedhard, the way it sometimes did when Tavish left my proximity. Everything inside me screamed, and I rasped, “Tavish.”

The entire room became silent, and the mattress dipped on my right side. Someone took my hand. The buzz thrummed back to life. Tavish.

“Sprite?” he whispered, his hand squeezing mine.

I swallowed, but my saliva might as well have been sandpaper. My throat was dry from physical fatigue and the dirt and sand of the arena floor. Yet, with his touch, the warmth spreading from my chest heightened, allowing my eyes to crack open.

Our eyes locked, and his stormy gray ones caused my heart to gallop. There was something in them I hadn’t seen before, though I couldn’t clearly label an emotion.

“You gave us a scare.” Finnian was perched by my feet, giving me an exhausted smile. “And it’s nice to hear your heart beating once again.”

---