Page 67 of What Lurks Between the Fates

Her body stilled, her frame going rigid, as she stared down into the seven people within the pit. None of them so much as glanced up at her, huddled in their fearful group and pretending that the Gods hadn’t come to look down upon them.

“No.” The word was a single command as she spun back to look at me in shock.

There, at the center of the seven, was one of the people she’d thought never to see again. She might have hated my mate for her part in the fall of the Resistance—likely would have even killed Estrella herself if given the opportunity, but still Estrella’s heart bled for what was to come.

The moment her gaze landed on mine, I knew she understood that I had known. Known, and kept it from her.

“I thought you would be pleased to see your old friend,” Mab said.

Fallon hung her head in shame where I saw her to the right, her body sagging in a way that I knew she’d also known of Skye’s presence in the seven sacrifices.

“Fallon certainly was when they were reunited, though I can’t say the same for the human now that Fallon is Fae.”

“How did you even know about her?” Estrella asked, her hurt-filled eyes finally leaving mine. There’d been a plea there, begging me to intercede, begging me to tell her it wasn’t true.

I would not interfere on behalf of one human life—especially not one who’d been cruel to Estrella and looked at her as if she was the devil herself. Not when interfering would put Estrella in harm’s way.

Mab was indifferent to Estrella’s plea, shrugging her shoulders as she glanced toward her daughter. Fallon appeared as if she wanted to shrink into the rock wallsthemselves, refusing to meet Estrella’s eyes as her attention turned toward her.

“Fallon’s memory was filled with images of people in the Resistance when I sorted through it, looking for traces of magic. I brought her here thinking she might serve as an incentive for Fallon,” Mab said, and Estrella spun forward to look down upon the human woman.

I knew the moment she recognized the gash across Skye’s cheek, the way she held herself across the middle, as if she could barely support her weight. The signs of brutality ran deep, though Skye did her best to disguise them.

“Pick someone else,” Estrella said, wincing as soon as she spoke the words. She knew as well as I could that she couldn’t subject someone else to Mab’s cruelty.

That she could never make that choice.

“Give me a name,” Mab said, a serpentine smile transforming her mouth. Sheknewwhat she’d done. She knew this was the first way to stain Estrella’s soul.

To break her.

The choice would kill her, end all the good parts of her that remained.

“I forbid it,” I growled, the command echoing down the bond. I put every ounce of myself into it, watching the moment it struck Estrella in the chest. It came with a sort of bleak understanding as the magic washed over her.

Still, her lips peeled back in a snarl, her hatred of being told what to do battling with the fact that she knew it was for her own good. If she truly desired it, she could fight the command. She could fight the way the bond made those wordsmeaningful.

It was something I intended to use very rarely, especially given the fact I couldn’t be sure who would win if we resorted to an all-out battle of wills.

I smiled, softening the harsh expression I’d adopted when I sent the command. Begging her to see—to understand that I would only command her when she was in danger. She could tolerate the pain, but the hit to her goodness would destroy her from the inside out.

Estrella’s snarl faltered, melting away as she studied me. Slowly, she nodded, stepping into my embrace when I held out my arms.

“Such a bore,” Mab drawled, rolling her eyes to the ceiling as she stepped away to find someone else to torment over the choice they’d made. I pulled my mate in a little tighter, holding her a little harder, knowing I’d played my part in condemning Skye to death.

If it saved Estrella’s soul, I would shoulder the weight of that decision every day.

24

Estrella

Caldris guided me up to my chambers, with Malachi at our backs. He’d been granted the opportunity to spend the night with me, and I had no doubt that it was meant to be another torturous moment.

That we were meant to spend the night knowing the coming days would be filled with death and blood, or what would have been death if the opponents had been human, anyway. It was a slow, delicious torture. Knowing that this night could very well be one of our last together if he was chosen as the sacrifice.

I supposed, in a way, every moment Caldris and I shared had been the same, that our entire relationship had been precarious and riddled with danger. The knowledge of that did nothing to calm my queasy stomach as I moved to the window. Nila had pulled back the curtains, leaving the white sands visible to me just outside the window.

“Is there anything I can do for you, Princess?” Nila asked, coming over to stand beside me. She didn’t touch me as I stared out at the white sand, shaking my head subtly.

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