Page 107 of What Lurks Between the Fates

He’d stood from the bed, shrugging his tunic on as he seemed to dress for the evening without a care. The black folds of his tunic held the subtlety of gold stitching, something far less delicate for him to wear.

Nila untied my robe, shrugging it off my shoulders. “We must hurry,” she said, tugging the thin fabric over my head. It was like wearing the Veil itself, like wrapping myself in the magic of the Lunar Witches and the God who’d given his life to the creation of the boundary.

One strap of the fabric rested upon my shoulder as she pulled the subtle laces tight at the back, pressing the corsetinto my body. It was the perfect color match for my bronze skin, as if it had been designed with me in mind. The other sleeve hung off my shoulder, draping delicately to wrap loosely around my elbow.

The fabric shimmered as I moved, a slit in the fabric going up to my waist. There were no undergarments beneath it. Nothing to protect me from prying eyes if I moved less-than gracefully.

“Why am I wearing this?”

“Mab wants you to dress as she wills. She wants to bathe you in shadows to call attention to your similarities. But you are not the Queen of Air and Darkness, Estrella,” Nila explained, resting a hand upon each of my biceps as Caldris threw open the door.

He moved quickly, snatching the sword from Malachi before the other man could blink. I bolted toward the door, watching in horror as my mate shoved his forearm against Malachi’s throat. The shout he’d been drawing in air for died at the impact, leaving the guard gasping for breath as Caldris stole his air and crushed his windpipe.

Caldris swung that blade down, slicing through the flesh of Malachi’s wrist. His hand fell to the floor, flopping uselessly to the stone as Caldris turned the sword in his grip and dragged it across the other male’s throat in a smooth arc. Malachi collapsed, his back sliding down the wall as he pressed his hand and the bloody stump into his bleeding throat. The wound, despite the iron blade, wouldn’t be fatal.

He bent down, picking up Malachi’s severed hand and striding back into my rooms. He pulled the door closed behind him, leaving my guard’s body slumped against the wall. That wound could heal in time.

“Turn around,min asteren,” Caldris murmured, his jaw clenched as I did what he said. I spun as Nila swept my hair to the side, revealing the magical lock at the back of my collar.

He pressed Malachi’s severed hand to it. The iron fell away as my body hummed. Dropping to the floor at my feet, the metal lump no longer served any purpose as the creature within me rose from her iron-induced slumber. She rolled her head from one side to the other, growling at the device that had effectively stolen her voice for weeks.

I bent down as golden light pulsed up my arm, illuminating my Fae Mark in a wave that began at my fingers and slithered up to the side of my neck and my chest. I grasped the collar, my hand burning as I carried it to the window and thrust open the panes.

I cocked my arm back, resisting the urge to scream as I threw it as far as I could. It landed out of sight, and I imagined it sliding across the white salt of Tar Mesa. As I turned back to face my mate, he raised his chin to me.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who had been keeping secrets.

His mouth cocked into a smirk, and I glanced toward the door.

“What’s the plan?” I asked, meeting that arrogant stare with one of my own.

I rolled my neck from one side to the other, reveling in the feeling of freedom without that damn collar. I felt more animal than human—than Fae—as I waited to hear what my mate and handmaiden had conspired to do.

“We’re going to make a statement,” Caldris said.

I pursed my lips, glancing toward the door once more. “Is there any particular reason why he’s still breathing?” I asked.

Caldris shrugged as if it was inconsequential to him, making his way to the door. He hauled it open, grabbing Malachi by the arm and dragging his body into the privacy of my room. I stared down at the unconscious but alive body of the guard who’d caused so much suffering.

The memory of his blade cutting through the neck of the human mates brought a snarl to my lips.

“This feels like playing the short-term game,” I muttered as Caldris knelt at Malachi’s side. His attention turned to me, the motion slow and furious as he met my stare.

“You,” he said, baring his teeth. “Have been spending far too much time with Rheaghan, my star.”

I swallowed, grinning back at the face of his jealousy as he plunged his fist into Malachi’s chest. His hand disappeared as breastbone cracked beneath his punch, emerging only when he pulled a heart free.

The God of the Dead rose to his feet, striding toward me slowly. When he reached me, that heart still clutched within his grasp, he knelt before me. Holding up the bloody flesh, he held my stare as he offered me the heart of a male who had caused me so much suffering.

“My Queen,” he murmured.

I smiled down at him, reaching out to take Malachi’s heart in my hand. “Did my status rise?” I asked, making a bark of laughter rumble from him in response.

“It’s only a matter of time, Little One,” he said, glancing back toward Malachi’s body.

With his heart clasped in my palm, I shifted my attention to him and walked around the kneeling form of my mate. Dead, unseeing eyes stared up at the ceiling, his heart ceasing to beat. I cocked my head to the side as I lowered myself beside him, something malicious washing over me.

All those centuries my mate had served as a slave, all those years commanded against his will. Malachi had been a willing part of that, taking free will from the man I loved.

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