Page 434 of Primal Bonds

The other night fae murmured agreement. It was the simplest way to break a geas—kill the fae who’d set it.

“No,” the prince decided. “Better to execute you.”

A flick of his fingers, and Neoma and three other warriors appeared out of the shadows to grab Adric.

Rosana’s lungs squeezed. It was her vision, her nightmare, come to life. Her feet seemed stuck to the ground. She watched, frozen, as they dragged Adric’s arms behind his back and forced him to his knees.

Fleur stepped forward, the knife gleaming in her hand.

And Adric allowed it. He didn’t even try to fight them off.

She understood why when he glared up at Langdon. “Kill me, then. But I’m begging you, let Rosana leave unharmed.” To her, he mouthed a single sentence: I love you.

“No,” she rasped.

“I have no interest in harming her,” the prince replied. “But neither am I inclined to let her leave without receiving something in return. My offer stands: my granddaughter for your lives. Although Senhorita do Rio may, of course, bargain to live that life out as a Seer at my court.”

Fleur stiffened and shot a dark look at Rosana, while the other night fae eyed her with renewed interest. She could almost see them rubbing their hands in glee at having a fada Seer to play with.

Langdon leaned toward Adric, his voice darkly persuasive. “Think, my lord. Without you, your clan will fall to us. Fleur has Seen it. Is one mixed-breed’s life worth so much to you? I promise, the girl will be well treated at my court. Raised as the princess she was born to be.”

The prince will destroy your clan from the inside out.

Ice trickled down Rosana’s spine.

No. Adric couldn’t die. Not only because she wouldn’t survive his death, but because his clan wouldn’t.

Adric glowered up at the prince. “Go. To. Hades.”

Together, her brain shouted.

Instinctively, she reached out to Adric through the bond. The bond was still so new that she was shocked when he reached back. The connection between them hummed and sparked, and her amethyst warmed.

It was like he’d enfolded her in a full-body hug. “Together,” he murmured—and slammed his head back into the night fae directly behind him while he twisted away from the others in a single lithe move. He leapt for Langdon, bearing him to the ground.

Rosana’s mouth dropped open. Then her feet unstuck themselves from the ground. The guards were already moving. She threw herself in front of the nearest one, felling him with a couple of down-and-dirty blows. When your life was at stake, you went for the balls.

Her claws sprouted. She scratched them across another warrior’s face. He swore and clapped his hands over his face.

Adric had his fingers wrapped around Langdon’s throat. The prince’s eyes bulged as he desperately sought to throw him off.

“Run!” Adric rapped out at her. “I’m right behind you.”

But the night fae had surrounded her. Fae balls burned in two of the guards’ hands.

She stepped back—and fingers latched onto her hair from behind, jerked back her head. An iron blade hovered over her throat. “Don’t move,” a voice gritted next to her ear. “Not a single muscle.”

She froze.

“Release the prince,” her captor barked at Adric. “Or your woman dies.”

He glanced up, snarling—and stilled.

“Now,” snapped the warrior holding Rosana. “Or I’ll slice her fucking throat.”

“Okay, okay.” Adric rose to his feet. “I’m off, see?” He raised his hands, palms out. “Just let her go.”

The warriors surrounded him and shoved him back to his knees. Neoma slammed her dagger hilt into Adric’s solar plexus. He grunted and doubled over, chest heaving.

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