Page 57 of Trapped By Claws
Blue Ridges shook his head.
I dragged the blade over his arm again.
He howled, struggling against the ropes and swearing at me.
"If you'd rather, I can start on your fingernails," I snarled. "Or I can go get salt water."
"What in the abyss are you?"
"I'm a woman who has had more than enough," I growled at him. "Now answer my questions! I don't give a damn if you bleed out in here. By the time your friends realize you're missing, I'll be long gone. And I don't give two fishbones whether you live."
He stared at me, his upper lip curling. Blood dripped from the cuts.
I sliced the blade over his arm again. "Answer me!"
He howled.
"Answer me, or I will start chopping off body parts. And I don't know what part I'm starting with."
"Fine, fine!" He stared at me with wide eyes, sweat pouring off his brow. "It doesn't matter anyway. You're dead."
"Amazing all the damage I can do despite being dead," I said, my voice low. I stepped closer, lifting the knife.
"Shifter fae with mates aren't as good at protecting the king's interests. Their blood is more potent when they are unmated and forced to have a single shifted form with their human form," he shouted. His breaths were ragged, his eyes white-rimmed. "If they're mated, they're distracted. Their focus is on their mates. They put their strength into protecting their families. Single, unattached shifter fae are the best enforcers and guardians because all that matters is what they are ordered."
"So this king condemns them to a life of loneliness and servitude?"
"It's necessary for the protection of the kingdom," he said, panting. "Shifter fae are worth less than regular fae anyway. They're little more than animals with quirks. Not much better than humans except when used as expendables in high-risk situations like enforcers. This is the only way shifter fae are valuable to the king."
I mulled this over. "So the disease isn't real?"
He scoffed. "The shifter fae are the disease. Do you know how many wars those horny bastards have caused? No, you wouldn't, cause you're a know-nothing human. But don't worry. The king will have you both dragged to the hunt. He'll have made accommodations to ensure you can suffer before you die. You'll die before your mate. They'll make sure of it. Losing their mate is the worst pain a shifter fae can experience."
"And there are other shifter fae like Corvin?" I studied him. He was being much more cooperative now. And he no longer seemed to be struggling. What was he planning? He didn't seem afraid of me gaining this knowledge, so clearly he intended to kill me.
"Over half the enforcers are like your waste-of-space mate, and all the shifter fae are diseased." He let out a rasping laugh, though the sound was forced. "They're dangerous, and having mates makes them unpredictable. The king keeps them isolated and mateless to maintain order. Their only calling is to do his will, and their blood is at its most powerful for alchemical combinations when unmated."
"His magic has no hold past the boundaries of his land, though," I confirmed, pacing.
"You think you can run away with your mate and find some form of happiness out there?" He laughed, his voice harsh. "Well, sure, if you can get past the hunt and the boundaries. This whole sea will be churning with predators searching for the both of you. And even if you figured out some way to escape the deep without drowning, there are still the claws in your mate's arm."
Right. Those damnable claws! "What can be done to counter the venom?"
He scoffed. "You think I know that? What do you think I am, human?" He spat at me again.
I grimaced, wrinkling my nose at him. Disgusting. I slashed the blade over his arm again.
He yelped, struggling harder as he glared at me.
"What do you know about it?" All his words rolled over me. It felt as if I struggled to take them onboard, but I couldn't stop and process them.
He snarled. "The venom is made specifically for each enforcer. No antidote either."
"And the medicine they give Corvin…it's making it worse, isn't it?" I set my jaw. The rage boiled inside me.
"Only way to keep them from finding their mates and in the right headspace. Makes them strong where it counts. You should never have come here or talked to him."
"Yeah, I'm sure you'd prefer it that way."
