Page 58 of Trapped By Claws
"You shouldn't be so smug. You aren't the first mate to get through to an enforcer. All that means is there's got to be a spectacle. An example has to be made of both of you." Blue Ridges sneered. "Which is why you won't make it if you take to open waters, you pathetic waste of flesh. At best, you'll die down here alone. Or they'll come back here and find you eventually. Do you really think the king just sent for the shifter fae to have a nice little chat?"
I paused. "What do you mean?"
"Do you really think the king will let him go? He's as good as dead now. And whether someone's found you to drag you in, he'll be drained of more blood and then dropped into the hunt. Even if he escapes that, the king will start setting off those claws until he's all but paralyzed. Then we'll find him. Best way would be if he almost escaped and survived andthenwe found you so we could tear you apart in front of him. Regardless of how it goes though, your beloved will be praying for death before the sun sets."
I had to warn him.
No. It was too late for that.
What was I supposed to do? My mind spun. Could I send a message? How?
Every possibility I came up with was either impossible or unusable. I dragged my hand through my hair.
Wood crunched. Something snapped.
Tagger shrieked.
I spun.
Blue Ridges had broken the chair and now charged me, teeth bared, eyes hard.
I brought the butcher knife down, but he caught me on the downswing.
His hand clamped cruelly around my wrist as he slammed me into the wall.
Light exploded in front of my eyes. I couldn't even get out a gasping breath.
He clenched his hands around my throat as the knife dropped from my fingers. "The king will flay you alive and feed you to his pets. They'll cut your flesh and grind your bones down for potions and charms, but no one will care if I break a few before I drag you there." His thumbs crushed against my windpipe as he pinned me there.
Dark spots danced before my eyes.
DECLARATION
Blue Ridges used his weight to pin me to the wall, his fingers crushing along my throat. I flailed at the side of his head and clawed at his face, but he just laughed.
"You'll suffer so much before you die," he gloated.
Tagger bit him in the back of the calf.
With a grunt, Blue Ridges kicked him viciously.
"Don't hurt him!" I barely managed to choke the words out as I struck at Blue Ridges.
Cursing, he backhanded me, and my head struck the wall. Blood filled my mouth. Everything slowed.
Blue Ridges flung me across the room. My body cracked against the stone as he pounced on me again. "Don't worry, you pathetic little human." He kicked me in the side. "I won't kill you. I'll just kill the otter. Then I'll reunite you with your love. You'll have so much fun." He kicked me again and again, laughing.
I grabbed for the knife but grasped my stew spoon instead. I cracked it across his face. The glue bond snapped, and the pieces fell apart.
Blue Ridges cuffed me. I staggered backward, striking one of the stools. I met the ground.
Snarling, he leapt on me.
The force of his weight on me drove the air from my lungs. His fingers clamped around my throat. The taste of my own blood filled my mouth.
Everything blurred.
I jammed the broken end of the spoon into his shoulder near the juncture of his neck.
