Page 85 of The Shadow Fae Rhapsody
Scarlet stains the priest’s face from embarrassment. “Oh well, we just need to check if the Nightwalker’s loyalty is to Aelfheim.”
He should know I am far worse than anything he claims. My hand twitches as he keeps on belittling her.
“Enough of this,” Rhianelle snaps, stepping between me and the Head Priest. “Do not speak of him that way.”
I love that she doesn’t hesitate to defend me. Her fiery anger makes Nel look like an angry cat. I want to hold her so badly, scratches and bites be damned.
Rivtarr pays her no heed.
“This is a test to see where his allegiance lies.” The priest shrugs. “He is bound to a traitor’s house after all.
A small change in the line of Nel’s face. “What do you mean by that?”
“Don’t you remember?” he asks, his voice rising in pitch. “You still owe seventy-seven strikes to the gods. Until you fulfill that punishment in the capital, your status in the eyes of our temple is no different from a tavern wench.”
The disrespect.
I fucking lose it.
Shadows stir in the room as Coinneach brings them to life.
Taron sees the threat to his master and strikes me with all his might. The impact of his punch has no more effect than striking a boulder. I push him aside with little effort.A crack filters through the air as his body slams to the wall.
Rivtarr stares at the cleric’s unmoving body and begins running. Big fucking mistake. The Lord of Night, Ysendral catches the priest easily and envelopes him in his ribbons of shadows.
I can practically feel the fear leeching through each of his labored breaths. It’s sickening and disgusting.
“Stop this! Remember who you serve!” he screams.
“I do not serve Aelfheim,” I answer the bastard. The atmosphere becomes stifling and heavy, crackling with violence.
“I’d be perfectly content on draining every single soul in here. It’s a shame you all taste like piss,” I tell him, my snarl rattling the glasses in the hall. “Remember this, the only thing keeping me from killing all of you is your queen.”
“That pathetic bitch is no queen of mine—”
Let me cut… Snip, snip,Coinneach whispers, morphing his shadows into a pincer.Cries of anguish and horror resound in the chamber when he eventually removes the priest’s tongue.
The Night Lord is vain and inventive with his torture. He plans to shred the priest from limb to limb next.
The rest of the elven nobles are staring at the scene with wide eyes, some running for their pathetic lives. Maybe I should end them too just for the fuck of it.
They mean absolutely nothing to me.
From the corner of my eyes, I see Red and Eyepatch trying to control the crowd, Tall One struggling to keep Nel from me.
Why the fuck is he handling her that way? The first emotion that rises in me is anger. It quickly abates when I realize he is shielding her from the gruesome sight.
From me.
Coinneach is not finished with Rivtarr. He holds the priest’s tongue with the tip of his wispy fingers, opening his mouth to swallow the thing like it’s a delicacy.
I look around at the scared faces around me. Revulsion and horror have replaced the awe they had for Rhianelle at the beginning of the evening. They are reminded once again that their queen is married to a beast. Everything she worked for is eclipsed by my outburst.
I toss the fucker and his tongue across the room and leave.
Chapter 12 Svenn
There is a bitter chill in the outside air as I walk along the terrace. I take a long swig of the bottle to calm my nerves.
