Page 31 of The Manticore's Human Queen
Arrows whistle through the air, aimed at Annelise’s heart. Without thought, I throw myself between her and the projectiles, steel points biting into my shoulders and chest. The pain is nothing—less than nothing compared to the agony of watching her suffer.
“Stay here, little warrior,” I growl, pushing her back into the relative safety of the cage. “It’s my turn to save you.”
The guards at the door loose another volley, but I’m already moving. My body flows like water, like lightning, covering the distance in heartbeats. The first archer opens his mouth to scream as my claws tear through his throat. His companion tries to draw his sword, but I’m on him before the blade clears its scabbard. My hand closes around his skull, squeezing until something vital gives way with a wet pop.
“Form ranks!” someone shouts across the burning hall. “Bring it down!”
More guards pour through the side entrances, their silver armor gleaming in the firelight. Twenty of them, maybe more, all standing between me and the exits. All about to die.
I bare my teeth and let the beast fully awaken.
The first wave hits like a steel tide, swords and spears seeking my heart. I dance between their blades, my claws painting crimson arcs through the air. One guard’s head separates from his shoulders in a spray of blood. Another screams as I tear his arm off at the elbow.
My blood sings with the joy of battle, the intoxicating rush of freedom after so long in chains. Every blow I land is for the humiliation they forced me to endure. Every death is payment for their cruelty.
A spear thrust aimed at my spine slides harmlessly past as I twist away, my backhand sending the wielder crashing into a marble column, shattering stone. Two more guards try to flank me, but I catch one’s sword on my claws and drive my other hand through his chest.
“Surround it!” Lord Renlir’s voice cuts through the chaos. “Pin it down!”
But no one can contain this storm. I am wind and fury, death given form and purpose. These soft, pampered elves have forgotten what real violence looks like. I’m here to remind them.
A crossbow bolt hits my shoulder, spinning me around. I rip it free and hurl it back, punching through the shooter’s breastplate. He topples into the flames, his screams swallowed by the fire’s roar.
The remaining guards hesitate, finally grasping what they face. But it’s far too late for wisdom.
I wade through them like a farmer reaping wheat. Bodies fall in broken heaps, their silver blood mixing with the spreadingflames. One tries to run, but I catch him at the doorway, my claws opening his back from shoulder to hip.
“Please,” another whimpers, his sword forgotten on the floor. “Please, I have children?—”
“So did the humans you’ve tormented,” I snarl, silencing his pleas forever.
The hall grows quiet, save for the crackling flames and the groans of the dying. I stand amid the carnage, chest heaving, covered in the blood of my enemies. For the first time in weeks, I feel truly alive.
No one will cage me again. No one will treat me like an animal to be displayed and mocked. I am Tarek Thalric, warrior of Osiris, and I reclaim my birthright in blood and fire.
But then I hear it—a scream that stops my heart cold. A voice I know and crave, raised in fear and pain.
I spin around to see Lord Renlir near the marriage altar, his hand twisted in Annelise’s golden hair. Her wedding dress is torn and bloody, her face pale with shock, but her eyes burn with undiminished defiance.
“One step closer, beast,” Renlir snarls, pressing a jeweled dagger to her throat, “and I open her up like a festival pig.”
Rage fills me, a white-hot nova of murderous intent that threatens to consume everything. My vision blurs red at the edges, the need to tear him apart with my bare hands nearly overwhelming.
“Let her go,” I growl, my voice barely human.
“I think not.” His blade draws a thin line of blood from her neck, and she winces. “You’ve cost me everything, monster. My son, my guests, my reputation. But I’ll still have my revenge.”
“Tarek,” Annelise calls, her voice steady despite the terror in her eyes. “Don’t listen to him. Don’t let him?—”
Renlir yanks her hair harder, cutting off her words. “Silence, you treacherous little whore. You’ll speak when I allow it.”
The insult shatters my restraint. Every instinct screams to charge forward, to rip his head from his shoulders, consequences be damned. But the blade at her throat holds me frozen.
She saved me. Freed me. Chose me over everything she’d ever known. Now it’s my turn to save her.
“What do you want?” I force out through gritted teeth.
His smile drips with malice. “I want you to kneel, beast. I want you to grovel like the animal you are. And then I want you to watch as I take my time with your precious little mate.”
