Page 33 of The Manticore's Human Queen
Renlir laughs lowly, his free hand trailing possessively down my back, drawing out the moment with deliberate slowness, his body thrumming with the thrill of control, the guests’ envious stares only heightening his ecstasy as he prepares to claim me before them, turning my shame into his ultimate conquest.
35
TAREK
The moment Annelise strikes, everything changes.
I watch her move with deadly precision, her hidden blade finding its mark in a single, fluid motion. Lord Renlir staggers back, hands flying to his face as he screams in agony and rage.
I don’t waste a second.
My legs propel me forward like a catapult, covering the distance in three powerful strides. But even as I move, I see Renlir’s hand close around the dagger’s hilt. With a snarl of pure hatred, he rips it free and drives it toward Annelise’s chest.
A roar tears from my throat, not human but the raw anguish of a beast watching his mate die. The sound shakes the burning hall’s stones, echoing my terror.
My hands close around Renlir’s neck before he can complete the strike. I don’t pause for speeches or threats, don’t savor the fear in his remaining eye. I simply twist. The sharp crack of his spine snapping cuts through the chaos, his body going limp in my grip—nothing more than dead weight and broken bones.
I turn, already reaching for Annelise as she staggers back. My arms catch her before she falls, pulling her against my chest as terror claws at my heart.
“Annelise,” I breathe, my hands frantically searching for the wound. “Where? Where did he?—”
She’s covered in blood, so much blood. Her wedding gown is soaked crimson, the ivory silk now a testament to the violence we’ve unleashed. My vision blurs with panic as I try to find where the blade entered.
“I’m fine,” she gasps, her voice weak but steady. “Tarek, I’m fine.”
“No, you’re bleeding. There’s so much?—”
“Look.” She pulls at her torn bodice, revealing the rigid boning of her corset. The dagger’s blade is embedded in the whalebone stays, its point stopped mere inches from her heart. “It didn’t pierce through.”
Relief hits me like a physical blow, so intense it nearly drops me to my knees. The blood covering her isn’t hers—it’s Renlir’s, sprayed across her when she struck him down.
“You brilliant, magnificent, impossible woman,” I growl, crushing her against me in a kiss that tastes of smoke, victory, and the promise of forever.
She melts into me, her arms wrapping around my neck as if she never wants to let go. Around us, the manor burns, but in this moment, there is only her. Only us.
“We did it,” she whispers against my lips. “We actually did it.”
“We did.” I lift her higher in my arms, cradling her like the precious treasure she is. “And now we leave this place behind forever.”
I turn toward the great doors, carrying my queen through the wreckage of her former prison. Bodies litter the marble floor, the remains of those who thought they could cage a manticoreand his mate. Flames climb higher, consuming tapestries and furniture with hungry tongues.
By morning, only ash and memory will remain.
The cold night air hits us like a blessing as we emerge from the burning hall. Snow swirls around us, pristine white against the hellish glow of the fire behind. Annelise’s wedding gown, torn and bloodied, billows around us like the wings of an avenging angel.
“Where do we go now?” she asks, her voice small in the vastness of the winter night.
“North,” I say, my steps sure despite the uncertain path ahead. “To Rach, to find my brothers. To find our future.”
She nestles closer to my chest, trusting me completely to carry her through the darkness. “I love you, Tarek.”
Her words stop me in my tracks—not because I doubt their truth, but because hearing them spoken aloud makes everything real, both terrifying and exhilarating.
“And I love you, my fierce little queen.” I press my lips to her forehead, breathing in her scent beneath the smoke and blood. “More than my mission, more than my duty, more than my own life.”
Behind us, the manor groans as its supports give way. The sound of collapsing timber and shattering stone follows us into the night, a funeral song for everything we leave behind.
But we don’t look back.
