Page 122 of Haunted Hearts

Blasts of magic shoot upwards, deterring or killing the creatures before they get too close.

“Willow!” Brock kneels beside me. “Are you alright?”

He helps me to my feet while scooping up my scythe and drags me into his chest.

“I’m fine.” My hand lands on his shoulder to keep myself steady.

“We could have blocked his attack! Why would you—”

“Willow!” Brock and I both jump at the sound of Jonah’s voice. Brock shoves my scythe back into my hand as we both turn to find Jonah leaning out the far window on the upper left-hand side of the building. “We got you something!”

Jonah disappears. A second later a body is thrown out the window. It looks like a sack of potatoes as it soars downward and hits the ground hard. A small plume of red dust billows around the body.

No… it can’t be…

Around us the skeletons topple apart. The house begins to tremble and shake. A line runs up and through the stones that make up the structure. The front door falls off its hinges and the roof begins to fall inwards, piece by piece.

Jonah is out the window next. He lands on his feet beside the heap on the ground. Theo follows, and then Viktor. As Viktor’s feet hit the ground, the house collapses in on itself.

“Willow,” Viktor calls and waves me over.

My white-haired Fae is grinning from ear to ear, though it lacks any amusement. It’s a terrifying expression of a hungry predator, ready to share his kill with his mate. My heart flutters in both hope and excitement. My feet are moving even before I realize it. Kwil snarls, putting himself in front of me just off to the side, ready to protect me if need be. Brock stands right beside me.

Theo crouches down and picks up Fulton by the back of the neck. With ease, he lifts the warlock onto his feet. When Fulton lifts his face, I bark out a delighted laugh.

“Oh, Fulton, you look…” I shake my head as a sick and twisted joy settles in my heart.

The warlock is dying. A slow and painful death. His skin is graying dramatically before us, and his hair loses its luster. His skin is slowly mummifying and when the warlock looks up at me, his eyes are sinking into his skull.

All around us chaos still ensues. There are still monsters vying for us that the reapers are keeping back, a storm raging, and it’s still raining hail.

But none of that matters to me.

I step up to where I’m nearly nose-to-nose with Fulton and pull back my hood. I get the satisfaction of his eyes widening in fear. I wish I had Kwil, Theo, or Viktor’s senses so I can hear the way his heartbeat increases. Fulton recovers quickly. He glares at me. His breathing comes out in wheezes as the Realm of the Dead takes care to steal the life that doesn’t belong here.

“You look terrible,” I whisper with glee as I reach up to touch his mummifying face.

Theo yanks Fulton back, out of reach. My attention flickers to him. His sapphire eyes pierce me with a warning look.

“Kill him, torture him, I don’t care,” he growls. “But your handsdo nottouch him. He’s scum, a parasite, a plague. You don’t sully your hands with the likes of him. You’re a queen who is above such filth.”

The intensity in his eyes causes me to draw in a shaky breath as heat warms my cheeks and my heart swells.

Behind the intensity, is love so powerful and soul deep that I swear it’s tangible between us. He doesn’t care what I plan to do with Fulton. My men helped capture him so that I could exact my revenge. If that’s not true love, I don’t know what is.

The least I can do is give him something in return.

I step back from Fulton as he wheezes and continues to shrink before my very eyes.

“How come I died so quickly and it’s taking this guy forever?” Jonah asks.

“Because he has Death Magic in him. Well… he did,” Brock corrects with a chuckle. “Looks like he used it all up. Whatever remains is slowing down his decomposition, but he’ll be a spirit soon enough.”

“No, I’lllive!” Fulton hisses, glaring at my reaper. “I’ll be a god with or without flesh. People will fear me,respectme. I had the Fae eating out of my hands. They gave me everything I ever wanted. And in return, all they wanted was a taste of the power I had. I was their god.”

Viktor’s fist flies so quickly I don’t see it until it’s against Fulton’s cheek. I wince as Fulton’s head snaps to one side.

“Oof, I know how that feels,” I tease the warlock as he looks over at Viktor in shock. “It’s like you got hit with a ton of bricks, isn’t it?”

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