Page 159 of The Fae Warrior's Queen

“Is that so?” I challenge. “Because I think I’ve seen most of it. Pretty fancy stuff, but do you know what’s more dangerous than a wizard with tricks and spells?” He doesn’t ask me to elaborate, but I do anyway. “A man with nothing to lose. See, you fucked up,” I continue, advancing on the couple with slow steps. “You got so greedy with our misery, you forgot to give us something to hope for.”

“I gave you both the opportunity to experience true love, and you got to kill your worst enemy in the first challenge. Those are gifts!”

“Fuck your gifts. If you take everything from me, none of it means anything, and that includes consequences.”

“We can’t renege on the deal,” Armand whines with a tinge of regret. “Even if I wanted to take it back and let you go, I couldn’t. I told you the gem wouldn’t let that happen.”

“What’s the matter?” I coo condescendingly. “You’re going to get the tragic ending you wanted. But the question is, a tragedy for whom? You know, I just can’t decide.” Acting frustrated, I sigh dramatically. “Gah, all this uncertainty is making me feel so very… murderous.”

In a last-ditch effort to scare me, Armand warns, “You wouldn’t want any harm to come to poor Ro after you’re gone. If you try to kill me, I’d have to take out my frustrations on her.”

He’s right, but I don’t want him dead. That would be too easy. I want him very much alive so I can teach him a lesson.

Let’s see how he likes it when I strip him of what he holds dear.

I’m going to kill Yugo. Then, just to make sure Armand can’t hurt Ro, I’m going to cut off his arms. His legs, too. I might even go as far as ripping out his tongue so he can’t talk. Then I’ll heal him up so he’s not too distracted by pain to maintain the enchanted bubble around the property, but that’s not for his benefit. It’s for Ro’s.

Tensing every muscle in my body, I break out into a sprint and charge at Armand and Yugo.

“Guards!” they both holler, and the sound of about a dozen sluggish footsteps echoes from the foyer as the emaciated men answer the call.

I ignore them.

I don’t care if they’re coming up behind me. One swing of my sword will take several of them down.

Intent on dividing my attention, Armand orders, “The woman. Go after the woman.”

“Fuck,” I mutter, having no choice but to attack the group.

Change of plans.

Apparently, I’m going to murder every single dark fae in this place.

They’re so fucking slow from how feeble they are, they don’t even get within twenty feet of Ro.

Thank the stars, she’s obeying me, and her back is against the far wall as she keeps her distance from the action.

Beheading three and four at a time, I pick off the guards. Their spears clatter to the floor as they drop, and the blood seeping from them is thick and black. These men don’t have much circulating in their veins, so it’s not as messy as it would usually be.

Stabbing the last remaining minion through the gut, I twist my sword so it severs his spine, then I use my machete to remove his head as well.

Honestly, it’s better this way. These men deserved to die. They saw Ro naked, and now their eyes will never look at anything ever again.

Plus, Armand will be the only one of his kind left in this region, and he’ll have to stew in his grief alone. Ro will still be here, but she’ll be a constant reminder of what he lost.

Using the corpses like steppingstones, brittle bones crunch under my boots as I make my way back to Armand.

He’s fumbling with a little wooden box of tools. His specialty is illusions, and he proceeds to do what he does best—he changes our reality.

Suddenly, light fills the space. Brightness spills through the windows as if we’re in the true Day Realm. The throne room isn’t dusty or dark anymore. The floor is paved with shiny marble. There are golden chandeliers, and the ceiling is a mural of a night sky.

New guards fill the doorway. These men are nothing like the starved creatures I just slaughtered. They’re strong and capable, and they’ll give me a run for my money.

Unfortunately for me, Armand can create as many as he wants, and he’ll probably just keep them coming, holding me off until the gem sucks me in.

Much like in the hallway at the end of the first challenge, the guards swarm me. I swing and grunt and kill. Swing. Grunt. Kill.

I have no mercy, busting knees and noses. Cutting off limbs. Stabbing faces.

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