Page 84 of Crown of Earth and Sky

Then I launched myself forward.

Like the blinded, bloodthirsty idiot that I was, I didn’t see Guinevere coming. She knocked the human away, sent him flying across the goldstone floor without even needing to shift into her dark lioness.

Arran went for me. I slashed at him, the scent of his thick blood filling my nostrils. But he did not wince. I felt the blades slip from my hands, heard them clatter to the floor.

Then I heard nothing at all.

37

VEYKA

Heat.

Every limb was suffused with it.

I was burning—not from the ever-burning hearth, but from the force of my own rage.

A lifetime of torture had taught me to come to consciousness slowly. I didn’t suck in a desperate breath of air or stretch my arms above my head.

I listened. I noticed.

I smelled the scent of him, so near.

I could hear his breathing, too. Steady.

Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.

Maybe he was asleep. Maybe I should feel badly about killing him while he slept.

But I did not.

The weight of my belt and daggers was missing from my waist. They might be within arm’s length, they might be on the other side of the room. The seconds it would take me to locate them would mean the difference between life and death—his.

Fine. I could rip him apart with my fingernails.

Three breaths, then I would move. I counted each one.

I would pivot on my knee and pin him down.One.

With enough force, I’d be able to sink my thumb nails into his jugular.Two.

Only when his lifeblood was drained from his body enough to immobilize him would I fetch my blades and sever his head from his body.Three.

“Don’t even think about it, Princess.”

Too late.

I was straddling him, one knee planted on either side of his hips, my hands coming down for his throat.

He caught my wrists, slowing me down, letting my hands close around his neck but with enough force in his own hands to know I’d never inflict the damage I needed to render him unconscious.

On any other day, this position would have sent waves of lust flowing through me. I was tucked in tight against him, could feel the rising heat of his cock as it came to life beneath me. His warm breath skimmed over my breasts, his black eyes burning with desire.

I might not be able to kill him. But castration was an acceptable second choice.

“I won’t let you do that, either,” Arran said, shoving me off of him easily enough I let out a scream of frustration as I plopped back onto my side of the bed.

I used the moment to roll off and come to stand. My daggers were at the bedside. I grabbed one as I planted my feet, rising into an offensive position.

---