Page 28

Chestnut hair, loose and shining.Full red lips, curved in a familiar smile.Amber eyes, bright with warmth and relief.

Fae.

She had come back to him.

His throat worked painfully. He leaned forward as far as the shackles allowed, metal biting into his wrists and ankles. Fresh blood welled beneath the iron and ran warm down his skin, but he barely felt it.

"I've come back," she whispered. "I know you missed me." Her hand lifted in a gentle gesture. "I missed you, too."

His breath hitched as his wolf surged forward, frantic and eager for her touch.

"Let me ease you," she said as she dropped to her knees and reached through the bars.

He tried to inch closer.

Just a step. Just a little closer.

And then the smell felt…wrong.

The image wavered—only slightly, like a mirage.

His nostrils flared.

Wrong.

The scent was almost right, but it lacked the undernotes—the woodsmoke, the clean linen, the steady warmth that had always drew him.

The woman before him seemed to shudder.

Her face flickered, smile stretching just a fraction too wide. Her teeth seemed more pointed than usual.

He began to pull back, chains clinking softly.

"Come to me," she crooned, voice sharpening as she realized he was backing away. "I'm your lifemate."

Then his eyes dropped to her hands.

They blackened, skin splitting as fingers lengthened into gnarled roots, bark tearing through flesh, nails curving into hooked talons, reaching greedily for him.

He recoiled with a snarl, slamming back against the chains.

She shrieked, thwarted as her face morphed again to reveal Rowena.

She lunged for the stairs seconds too late as a large watching shape separated from the shadows.

A body slammed into hers.

Sulien dragged her back, her screams echoing down the stone corridor as she clawed at his face and cursed, inky blood oozing away like smoke.

But Sulien wasted no time as he expertly hog-tied her and stuffed a rag into her mouth before hauling her like a sack of grain and throwing her into the adjoining vault which stood ready for dangerous prisoners.

Silence followed.

Blaidd sagged against the chains, chest heaving, blood dripping steadily from where the iron had bitten deep. His vision blurred, tears streaking hot and unbidden down his face.

He pressed his forehead to the cold stone and let out a broken laugh.

"Nice try," he whispered into the dark.