5. Lira
5
LIRA
E ach step closer Nightbane took had more dread pooling in my stomach. I stumbled toward Tavish before I could stop myself, and my ankle gave out.
He’d saved me a few times now, and my instinct told me to stay close to him. But he was also the reason I was in this mess.
Bastard.
Nightbane’s eyes glowed brighter, making them creepier and reminding me of the hue around the moon during a total solar eclipse. He lunged, his sizable paws pushing firmly on my chest.
The beast weighed more than me, and before I realized what was happening, Nightbane had me falling onto my back. I gritted my teeth, bracing for the inevitable impact and pain.
Strong arms circled my waist just as Tavish grumbled, “Blighted abyss. The worst decision you could make is trying to run away from a cù-sìth.”
He pulled me up, my skin buzzing where his arms touched me and heat flaring through me as my back settled against his muscular chest. He took the brunt of both my weight and Nightbane’s, though the animal’s paws kept digging into me while it towered over me.
Drool hit my cheeks, and I swallowed to prevent myself from vomiting. I had to get out of this, but how ?
“Calm down,” Tavish gritted. “It will be more efficient if you allow him to do his job. You’re irritating him, which will make this far more challenging than it needs to be and hurt worse than necessary.”
Did the sexy buffoon just tell me to die without a fight?
Fuck no.
Nightbane lowered his huge face to my neck, his mouth still open, while Tavish tightened his arms around me to hold me in place.
I refused to die without a fight. I didn’t care if he was king of the world in this universe.
Jerking my chin down, I caught the wolf’s snout between my head and neck. Nightbane flinched back, freeing himself from my hold. Then he opened his mouth, and a terrifying noise like nothing I’d ever heard before expelled from what could only be his soul.
Now I understood what Tavish had meant. Still, I lifted my knees toward my chest, hoping like hell Tavish wouldn’t let me go.
“Lira—” Tavish warned, tightening his arms to the point that my ribs ached. “Don’t—”
I used as much strength as I could muster to shove my feet into the mutt’s lower belly and get him off me. My right ankle throbbed, and my legs gave out. The huge beast merely stood on its hind legs and moved mere inches from me, and I doubted anyone here would believe that I’d practiced self-defense at least four times a week since I was ten, given how pathetic the kick had been .
Regardless, it was enough for Nightbane’s demeanor to snap. A threatening growl rumbled from deep within, and his putrid breath hit my face. His eyes shone bright like green lasers as the fur on the nape of his neck rose even higher.
If the wolf dog had been angry before, he was furious now.
“Does she want to die?” Finnian chuckled. “Because it sure seems that way. I get she’s Seelie, but—”
Nightbane jumped.
This was it … the moment I died.
My body shifted so that I faced the floor and dropped. I hit the tile floor, but it wasn’t a hard impact until a gigantic body landed on top of me. My body buzzed as Tavish tensed, protecting me.
The air left my lungs as his weight bore down on me.
“Nightbane!” Tavish roared.
The wolf whimpered and whined heartbreakingly.
Tavish’s weight vanished off me, and I could take a breath.
“You weren’t instructed to attack,” Tavish said sternly.
“Your Majesty,” the armored man who was with Nightbane croaked. “She’s a Seelie and a prisoner—”
I spun around to find Nightbane cowering and pawing at the floor, his once ferocious face looking more like that of a scared puppy than a grown wolf.
“Did I ask for your opinion?” Tavish interjected. His wings spread out, blocking me. “What is the punishment for providing something I clearly don’t want?”
I scanned what I could see of the room around his wings, noting Finnian sat at the edge of the couch. His light-blue eyes weren’t locked on the debacle but instead on me. He tilted his head as if I were a puzzle he couldn’t piece together.
When our gazes locked, he didn’t even pretend to be ashamed and continued to stare at me. I inhaled sharply.
Nightbane yelped, pulling my attention back to him. Tavish stepped closer to the animal, spreading his wings out until I couldn’t see the wolf anymore. Shadows swirled around him, floating across his skin and body. A few edges darkened to the color of night … to the color of the sky outside, as if it might be dark because of him.
I shivered. That was crazy.
My heart skipped a beat like it was trying to answer the question, but I ignored it. Accepting that I’d been taken into an alternate reality, or whatever this was and that these people had wings was hard enough, never mind accepting that this man could control the night. And if he could, I didn’t want to think about what that meant.
The wolfish animal closed its eyes, no longer seeming menacing. In fact, my heart ached, wanting to ease its pain.
“What are you doing to him?” I asked and limped ungracefully up to Tavish.
I hated that standing next to him didn’t bother me the way it should have. Even though I didn’t like him, I knew he wouldn’t let anyone else hurt me … but the anyone else gave me the largest pause. He’d made it clear that he was the only one allowed to hurt me, and that should have made me nervous, especially after seeing what he was capable of not even an hour ago, but until the time came to escape, my smartest move was to stay close to him for protection until I could bear weight on my right foot.
“Punishing him.” Tavish’s eyes were dark, the same color as when he haunted my dreams, and darkness clung to him, his shirt blending in with the air around him .
I feared what he was doing to the animal, and before I could consider my actions, I kneeled next to Nightbane. Not that the poor wolf could do anything even if he'd wanted to, not in the state he was in.
The reality of my situation crashed down on me harder. Whatever Tavish was, he wasn’t a man, and he didn’t hesitate to hurt anything he deemed a threat, which included me.
“I think he learned his lesson.” I tried to keep my voice level despite my heart pounding against my ribs, yet my voice still rose, revealing my fear and heartbreak for the animal.
Tavish’s head snapped toward me, and he blinked. “Are you defending an animal that wanted to kill you?”
I flinched. He had a point, but if Tavish had tormented Nightbane like this since he was a pup, no wonder he was so angry and afraid. I had my own trauma from nightmares of the man standing before me. On so many nights, I’d climbed into Eiric’s bed to be close to someone, yet Tavish’s eyes had still terrified me.
Eiric.
My chest throbbed.
“Maybe too much time on Earth makes fae stupid,” Finnian suggested, strolling to the other side of Tavish. “She’s Seelie so that already puts her at a disadvantage with intelligence, but this is a level of foolish I’ve never observed before.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m pretty sure I’d remember if I were Seelie .”
“What he means is that when fae stay on Earth too long, they forget their life here.” Tavish’s irises lightened to a stormy cloud .
Nightbane stopped whimpering but continued to breathe heavily.
“Maybe it messes with their minds more than we realized. This is the longest a fae has ever gone to Earth and returned.” Finnian grinned. “I’m sort of intrigued about what would’ve happened if she’d stayed longer.”
The guard cleared his throat. “Your Majesty, what would you like us to do? Nightbane still hasn’t gotten enough of her scent.”
I looked at the guard, noting his dark hair with frosted tips peeking out from under his helmet.
“He needs her scent to keep track of her like the other prisoners.” The guard’s face twisted into disgust as he looked at me. “She seems to enjoy causing trouble.”
“That she does,” Tavish muttered. “I fear more so than Finnian.”
Nightbane’s eyes opened. They were a dark emerald close to the color of the tips of his fur. He turned his head toward me and bared his teeth, but nothing more.
I scooted away from him. Though he didn’t appear as menacing, I didn’t want to be an easy target if he decided to attack me again.
“This would go a whole lot quicker if you would allow him to smell you.” Tavish’s wings rippled. “Then we can take you somewhere else. I have things to accomplish today other than babysitting you.”
My stomach knotted. The thought of being away from him and going back into the holding cell where more guards could attack me wasn’t high on my bucket list. Still, if it got this menacing animal away from me and prevented Tavish from torturing the wolflike creature more, I was all for it. Unless … “Is he going to bite me? Is that how he gets my scent? ”
Tavish pinched the bridge of his nose.
Finnian patted him on the back and answered, “He doesn’t like being touched, but the best way for him to get your scent is for you to put your hand on his nose. It makes him feel vulnerable, which is why he’s all growly. Something I expected Tavish to warn you about.”
“Why would I?” Tavish straightened his shoulders. “If she wants to be attacked, so be it.”
I couldn’t help but notice that he’d flinched.
“Yet you protected her from him,” Finnian countered with an arched brow, glancing between us.
“She won’t make the same mistake twice, or she’ll deserve it.” Tavish pointed at Nightbane.
Finnian struck me as genuine, so I decided to trust him … more so than Tavish. I inhaled to center myself then reached my hand out to the animal.
Nightbane growled, his eyes turning a lighter, glowing green once more. The closer my hand got, the more threatening the noises he made.
Pulse racing, I closed my eyes, not wanting to see him bite me as I touched his nose. I expected it to feel like a dog’s, wet and cold, but it felt warm, his hot breath reminding me of a fire, yet inside, he felt frigid and empty.
I wasn’t sure how I knew that just from touching him.
Something sparked inside me as Nightbane inhaled deeply. The noises temporarily disappeared as a faint thrum pulsed through me. The pulse seemed to brush under my skin and travel to the hand that touched him, but it didn’t feel foreign—it felt like part of me.
Great. I had lost my mind. Yet the thought comforted me. If I was crazy, all of this would make sense.
“That’s adequate.” The guard came over to the animal. “He has her scent now. ”
Nightbane pressed his head into my hand, so I slid it beyond his nose and opened my eyes to find his locked on my face. His irises had returned to a darker green, and his mouth was closed.
“You can lower your hand, Lira,” Tavish said tightly. “Before he attacks you again.”
The three men watched me, each with a different expression. The guard scowled like he wanted to hurt me while Tavish held his wings firmly behind him, his arms crossed. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to eat me or sacrifice me. It was as if he was trying to decide which would seal my fate when it was time.
Finnian smirked like I’d been brought here to entertain him, and somehow, that worried me more than the other two because I had no clue about his intentions.
“Lowering your hand means you don’t have to touch Nightbane anymore.” Finnian raised his arm like mine was, then lowered it as if I couldn’t comprehend his words.
Jackass, but in a way, he reminded me of Eiric.
Not wanting to be the center of attention anymore, I started to lower my hand, but Nightbane whimpered and moved closer so I would remain touching him.
The strange feeling sputtered inside me as if the sensation were warming Nightbane from within.
“She’s doing something to him.” The guard rushed over and shoved me toward Tavish and Finnian.
I tried to stop my fall and hit my funny bone. Sharp pain sprang up my arm, and my body jerked. Nightbane snarled and moved in front of me.
“You stupid, sun—” the guard started, but Tavish removed his sword from his side and pressed it against the man’s throat just above the armor. The guard’s eyes widened as blood trickled down his neck .
Tavish’s nostrils flared. “You harmed her.”
I gritted my teeth, trying not to let the guard know he’d hurt me, but I stopped the tears from filling my eyes. My vision blurred, and I blinked rapidly to hold them back.
“She was doing something to Nightbane,” the guard spoke slowly. “He’s never acted like this before, and you know how hard it is to find a cù-sìth.”
“Do not touch her.” Tavish pressed deeper, the blood running faster down the guard’s throat. “Why don’t any of you understand?” Rage laced his voice, making it deep and raspy.
My body warmed, and I sat upright. Nightbane was still hunkered in front of me and growling, blocking the guard from reaching me.
I didn’t need to see his eyes to know they were glowing.
“Your Majesty, she’s a prisoner. You’ve never protected one before, and—” The guard leaned back.
Tavish countered the move, pressing the edge of his sword deeper into the guard’s throat. Tavish spoke so low that the hairs on my arm stood upright. “She is the Seelie princess and the very person who will bring the Seelie to their knees. I determine if and when she’s hurt. Do I make myself clear? I’d hate to lose another guard today because you can’t control yourself.”
The guard nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Good.” He lowered his sword and sheathed it. “One more mistake and you’re dead. You aren’t to touch her. Do you understand?”
Tavish bent down and picked me up in his arms. “Take Nightbane to the prison cells so he can patrol while they work.”
My elbow ached, and my head pounded, yet the buzzing of our connection soothed me in a way I didn’t want or need to understand. He turned, flinching ever so slightly like he was uncomfortable. Still, he didn’t pause as he strode to the door. “Finnian, retrieve Caelan and meet me in my room in fifteen minutes.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.” Finnian bowed with the corners of his mouth tipped up as if to hide a grin.
Even though I wasn’t safe with Tavish, not really, I dreaded heading back to the holding cell, but at least I still had my dagger. A guard wouldn’t expect me to have that. Next time, I’d have to go for a neck or wing like Tavish had. My dagger had a short blade, but beggars couldn’t be choosers, not with their lives at stake.
Tavish marched back toward the prison, his feet echoing against the floor. I’d expected him to fly again, but I wouldn’t hurry him along.
My arms ached to wrap around his neck, but I kept them crossed firmly over my chest. I didn’t need his touch to add more confusion to the mix.
When we reached the last door on the right, he stopped and opened it.
We walked into a gigantic room in which half the walls were windows overlooking the kingdom. A portion of the ceiling was glass as well. The largest bed I’d ever seen sat underneath the skylight, giving whoever might lie on it a clear view of the sky. I couldn’t help but notice the twinkling stars and a blue aurora borealis. It was gorgeous.
“You’ll be staying here with me,” he said simply, setting me down and closing the door behind us. “You’d best behave and make sure you keep me happy.”
I inhaled sharply. “Is that my punishment? You’re going to force me to have sex with you?”
He froze, his irises again turning stormy, then stalked toward me. I tried offsetting his advances, but my right foot gave out. Luckily, I was close to a wall.
Placing a hand on either side of me so that I was trapped between his arms, he lowered his face to mine, our foreheads touching. He then whispered, “There would be no forcing about it.”