Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
She’s gone. Her clothes were left behind in a neatly folded pile. The grass around them is a mess, but I can’t count that as evidence that she was dragged away. I fucked her on this grass. I rolled with her and played and screwed. I let her fall asleep in my arms.
Where the hell has she gone?
“Dante?” Meg’s soft voice reminds me that Kaja isn’t the only woman I’m responsible for.
I turn and feel my eyes widen. Meg is covered in butterflies. They cling to her hair and perch on her shoulders. Beautiful, winged jewels that glisten in the sunlight. Meg is a lovely picture standing there with butterflies creating a halo around her head.
“She says she knows where they took the wolf,” Meg explains.
“The butterfly?” There’s a reason I don’t spend a lot of time in faery forests. The animals don’t talk back on my plane.
“They’re pixies. Calm down and you’ll be able to hear them.”
I don’t want to listen to insects, but if they know where Kaja is, then I’ll do it. I move close to Meg, and sure enough, there’s a small cacophony of tiny, musical voices.
“The wolf saved us.”
“Pretty wolf.”
“Bad goblins. Mira hates goblins. They smell bad, and they tried to make Mira into soup. I don’t want to be soup.”
“I want my papa.”
Kids. They’re only kids. Well, naturally my Kaja tried to save a bunch of lesser Fae from getting put in a pot. “Where is Kaja?”
“In the woods.”
“They took her. They put lightning in her belly and took her.”
They go on and on, their wings fluttering as they all speak at once.
“Please, younglings, one at a time,” Meg pleads.
And then a larger butterfly swoops by my head. Larger than the younglings, she’ll still fit in the palm of my hand with room left over. But there’s no doubt this one is in charge.
“Stop. The queen is right. We must remain calm.” Her voice is tinny, but my ears are damn good. I stare down at the pixies. I never saw one up close. Lesser Fae. It doesn’t mean that they are less important, merely smaller. The brilliant blue pixie lands on the hand Meg holds up. “Your Gracious Highness. I must ask for your help. There was a young woman who came to my aid. She saved my babes, but it was a trap. The goblins captured her.”
“Goblins?” Bile rises in my throat. Goblins could do just about anything to her. And they will, unless they realize they can make a profit from her. “Where is the chieftain?”
The pixie shakes her head. “It’s not a tribe. It’s only a handful of goblins. I thought there were only two of them, but once the nice lady had turned into a wolf, they leapt from the bushes and grabbed her. They have magic.”
No, they have technology. “The vampires caught up with us, and they brought friends. Why the hell would they bring in goblins?”
Meg pales, as though she can’t stand the thought of Kaja being caught, either. “It’s Torin. We’ve heard he’s made some deals with disloyal Unseelie. They don’t seem to realize that he intends to kill anyone who isn’t sidhe.”
The pixie’s wings flutter. “Please help her, Your Majesty. She was so kind. I can’t stand the thought of her being harmed for helping me.”
“Where are they?” My voice comes out in a harsh rasp, and I notice my claws have popped out. Rage begins to build, shoving the panic and fear to the side. Another fucking vampire took my consort. If that mercenary lays a hand on her, I’m going to tear it off his body and shove it down his throat.
The pixie turns from Meg. She then flies back behind Meg’s head as though begging for protection.
“He’s not going to hurt you, little one. You’re not the one he’s angry with,” Meg explains. “Dante, you have to be careful. You’re obviously upset. Damn, you look scary.”
Meg has never seen me in this state. She’s seen my fangs and claws, but even when we killed the hag, I remained in control. Now, the thought of someone touching my Kaja makes my eyes bleed out. It’s a biological function that opens my senses and prepares me to fight.
And I will fight. I will kill, because no one is touching my consort. “Where is Kaja?”
Meg holds her hand out, and the big blue pixie lands gracefully. “Take us there. The wolf is the vampire’s mate. He will be grateful to you, and so will I.”
“Meg, you can’t come with me.” I lost Kaja. I’m not about to lose Meg, too.
Her face hardens, and I can believe she is a queen. “If you leave me here, I’ll follow and probably cause trouble. Kaja is my friend. She saved me too, you know.”
There won’t be any moving her. And she truly knows how to cause trouble. “Fine, but you hide when we get there.”