Chapter 27

Sweat and water coated me. I trembled, unable to stop. Half my hair swung outward, mirroring striking snakes, targeting the shifters coming my way. I brandished my knife, but I wasn’t ready to kill them when they were innocents, trapped just like me.

The lioness leaped first, and I cried out. Two of my locks snapped around her head and torso, hurling her sideways. She winced, but I didn’t have time. In every direction, my tresses flung toward the attackers. A panther slid under the assault and ran into my legs, knocking them out from under me. My arms flayed out and I fell, but the bastard animal chomped down on my shin. Sharp, piercing torture shot through me, and I kicked the animal in the face with my free leg.

I screamed as a bear ran toward me on all fours, the ground thundering under him. My life flashed before my eyes. The last loose lock of hair struck him in the chest, driving me to a complete stop, choking him. He gasped for air, and yet the blue band around his neck glinted in the sunlight…If I removed those, they’d stop attacking me.

Another kick to the panther’s face, and I dislodged my leg from its mouth. Someone might as well have poured acid over my wounds because they burned to an insane degree, and I clenched my jawline through the pain, swallowing back the cries. Blood oozed out from the wound where the material and flesh had been torn. Agony lanced up my leg, my breaths sprinting.

The panther coiled back around to face me. Terror tangled with determination in my veins because while scared, I’d fight to live.

Shifters surrounded me while the gargoyle bucked and battled to free himself from my hair.

Gripping the blade, I staggered upward, hobbling on one foot. If I was going down, it would be fighting. Snarls and roars drew my attention to Kahlo and Reed in battle with White Venom. Reed had the scorpion barb in both hands, battling to hold it back from stinging Kahlo, who had his mouth latched around the lion’s neck. Blood smeared all over his white coat, tainting it. The monster groaned and whined. But the panther coming for me turned to help his master.

Where had Gage taken Faye?

Movement to my side had a cheetah staggering to its feet, still wrapped in my hair. With my blade in hand, I hobbled toward the battle, each move sending stinging pain through my leg. At once, my hair pulled me back. I looked around to find it was still locked on the animals I’d shackled down behind me.

“Reed, Kahlo, stab him!” I shouted. A knife had to work. I lifted my blade to toss it to them just as the cheetah leaped at me. I recoiled, but it bit into my arm. I bellowed with excruciating pain and fell to my knees, the weapon dropping from my grasp. I shuddered and hit the animal in the face with my other hand, poking it in the eyes. But the sharpness throttling down my arm catapulted me into a world of pain, my eyes tearing up. Shaking all over, I cried out as Gage fell out of the sky and smacked to the ground feet away, slumped and beaten.

“Gage!”

Faye was in the arms of the eagle man and landed next to him with the grace of a bird. Her twisted lips curled upward, and she snatched a handful of Gage’s hair and dragged him to his knees. He didn’t make a sound, yet his defeated expression said it all. She grabbed a knife from her belt and pressed it to his throat. “Stop!” Her voice echoed around us. “Or he dies.”

The cheetah released me as if on command, and I cradled my hand, gnawing on my lip to ride the hurt. Except my heart split when I met Gage’s eyes. A gash under his eye had blood smudging his cheek. More littered his body as he stood there in only his pants, his gaze hooded.

Reed and Kahlo stepped back from the lion, who stumbled, likely due to his bleeding neck. The beast raised his head and roared loudly. Two more shifters around me pulled free from my hair. If we had more time, we’d eventually weaken White Venom.

Then stab the fucker in the heart.

From within the town, crowds of people watched, clearly terrified and keeping their distance.

My world spun as I stared from Kahlo to Reed to Gage, battered and injured but ready to fight to the end.

“Little girl.” Faye’s stare pierced through me. “I’ve underestimated you for the last time. Release everyone from your hair. Now!”

Gage grunted as blood trickled from the blade pressed to his neck. Panic gripped me, and in my head, I called to my hair. Release them. Free them. Please.

My insides died at seeing the terror in Gage’s expression.

“Don’t hurt him,” I pleaded. “Let all three of them go, and I’ll come with you willingly. Please.”

“Just fucking do as I say before my hand slips!” she shouted.

The white lion approached her side, already shifting into his human form, and in no time, he climbed to his feet, naked with blood dripping down his chest from the gashes around his neck. The sight of him sickened me.

“You protect these three shifters, but they’re bloodthirsty animals.” He belched, his nose creasing.

“And you’re any different?” I hissed, my arms stiff by my side.

He cracked his neck. “I admit I’m a prick who loves to kill. But the animals you’re protecting will do the same. A lion butchered my family in front of me with no mercy because my father dared disagreed with his pride hunting down humans. For my parents’ good deed, they were killed. So fuck them all.” He growled, his shoulders hunching forward in a pose of attack. “Every shifter is a beast and deserves to be controlled. They will grovel at my feet.”

I shuddered, unable to believe him. He had condemned so many for retribution against a few? “You’re a fucking hypocrite.” Anger boiled deep inside me, churning, hungry for destruction. “You butchered my father, doing to me what had been done to you, so how are you proving anything, you psychotic bastard?”

He shrugged and half-smiled, wiping away a line of blood rolling down his chest. “Sacrifices. Some had to be made in the process. And you were a nobody who had no family, so you wouldn’t be missed. Now you and your hair are an integral part of my success. You should be proud of that.”

“Fuck you!” My throat thickened. Hate smothered me until I couldn’t see straight.

The tightness across my scalp eased, and around me, my hair loosened. But now it coiled around my body as if hugging me, sensing the rawness swallowing me. I pushed against it, my pulse thumping in my veins. I didn’t need it, not fucking now. But it kept hugging me, swathing me like a baby. What the hell? Get off me!

Fighting the tresses was impossible, and I faced my men. “Run! Get out of here.”

Reed and Kahlo understood and already retreated toward the woods, sprinting away unseen, but Gage. My heart bled.

Just then, claws dug into my arms, the air of wings beating behind me. I cried out and glanced up at the gargoyle’s stone underbelly.

It lifted me off into the air, and with my rushed breaths, I fought for release. Hair, let go. Do it! But it refused to budge.

We soared away from the chaos below, leaving my men at the mercy of madness.

***

“Don’t!” I staggered to my feet, rushing toward the window inside my tower as a large plank of wood shifted over the covering. I slammed into it, banging my fists. “You can’t do this. Please!” I cried out, aching everywhere, tears rolling down my cheeks.

Blackness encased me, and only tiny threads of sunlight pierced through. Hammering sounds echoed around me. They must have been nailing the covering in place.

“Don’t worry, child,” Faye called out from outside. “This is temporary, as you’re moving locations. Should have done it long ago. But I felt pity for you. My mistake.”

Bitch. You should have stabbed her when you had the chance.

I dropped to my knees, wracked with tears, unable to stop the sorrow burrowing through me. I’d failed myself, the men, everyone. The universe had dangled freedom in front of me, given me a taste, then ripped it away. It reminded me I wasn’t worthy of anything but being locked up. I was forbidden from having a life.

Had Reed and Kahlo escaped? What about Gage? Would he become their slave?

Terror clawed at my heart, and a darkness slithered through me. What would happen once I was completely closed in? I’d go insane because I couldn’t do this. Not again. And not after I’d experienced joy, only to have it stolen away. The tears fell and I felt barren. Useless. Shaking with rage.

I didn’t remember how long I’d stayed there crying, but my eyes and throat had dried. There was nothing but silence outside. For years, I’d cried, been terrified of the gargoyle, and dreamed of freedom. But I couldn’t sit back, knowing freedom was just there for the taking. I had nothing left to lose. There were no more options if I failed because Faye would ensure I was buried away for eternity, and she’d kill my three men. I had to stand up and fight to the bitter end, because if I failed, I’d rather die than remain closed up. Fire coursed through me, and I curled my hands into balls, ready to battle. I’d finally found three men who adored me despite my faults.

Climbing to my feet, I straightened my posture and gawked at the wooden plank covering the window. I pushed my palms against the panels, but the bite on my arm stung, and I winced.

Voices floated from outside, and I lifted myself on tiptoes, staring through a tiny gap. There were trees in the distance, but I couldn’t see lower, as I was too short. I grabbed a chair and got up in slow motion, as my injured leg still hurt like hell.

Down below in the field, Reed and Kahlo hid amid the trees’ shadows. I burst with joy, bouncing on my toes at seeing them. They must have run the whole way to get here in time, or maybe caught a carriage. But who cared…they had come to rescue me.

I climbed down and staggered into the kitchen, rummaging in the drawer, but I only found knives, so I grabbed one and slid a blade into the hole in the wooden barrier. Wriggling it didn’t split the timber, but instead the damn knife snapped free from the handle and vanished outside somewhere.

Backing up, I picked up a chair and tossed it at the entrance. A tiny chip fell away from the gap where I’d stuck the knife earlier. If I could make that bigger, maybe I could pry my fingers in there and break it off in pieces. But what could I use? I spun around the dark room, my hair coiling at my feet.

My strands still had shampoo stuck to the hair because I never had a chance to fully rinse it off! I hobbled into the bathroom and filled a bucket to start drenching my hair.

Yes, hurry up.

Without hesitation, I tossed the contents over my head. I yelped and trembled form the iciness digging into my flesh. “Hell, that was insane.” I wet the rest of the hair, and already movement wriggled near my feet. “Okay, my pretties. Time for you to show me what you can do.”

Back at the barricade, I said, “Break through this barrier.” I repeated the words in my head and my locks curled into separate limbs. They twisted in on each other into the shape of a fist and slammed into the plaque, over and over. Creaking sounded, and I bounced on my toes just as the next punch punctured through.

Shards of wood exploded outward, and sunlight poured into the tower. Best sight in the world. I darted to the window and glanced down at the two men still in the shadows, but they stared my way. I waved at them, but at this stage, I had zero ideas on the next move, but me going down the tower shouldn’t draw the gargoyle’s attention, as long as it didn’t see Kahlo and Reed. Regardless of the risk, I needed to talk to them, to find out about Gage.

I climbed out of the gaping hole and scaled down the granite wall, pushing past the sharpness digging into my bitten leg and arm, my heart in my throat. We had to find a way to stop Faye and White Venom. And if I could hold down the gargoyle with my wet hair once, dammit, I’d do it again and drag it around with me if that meant saving everyone.

Once I reached the bottom, stumbling in the bushes surrounding the tower, someone tsked behind me, and my veins turned to ice. That wasn’t a sound either of my men would make.

I turned in slow motion and called out in my head to my hair, Get ready to attack them and defend me.

Faye stood there, hands on her hips, Eagle-Man tossing Gage to the ground, bloodied and bruised. White Venom stood near in human form, still naked and disgusting. Both glared my way, and instead of fear, rage fueled through me. I’d been afraid for so long that it now numbed me. And staring at the two who’d destroyed my life, I pictured them dead. My hair formed into multiple sharp blades facing the enemies, sitting as a halo around me.

“Gage!” My heart bled at seeing him slumped on the ground, gasping for air. He wasn’t wearing a magical ring around his neck, but he was spent and too injured to fight back. One eye had puffed, his lip split open, multiple cuts on his face and chest bleeding everywhere. He grumbled but didn’t look toward me.

A shadow fell over us…The gargoyle dove at us, and I cringed. “Stop!” Faye yelled as she flicked her hand toward the creature. It landed with a thump, frozen in place, glaring at me, as if any moment it would charge and rip me apart. Of course she’d have control over it. The text I’d read said only the witch who brought it to life had power over it, so it would listen to her command.

“Oh, Elliana, you wasted no time escaping again, I see, but your tower is no longer yours. I have a wonderful basement with a prison cell that you can call home from now on.” She shook her head, rubbing her chin. “And I was being kind by giving you a chance to enjoy life, but I was wrong. You threw it back in my face. Now you can live like a rat on scraps and in filth.”

White Venom studied me as if I were something to devour, his gaze ravaging my body, and a shiver jolted through me.

“I’ve served my time, twenty times over. I don’t want to fight you, but I will.” I stared at my tangled hair weapons, then back at my captors.

The white-haired fuck head snorted, his nose scrunching. “Don’t kid yourself.” He glanced down at Faye. “Get her out of here and locked up somewhere she can’t escape. You promised me she’d never get out!” He growled and marched away, his shoulders curled forward. I chanced a glance toward the woods and found no sign of Reed or Kahlo.

Faye’s jawline clenched. Behind her, Gage drew himself up on hands and knees. “You’re welcome that I didn’t leave him behind to die. I preferred for you to see his last moments.” Faye kicked Gage in the ribs, and he crumbled into a ball, groaning in pain, spitting blood.

“Leave him alone,” I cried out, my grief surging with every expelled breath. Tears bubbled at the edges of my eyes.

But I couldn’t fall apart. Not now. So I swallowed the boulder in my throat and released brave words. “Why do you let the lion belittle you?”

Her face warped. Okay, maybe not a great question. “You know nothing about us, or how he treats me, the tender words he’s said into my ears, what he’s sacrificed for me.”

I huffed. “Like making others suffer for his strength?”

Her eyes narrowed, and her mouth twisted into a crooked line. “He sacrificed his life to save mine when I was poisoned. He gave me his life energy, so I restored him in a way by feeding him the life source from other shifters. A bull shifter lasted him a week, while the scorpion mere days before he got weak, but over time his mane fell out. So when I found you with your father, you were the perfect solution with your long hair. The energy he takes from your hair keeps him alive and helped return his mane. As long as it kept growing and remained unharmed, you’d be a constant life source for him to draw from.” She stared at him over her shoulder, and for the first time, a tenderness filled her voice. “I would do anything for him.”

Anger surged through me as Gage shook, bleeding into the ground, and my insides ached to witness his struggle. “And I’d do anything for the men I adore, but what you’re doing is fucked up. Kidnapping shifters for him to get revenge. You took away years from me, so isn’t that enough?”

“Everyone lives with injustice in this world. My Leon was assaulted as a child, mistreated…. So is it wrong to get payback?” She stepped toward Gage and clenched his hair in her fist once again, wrenching his head back.

My heart clenched. Blood trickled down Gage’s cheek and chest. He trembled, but behind his eyes, an inferno bubbled.

“Tell me, child,” said Faye, “if I was to slit your lover’s throat now, would you not crave revenge?”

Hatred raced through me. I’d lived with it for years, yearned for retribution. But Faye’s question struck a chord with me. Deep inside, I’d longed for them to suffer for taking my only family away, for stealing my life, and now they threatened my men. So was I any different from Leon or Faye? The tug-o-war inside me ripped me into fragments because I’d always considered myself a victim. But all this shit had stemmed from someone else believing they’d been attacked without justification. My eyes pricked, thinking of what losing my dad had done to me. How my life would end if I now lost the three shifters who’d shown me how to open my heart again.

“I will spend the rest of my life hunting you down.” I looked away and studied Gage, and then Leon, who glared at us from a distance. “You and that monster let anger control you when all my father did was steal a golden wig. That wasn’t worth his life or mine.” I wiped my cheeks dry. “It wasn’t enough to justify you destroying my future, but you’re now ruining families for greed and power. That’s no longer revenge for a past mistake.” I lowered my voice. “He’s become a psychotic madman who thinks he’s above others. He’s taking fucking slaves. No one has the right to do that.” Curling my hands, hatred flowed through me, burning an inferno in my chest.

Movement came from my peripheral vision—Kahlo in tiger form and Reed burst out of the woods and sprinted up behind Leon. My mouth opened to distract Faye when a dozen animals charged toward us from the woodland across the ruins. My stomach dropped, and a chill iced my veins.

The lioness—Reed’s sister—panthers, and other creatures charged. Eagle-Man flew overhead and dropped two more men to the ground, already shifting. The bird squawked and dove mid-shift toward Kahlo and Gage. My pulse was a frenzy as panic gripped me.

Leon roared at the attack, and Faye turned to face him, her body tense.

Without thought, my hair jutted outward, slamming into Faye’s back and arms, twisting around her neck, covering her mouth. Her eyes morphed into round orbs in surprise.

Gage grasped her hand and dragged her to the ground alongside him, hands to her neck, choking her. But the eagle shifter swooped down, snatching him by the waist before hurling him across the field.

Terror bled through me, and I darted after him.

But the gargoyle hissed at my back. My heart skipped a beat, and I turned. It rushed me, its wings spreading outward like a great shadow taking over my world. And my knees weakened beneath me. Death was coming.