Chapter 59

I tried to jerk away from this monster’s hold, but the thorny vines dug into me, holding me. Damn, the stupid Kelpie for not letting me have all my weapons. I’d cut through my bindings and demand this shadow kin give me my friend and Malcolm back right now if I could.

“Whatever you have planned,” I said, pouring as much bravery and gumption as I could, despite how fucked I was, into my voice. “It won’t work, and I won’t help you. I’ll do whatever I can to stop you.”

He laughed and so didn’t sound like Malcolm at all that my heart twisted. I was so tired of these dark Fae screwing up my life and hurting those I cared about and innocent people. All those missing women… my stomach churned, and I vowed to make this monster pay for what he’d done somehow.

“I don’t need your permission to take what is mine.” His nails morphed into long claws. “Your blood and soul are the keys to my prison. Then I will claim my throne of both Unseelie and Seelie. And the humans will be my slaves like they should’ve been to Fae a long time ago.”

This shadow kin had a serious case of a blown-up ego. But his words made my skin crawl about humans. And what had he done to Maggie? “Where is my friend? I want to see her.”

He bowed his head slightly. “Of course. You need only spill your blood and cross over the barrier.”

There had to be more to it than that or he wouldn’t have tried so hard to deceive me and draw me here in the first place. “What’s the catch?”

“I was right that you were clever.” He clicked his claws. “No Fae can enter the shadow kin—”

“Then how?”

“No Fae alive.” He sliced a claw down my cheek.

The sting drilled down to the bone. But then my thoughts flashed on what he said. “Wait, does that mean you killed Maggie?” My throat dried up. Not my best friend. She couldn’t be dead. A sob escaped me. She was in this horrible place because of me. Because she had crossed a Fae barrier and ended up in Unseelie land.

“She’s human,” he said the word like it was filth. “And my army needs fresh meat to sustain themselves.”

I thrashed, the thorns digging into my skin. “Fuck you! I’m going to kill you.”

“Calm down.” He tsked. “She hasn’t been harmed… yet. But my beautiful creatures are very hungry. I don’t know how much longer they will obey me and not take a bite out of her.”

I hated him— it —whatever this thing was that had taken over Malcolm. Just like Xzander had taken over Simeon. Was this an Unseelie and their pets’ common trait? Memories of me kissing and laughing with Simeon flooded me and pain tightened across my chest. How much of that was Simeon and how much was Xzander?

Right now, though, I had no choice. I had to play by this fucktard’s rules to get my best friend back. “All right. Let me go so I can get Maggie the hell out of here.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You will need to coat the dragonroot in your blood.”

Ewww. “Like how much are we talking? Soaking or a light coat?”

The vines retracted a fraction, but they prodded me in the direction of the plant. Its pale white flowers looked more like tiny skulls the closer we got to it. I stifled a shiver. Being grossed out wasn’t going to help anything.

“Until you feel your soul tugging to leave your body.”

Great. So pretty much all of my blood and really, really dying.

I let out a shuddering breath. I could do this. Had to do this for Maggie. She’d do the same for me and I couldn’t leave her on the other side of this hellhole no matter what.

With a guttural growl, Malcolm, or whatever this thing was called, swiped claws at my neck. Stinging, hot pain throbbed in my throat as my blood spilled out.

My knees buckled and I sank to the ground. The soil and dragonroot seem to soak up my blood like parched earth. The pale, skeletal-like flowers turn a bright red. It almost looks pretty— if I wasn’t dying.

More and more of my blood soaked the ground and I felt dizzy.

“Avery,” a male shouted, but they sounded far away.

I blinked, trying to make sense of who was calling my name.

Xzander and Simeon ran toward us from several yards away and my heart flipped so hard in my chest that it hurt. My whole breastbone ached along with every muscle in my body.

Darkness spiked along the edges of my vision until it covered everything in blackness.