Page 31 of Wolfkissed
So to speak.
“My lady.” Bert gives a curt bow from the waist. “As you say.”
I know Valen is staring at my back. I can feel it, a tingle between my shoulder blades. A shiver racks me. “We’ll finish up later. Let’s go to dinner.”
“Pinch your cheeks!” Della mutters, running after me, tucking errant strands of hair behind my ears. “Why are we in a rush? I should have brushed out your hair and put on your jewelry?—”
“Only for my sister to steal it again? No, thank you. I’m fine.”
Della stops as I keep walking, the end of the leash in my hand. “Dear Gods. You’ve gone feral, too?”
“I just don’t care what anyone thinks of me.” I’m exhausted from having to deal with my fears day and night. There is no reprieve.
Valen.There is no reprieve from Valen.
The heat of his body follows me, a shadow cast over me, his steps soundless but his presence too loud as we make our way to the stairs leading down to the great hall.
Bert is right behind him, his tread heavy and his breathing labored. He was sick last year, and his lungs still haven’t fully recovered.
I’m fond of him and Kier, while a thrill that isn’t really pleasant runs through me when I think of Valen.
Not really pleasant? I mean, very unpleasant. That’s what I mean. I?—
“Rosamund!” Hard hands grab my arm and jerk me sideways, while Bert hollers something unintelligible, and a sharp burn marks my other arm, through the fabric of my sleeve.
What just happened?
I find myself pressed to the wall, a tall, warm body pressed to me—but it moves away all too soon, and it resolves into Valen, who’s shoving away two men.
Two human men holding curved blades, and as I watch, stunned, they come at Valen with hoarse yells.
He kicks at one, then twists and punches the other with his bound hands. The man swings his knife around, unfazed, and moves past him.
Toward me.
“The wolf failed to end you,” he says, “so now it’s up to me.”
With a snarl, Valen lifts his hands and tears off the muzzle, and I realize he has snapped off his bindings.
Shit.
He grabs the man from behind and swings him into a wall, then lets him thump to the floor, where he remains unmoving.
Then he turns to the other man and hauls him close, opening his mouth wide and biting his neck. Tearing his throat out in a torrent of crimson.
Black spots swim in my eyes, and I press my back to the wall, not to pass out. I can’t pass out now.
The wolfman turns toward me, half his face painted with blood. “Princess.”
I… can’t. Can’t breathe. Memories surge like a wave over my head, drowning me. Any effort to stay upright is futile. My knees buckle, and I slide down the wall until my ass hits the floor.
Darkness is rushing in, and he’s coming for me, a monster painted in crimson, about to devour me.
“Step the fuck back.” Bert is suddenly between us, brandishing a long knife. “Don’t you dare come any closer.”
“Is she all right?” Valen asks, his voice a dark growl. “She?—”
“She’ll be fine. Stay where you are.” Bert twists about to look at me. “My lady? Were you harmed?”
