Page 86 of The Ice Prince's Fated Mate
“Ella!” I roared, rushing to her side. The bars were thick brellwood, but the mighty wood gave way when frozen, and I shattered the bars, reaching for my ashen mate.
“It’s okay. I’m here now,” I said, hauling her up into my arms when she didn’t get to her feet. “Ella? Can you hear me?”
She continued to stare into nothing, not moving.
Shock. It had to be.
“We’re leaving, Ella,” I said, holding her to my chest so she didn’t see the corpses as I walked back out the front door. “Just hold on for me, Ella. Please.”
Wings sprouted from my back, and I leapt into the sky, heading for the citadel as fast as I could.
I didn’t know what to do. I only knew I couldn’t lose her. Not now, when we were so close to finally having our forever.
Forty
Ella
Dirk landed onthe balcony of the citadel and carried me to the side of his bed, where he placed me down as if I were made of cracked porcelain. Then he hovered over me, his wings still out and eyes glowing while he yelled for Milly, his voice filling the room.
I stared past him at the ceiling, aware of everything going on but unable to move, unable to act. The cage was still around me. I was back in the market.
The hunters had threatened to put another collar on me. They’d laughed and dangled it, saying that once “he” arrived, I would be happy. Because the collar would tell me to be. The looks in their eyes was all I could see.
“Dirk?” A familiar voice. Milly. My friend. I tried to turn my head to look at her, but my muscles didn’t respond. “Ella! Oh, no, what happened to her. She’s so pale.”
I was? I didn’t feel cold. If anything, with Dirk hovering so close to me, I was warm.
“I’m not sure. I think she’s in shock,” Dirk growled, only moving slightly when Milly bodied him out of the way, demanding he let her look.
Something about Dirk wasn’t right. In my state, I couldn’t place it. He hovered too closely, his wings half spread over my body and Milly. His muscles twitched. His eyes were bright silver-blue.
“How did she end up in shock?” Milly demanded, looking into my eyes. “Ella. Can you hear me? Are you there?”
I was. I tried to tell her that I was fine. Just shook up, that was all. But no words came out.
“Help her,” Dirk growled darkly.
“I wish Anna was here. She knows Ella better,” Milly said.
“No.” Dirk shook his head. “She’s in heat. Caz would not be in his right mind if anyone tried to interrupt.”
Milly glanced up at Dirk. “She needs help.”
“That’s why I called you,” Dirk replied, his eyes locked on me, never moving, not even blinking.
“Well, I don’t know what’s wrong with her!” Milly shouted. “What did you let happen to her?”
Dirk’s snarl sent Milly scrambling backward as his wings spread wide, blocking out the orblight in the room. His eyes were all silver now, his teeth bared as he half-crouched over me.
I had to do something. Dirk was facing off with my best friend, but he didn’t seem to realize what was going on or what he was doing. He was covered in blood. Was that his? Was he delusional from blood loss? I had to stop it. Stop him before he did something terrible.
This was the darkness I’d seen in him once or twice, most recently when he spied the hunter outside the market. It was stronger now. Taking control, replacing my Dirk with something else.
I couldn’t let that happen. He was mine. He did not belong to the shadows.
Focusing every bit of energy I could muster, I forced it into my right hand, commanding the muscles there to obey me. They twitched, but nobody seemed to notice. Dirk wasn’t looking at me anymore, he was looming high over Milly, who was leaning away but not cowering.
Move!I yelled at my fingers. The pinky twitched. Then my thumb.Move now!
