Page 188 of Heir of Broken Souls

She holds her stomach as she bends over, cackling hysterically.

“R-right in front of us the whole time!”

“You couldn’t have known,” Elysia says softly.

Delilah snorts. “Oh please, he probably spread that storyhimself! Getting off on it like one sick joke while he tormented us all right beneath our noses.”

The admission tears from her mouth, and she sputters with a raspberry, laughing once more.

“I can slap her,” Harlow offers.

Elysia whispers under her breath, “You will do no such thing!”

“Someone needs to slap some sense into her. She’s lost her mind.”

“Harlow!” I reprimand through gritted teeth. “Not the time.”

Delilah stops suddenly, taking a deep breath. “No, she’s right, I think I need some?—”

Harlow is in front of her before anyone can stop her, smacking her right across the face.

Delilah’s head whips to the side by the force of it, her hair splaying out in the air. In the nextmillisecond, I have Harlow pinned to the wall, my hand on her neck, my canines flared at her throat. Fire burns in my eyes.

“If you ever so much as lay a finger on her again, I will tear you limb from limb and throw each piece through a different portal so you’ll never be whole again.” Shoving her into the wall harder than before, I bellow, “Do you understand?”

The half-witch has the guts to smirk at me. A murderous growl rumbles from the depths of my soul.

A tiny hand lands on my arm. “Knox, let her go. I asked for it.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Can we focus on what really matters?” Delilah pleads. “We know who our enemy is. We know their names, theirfaces, Knox. This is everything we have been searching for.” She huffs before yanking on my arm, forcing me to drop my hold. “For gods’ sake, Knox, I needed that!”

I look to her, but at the sight of the red burning handprint on her cheek, I growl again.

Delilah rolls her eyes. “Can we deal with this later, please?”

“Knox, she’s right. She stopped laughing. Let’s get back to what matters.”

This comes from Axel, who I turn to glare at.

“Shall I order Harlow to do the same to Elysia and tell you to drop it?” I sneer.

The Fae glowers. “No.”

“Precisely.”

Delilah snarls, a low dangerous sound in her chest that oddly has me straightening, especially as she commandsme. “Drop it.”

Rubbing a hand down my face, I turn to Harlow. “Apologize,” I command.

She rolls her eyes but huffs, “I’m sorry.”

It’s the least genuine apology I’ve ever heard so for good measure, I wrap shadows around her waist and place Harlow far away from Delilah and me, more so to keep her safe from my protective rage that still wants to rip the spy’s throat out.

Ignoring Harlow’s protest, I turn to the rest of my court. “Does anyone have any thoughts on how to take them down?”

Harlow shakes her head. “It’s going to take one heluva plan to get the dark lord?—”