“Worry not, little human,” the fae male leers. “I’ll try not to break you… too much.”
“I said stop,” Rosalina snarls, fury etched on her face, and the fae male hesitates for a moment.
That moment is all I need. I emerge from the crowd and haul him away. “You should have listened to her the first time.”
Fear blanches the male’s face. “Prince Dayton,” he stutters. “I barely touched her—”
“She’s the last thing you’ll ever fucking touch.” A crowd forms around us, but I push them out of the way and slam the male down on the table. His scream only enrages the wolf inside me further. I force his arms out before him.
“W-what are you doing?” he cries, tears falling down his face.
My sword is answer enough. I draw it and arc it down in one swift movement, cutting right at the wrist bones, hard enough for it to embed in the table. His disgusting hands fall to the ground, painting the floor red. Blood sprays from his wrists, drenching my torso, and coating his screaming mouth.
The crowd erupts in a wild frenzy, pushing and shoving each other to escape. I turn to see Rosalina frozen in shock, her face a mix of disbelief and terror. Not wasting a moment, I snatch her arm and drag her from the bar.
Through the chaos, I hear the whispers: “Damocles never would have done this.”
“Maybe this is why Dayton’s absent. Locked away for his rage.”
“Should have left the baby prince in the ring with the wild monsters. Where he belongs.”
I need to get out of here. “Send the bill to my sister,” I snap at the owner as we leave.
The night air does nothing to cool my burning skin.
“Dayton—” Rosalina grasps my arm. “Dayton, are you hurt?”
I could almost laugh. Of course at a time like this, she would be worried about me. “Didn’t you see? It’s not my blood.”
“Day,” she says, “your eyes… They’re glowing.”
“Fuck,” I mutter. I pull her into a nearby alley. “We need to go back to the castle.”
“I’m sorry, this is all my fault,” she mumbles. “I thought I wanted to—y’know. But as soon as they touched me, I got this major ick. I assumed it would go away once we kissed, but it got worse—”
I brace my hands on the stone wall. “Rosalina, I really need you to stop talking about kissing that fae.” It feels like I’m burning from the inside out. I’m not sure if I’m going to shift into a wolf or explode and take the whole Summer Realm down in flames with me. Shit, it’s been decades since I’ve felt this out of control.
“I was going to say, it was even worse when he kissed me,” she continues, because she always has to finish her point. I find it cute as shit when she snaps at Kel this way, but now that she’s doing it to me, I want to shut her pretty little mouth.
Forcing my eyes closed, I try to ignore the fire that’s burning in my chest. I release the clasp of the largest shell on my necklace and reveal the small mirror inside. I angle the object toward the wall, reflecting the light until it builds a spinning portal on the surface.
“How?” Rosalina gasps. “You have portable mirrors?”
“No time for another magic lesson, blossom.” I grab her wrist and pull her through. She needs to be safe inside the castle before I explode.
The magic wraps around us until we stumble into the cool entrance hall, the familiar sight of those bloody thorns welcoming us home.
I take in a deep breath and pinch the bridge of my nose. What the fuck is wrong with me?
Rosalina looks up at me, her eyes wide with concern. “What happened back there, Dayton?”
“I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“I wasn’t scared. He deserved it.” Her face is stern. “Now he can’ttouch anyone else against their will. At least, not as easily.”
“Well, I’m sorry you didn’t get your carefree night.” One of her sleeves has slipped down and I reach to pull it up.
“I didn’t want any of them, anyway.” Her hand clasps over mine before I can pull away. And damn if the contact of her skin isn’t lighting another sort of fire inside me. “I don’t understand what happened to your eyes. You seemed so—”