Riordan staggered a step, watching that cursed collar snap around her throat. “No!” He yelled but he was too late. Her face became blank and her fiery grey eyes slowly became a solid black, identical to the other warriors. She was lost. His roar of pain shook the hall and several warriors staggered back in shock. Something powerful and unholy simmered and roiled under his skin, pushing to be let out in an unstoppable tide. “You will die a painful death.” He promised the king and let the rage burn. Fire ignited his skin and burned to the roof, spreading to encircle the room in a flaming wall of red hot flames. The warriors shrieked and staggered back, repelled by his light. The fire engulfed the first of them and she dropped to the ground, screeching with pain. He stared at what used to be Freya and her alien gaze met his. Once, he would have celebrated her end. Guinevere’s collar was clamped around her throat and the only way it would be coming off is from her dead severed neck
Aremin’s fist crashed into his desk and the two men in front of him withered with fear. “What do you mean you can’t find her?” He gritted out and they exchanged a fearful glance. “We were able to trace her to a point up to the woods, after that is nothing. No one has seen anyone that looked like her.” Sting reported. His fist groaned and he fought the urge to pummel his men for their failure. “Go back out, and take Tyrion with you.” He commanded. Surprise flitted over their features at his willingness to set Tyrion loose but they nodded quickly and left. He usually brought in Tyrion only on high calibre cases when he needed someone found quickly. The silent ugly bastard made the rest of them uncomfortable to say the least but he was one of Aremin’s favourite. When the door closed behind them, he rose from his seat and threw the door into his private study open. The old woman was humming some eery tune by the bedside while the wide-eyed woman stared at him with fear. “Who are y
Riordan shook his head to clear his muddied mind but when he looked at her again, he saw Freya. He took a step forward, his hand extended towards her tremulously. The potion Melanie mixed with the ale was Lovers’ bait, a potent poison that changed one’s reality when drank. History had it that it was once used to fell great kingdoms, to destroy powerful wolves before it was completely outlawed by some spineless monarch. This potion showed the drinker a different reality where the person they longed for the most was in front of them. He crossed the room to her and curled his hand over her nape, searching her face frantically. He staggered a little, the potion not only showing him his greatest desires but also breaking down all of his inhibitions. Melanie’s lips parted with burning desire as he stroked her face to her lips. Her breasts ached and she wanted him so badly she thought she would melt to the floor. Gripping his hand, she slowly pushed it down, a smile breaking out on her
Freya kept the act, noticing that more than half of the audience had collars on their necks. She didn't dare give it away that she had taken her body back and she came to a stop in front of the king, staring at his shirt to avoid meeting his eyes. Her mind whirred. So this was his plan, to trap her with marriage and mark her so they were bound for life. What had he done to the current queen to feel free enough to take another? "Do you, Your Majesty, take Lady Reynette to be your queen, to love and to cherish for all time?" The minister asked. "I do." Said King Ardelan. Of course, he didn't even know her name. How many people knew that Freya was Shadow?"And do you, Lady Reynette take Your Majesty King Ardelan, first of his name to be your husband? To serve and to obey him for all time?" The minster asked her. The silence that stretched out to fill the room was deafening. The minister cleared his throat and repeated the question and Freya knew the pretence was over. She dove into
One second Freya was in that warehouse being saved not for the first time by the male that promised to kill her. She blinked and she was now in an eerily familiar room. “Vinaud.” She growled and the door opened to admit him. “It didn’t take you long at all.” He said with a dirty smirk that she itched to slap off his face. “I see you didn’t forget everything about me.”The goddamn ring! She couldn’t believe she had been so stupid not to see it before. Freya felt weak and when she tried to reach for her magic, she hit a wall hard but she displayed none of the weakness as she started to pace slowly. “Do you wish to meet an early death?” She asked him but he only smiled like a contented cat. “No doubt I’ll meet such a death eventually but it’s not by your hand, sweetheart. Did you think I wouldn’t know it was you a week ago?” He asked. “So that’s what made you angry? That you were deceived?” She asked and his jaw hardened. “Just that?” He asked incredulously. “You don’t think I h
Alone and exhausted, Freya slid to the floor. Instinctively, she reached for her magic again, and again she met a wall. She had no idea how much she’d began relying on her magic because not having it felt like having crutches snatched out from under her leg. She dropped her forehead to her knees and closed her eyes. The darkness lunged up to claim her and she happily embraced it. Vaguely, she was aware of movement in the room, food being brought in and out of the room but she made no move to touch them. It was not until the third meal was taken back out untouched that Vinaud barged back in. “Is your genius plan to starve yourself to death?” He growled as he came in but his steps froze when he saw her on the floor. She raised her face and she must look as terrible as she felt because he crossed the room to her and grabbed her shoulder. “What is the matter with you?” He asked. “You’re burning up.”She smirked. “It’s worth seeing that look on your face when I ruin all your plans by
Freya could still hear the men’s ruckus from below stairs as she snuck into Vinaud’s private chambers, landing light as a cat and dusting her hands with a smirk. Vinaud might look like a brute but how many people knew that he was actually a collector of rare books? Striding briskly into the room she broke into his safe; a cakewalk really and she worked speedily, flipping through each book until she came upon the lost sorceries. For a lost culture, she sure was seeing a lot of sorcery around her these days. A coincidence? She didn’t believe in such. The book had shockingly detailed illustrations of magical artefacts and she flipped through several until she came upon the two rings, looped into each other. The illustration matched the ring on her finger perfectly and she dropped onto her ass as she devoured each page of information. “The slaver.” She whispered, that was the name of the twin rings. Everything she’d found out about it was written here. As long as she wore this ring an
Freya soon found herself in The Pit, the forbidden place was where Vinaud sent whoever was slated for execution. “You once asked me what was in there.” Vinaud sneered in her ear before she shoved her inside. “Why don’t you find out firsthand? Survive the next hour if you can, that’s your first test.”Fuck him and fuck his test. That was what she wanted to say but the door shut in her face before she had the chance. “Bastard.” She growled and tried the door to find it locked and reinforced. She kicked it in anger before she stood still, letting her eyes adjust. The place was just as it was called, a large pit. There was no other way out but the one she just came through. She heard some ominous rattling and she leaped to the ground just in time to avoid a stinger plunging into her neck. The stinger hit the ground instead and then she rolled away as it punched into the spot where she’d fallen to. She scrambled away and her back hit something. The acrid breath was her only warning and