Cold Queen - K Webster Page 0,50

woman, a battle cry escaping her. Before I can assist, something bashes me over the back of the head. My crown cracks and clatters to the stone. I crumple to the floor beside it, my eyes heavy, as a fifth man comes into view. His sword is wet. All of the five Bloodstones who came with us are dead.

I try to summon my ice, but a cloud of darkness swarms over me.

When I manage to blink my eyes open, I realize my arms are bound behind me. I catch Valari’s glare from across the room. They’ve stripped her down and tied her wrists to ropes hanging from the ceiling. Her short legs have her teetering on her toes. The way her pregnant belly protrudes has worry creeping up inside me. She’s so vulnerable to these monsters.

“Ahh, so the queen wakes,” the one who murdered five of my men states, revealing his toothless smile to me. “You’re a queen, right?” He holds up both halves of my broken crown and inspects the pieces. “You don’t look so regal without your crown. In fact, you look like another bitch growing my food.”

My beast inside me is silent.

No ice.

Empty, coldness.

Fear clutches my heart. I’ve relied on my gift so much that without it, I feel just as vulnerable as Valari.

“Let us go,” I demand. “Let us go and your deaths will be quick and painless.”

The man snorts, earning a few chuckles from his four men. “We’re not letting you go. No, we’re going to take turns with your tight cunts before having ourselves a little midnight snack.” He walks over to Valari and pokes the tip of his knife at her belly. “I bet this one tastes sweet. They always taste sweeter when they’re fresh and still kicking.”

Fury surges up inside of me.

Hot, white, violent.

Rage like nothing I’ve ever know burns through me like a wild fire in a dense forest. It consumes my every thought. The room heats several degrees.

Ryke!

Emotion threatens to overcome me, but I remain strong. I tap into my fury. I lure the beast from its hiding place.

Ryke never shows.

Hiss. Pop.

My hands are released and I pull them in front of me in confusion. They glow red. Fire. It burns through my veins like it is a gift of my own. It feels new and untamed and untaught. Wild and free and uncontrollable. Valari’s eyes widen in shock. The five men step back when I rise to my feet.

“Don’t just stand there,” the leader barks. “Kill the bitch!”

One of the fat men charges my way, I lash at him with a whip of fire, cutting the man clean in two. Each of his two halves slide apart and hit the stone floor with a juicy thud. The smaller of the men takes off running toward the door. Valari hops and hooks him around the head, clenching her naked thighs around him in an effort to make him suffocate.

I send two fiery balls of fury hurtling through the chests of the two men remaining on either side of their leader. They scream, clutching their chests before crumpling to the ground. Then, I take a step toward the man in charge. He unsheathes his sword, earning a cackle from me.

“What do you plan to do with that big knife, monster?” I sneer at him. “Cut me up like you did those poor, innocent children?”

My headache starts to fade as my own beast rages forward. Rather than chasing away the fires, my beast uses them. I form a fist with my hand and marvel at the way a diamondblade forms like that of a large sword, blue flames licking from it.

“What the…” the man trails off, horrified by my powers.

With a quick whip of my arm in a sweeping motion, I saw right through the man’s neck. His head falls to the stone floor to my feet. I kick it out of my way and then shove the still standing body before making my way over to Valari. I swipe out above her, slicing through the rope with my bloody, fiery diamondblade. As soon as her hands are free, she yanks at the guy’s hair. I squat down and sling my blade through his calves, cutting his legs in two. His scream is otherworldly just as the door flies open. He teeters on his severed legs. One slight move and his body will separate from below his knee. It’s inevitable.

Danser bolts for us with alarming speed, snagging Valari from off the man’s