The Summer King Bundle 3 Stories - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,120

even as my heart pounded as if it were going to explode out of my chest.

The door opened, and through the thin slit of my one good eye, I saw only one pair of legs enter the room before the door closed.

Silence filled the space between us, and the seconds ticked by. Every sense of my being became hyper-aware of where Aric stood just inside the chamber. Why wasn’t he saying anything? Or coming forward? Paranoia sank its claws into me. Did he know what I had planned? Impossible, unless he realized he’d lost the dagger.

Then he moved.

Aric quietly crossed the chamber, stopping beside me. My heart rate skyrocketed. “Why do you lay so still, my pet?” he asked, touching my cheek with icy fingers.

A sensation surfaced, one of his cold fingers elsewhere.

“Are you unwell?”

Knowing if I didn’t answer, he would become suspicious, I said, “I…I don’t feel well, no.”

That was not a lie.

“Hmm.” His fingers caught strands of my hair, lifting them from my cheek. He tucked them behind my ear as a lover would. “Well, that’s a shame.”

Wait, I told myself.

“Perhaps I took too much from you,” he remarked. His fingers drifted back to my face, tracing the line of my jaw. It took everything in me to hold still. “All of this has taken a toll, hasn’t it?”

He almost sounded genuine. His tone was right, as were the words, but I knew better. There was nothing kind or gentle about Aric.

I sank into myself, cowering so that I could draw the dagger upward, keeping it hidden.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, lowering his head toward mine as he brought his fingers down over the band circling my throat. “At least, not right now.”

Wait.

“Later,” he mused. “Well, we’ll have to see about that, won’t we?”

Wait.

“I suppose it will all depend on how you behave.” His head tilted to the side, and I felt the brush of his cold lips against my cheek. I opened my eye. “How long it takes you to pull yourself together now, for example.”

Wait.

“Admittedly, I have no patience for invalids or those who—”

Jerking upright, I swung out with the dagger and slammed it into the side of his throat. Warm liquid sprayed against my hand and face, telling me that I had struck true.

Aric roared, rearing back, but I followed, scrambling off the slab as he tore his head to the side, free of the dagger. I latched on to him, my knees clamped to his hips as he wheeled backward.

“You fucking bitch!” Blood and spittle hit my face. “You stupid, fucking bitch!”

His fist connected with the side of my head as I swung the dagger again, missing his neck but hitting his cheek. He shouted and went down as I tore the dagger free from his flesh. He hit the floor on his back, and my knees cracked off the floor. I slammed my other hand into his forehead, forcing his neck back and holding it there with everything—

His head snapped up, breaking my hold. His teeth caught my forearm, ripping through flesh. I screamed, my body spasming as he rolled me. He tore his mouth free, spitting in my face as he gripped my neck, digging his fingers into my windpipe. I felt the air charge around us, and I knew he was about to use abilities I couldn’t fight.

“I’m going to gut you,” he swore, blood racing across his face. “I’m going to fuck you and gut you right—”

I swung again, this time catching him in the other side of the neck, and I didn’t let up. Using all my strength, I dragged the blade along his throat from ear to ear.

Aric’s eyes went wide as he rocked off me, grabbing his neck. Blue-ish red, shimmery blood poured down his hands and over his white shirt. He tried to stand, making it onto one knee.

“I’m not done with you,” I growled, shoving to my feet. The world seemed to tilt and sway, but I ignored it as I limped toward him.

His mouth opened, but all that came out was a gurgle of blood.

“Finally.” I gripped the top of his hair, yanking his head back. “You’re fucking quiet.”

He grabbed for my arm, but I evaded him as I jabbed the dagger in for the final time. The grinding of bones giving way and the fleshy noise of sinew and muscle snapping turned my stomach as I jerked my arm, carving my way through the bastard’s neck until I reached the