his powers returning to him in waves.
He lifted his hand and three shadows came forth, tall as the trees, black as midnight.
They fell on the hag, suckling power from the thunderstorm that was her hair as she screamed for mercy.
Her pain lent him strength too, but it was a flavorless gruel compared to the feast he had tasted at Jessica’s muted moan of agony.
He quickly tired of the hag’s misery, and with a flick of his wrist sent his minions into the trees with her.
The moment she was gone, he moved swiftly to Jessica. She lay on the forest floor, a trickle of blood running down the inside of her left forearm.
“Jessica,” he said softly. “I’ve got you.”
He smoothed back her hair from her forehead and felt that same intoxicating rush of power. It was stronger now than before, pulsing in his blood and filling his chest.
She looked tired, but not badly injured. At least he had acted swiftly enough to save her, even if he’d fed on her anguish to do it.
The King of Pain…
He tried not to think about it as he turned his attention to Nyx.
The big horse was already stirring. The muted effects of the flowers in the storm were a help, but the hag was gone now and the rain could let up at any moment.
“Come on, boy,” Cullen said. “Let’s get up.”
The pale stallion allowed himself to be coaxed to his feet.
Cullen lifted Jessica in his arms and placed one hand on the horse’s withers before heading into the trees, past the flowers, past the place where the hag had nearly taken them.
He walked for what felt like forever, thoughts of his power tormenting him.
How his veins had sung with the glory of his queen’s misery. As much as it shamed him, the flavor of it kept creeping back into his consciousness.
He loved Jessica, more than his own life.
But how could he be with her when he took such exquisite pleasure from her pain? The thought of it frightened him.
Jessica began to stir as the trees before them thinned.
“We’re almost out of the woods, my love,” he murmured to her.
She clung to him, burying her face in his neck.
The light coming from between the trees ahead was too bright to be moonlight.
He strode slowly forward until the trees parted at last.
The valley below them was bright with wildflowers in the morning sun.
Beyond it, the little cottage waited for them.
They had traveled all night and risked their lives only to end up right back where they started.
“Is that…?” Jessica murmured.
“Yes,” he said through a clenched jaw.
“What do we do?” she asked.
“We make another bargain with the Queen of Silence,” he said.
“I don’t even know where she lives,” Jessica moaned.
“I think I know exactly where to find her,” Cullen replied.
6
Cullen
Cullen’s plan was taking shape by the time Nyx carried them back to the little cottage where Jessica had spent so many happy days.
He was no stranger to faerie bargains, and he hadn’t completely lost his ability to think like the folk. He just needed a way to free Jessica and exact his revenge on his traitorous brothers at the same time.
In the meadow, the effects of the Queen of Silence were already apparent. There was no birdsong among the flowers, and though the wind lifted the branches of the trees that surround the cottage, he could not hear the hush of dancing leaves.
“She’s here,” he told Jessica. “I have a plan.”
“What should I do?” she asked. Her voice was more wakeful now, he was grateful that she was coming back to him.
“I’ll handle it,” he said. “Just try not to speak. I don’t want you accidentally getting wrapped up in another of her schemes.”
“Ouch,” Jessica said.
“I’m not insulting you, believe me,” he said quickly. “I’m just saying she’s cruel and calculating and you’re still sleepy from Valeria’s grace.”
He didn’t mention that her anguish had giving him the power to resist the effects of the blossoms and defeat the hag.
“It’s okay,” Jessica said in surrender. “I’m not myself, I can feel that. I’ll stay quiet. No need to worry.”
He nuzzled her hair, wishing he could comfort her with promises that everything would be better soon.
But talk was cheap. He would win her freedom first, and help her recover herself when that was settled.
They dismounted and entered the cottage.
The silence inside was so profound it was palpable, as if they were covered in a blanket that dampened all sound.
The Queen of Silence stood by the stone fireplace.
She was