Sophie Oak - Beauty

Yet the hags still focused on her.

Could they not hear the battle? They didn’t seem to care even if they knew it had begun. They were deep in the dungeon, but Bron could hear it broadcast from another bondmate or perhaps several. Now that she’d decided to listen, she could hear them. She recognized Kaja’s voice, but there was another. A very strong voice sending out love and hope and prayers for something she called kicking serious ass.

Bron wasn’t sure what that meant, but she was grateful to the bondmate who was sharing her thoughts even if she didn’t know she was doing it. Hers was the strongest of the voices and she was so hopeful. This woman, and Bron could tell she was female, was ready for the fight. She was ready for something she called her happily ever after.

Bron liked the idea. Happy forever. She just had to reach for it.

During the hours when she’d reached out to the bondmates in the palace, her mind seemed to have formed some sort of network, pulling them each in and connecting them all. She’d learned some were close to death, others simply waiting for that time and many were being held for high-ranking vampires. They knew something was wrong with them, something had been done to them, but they didn’t know what. They were all afraid.

And they all wanted to fight.

He’s coming.

Maris’s voice was the oddest of all, but she seemed to be playing her part. Her part was to ship the king to her. Bron needed to know where Torin was. She needed to make sure he was close when she brought her power down.

The hags stared at her, and then the slender one brought her hands up, slamming them toward her, a gray mist rising.

A jolt of hot pain struck through her system. She shielded, keeping it utterly inside her own body. She didn’t want to frighten the others or cause them pain. Her body was caught in the mist the hags sent out. This mist was gray, unlike the pure black that had engulfed Duffy. Her heart clenched. She knew he was gone. Now that she’d felt the mist, she knew Duffy had died in it and Lach had carried him. There was no other explanation.

It proved Shim was alive, no matter what he said. Shim still felt and ate and complained about the cold.

She shook and her insides felt like they would burst, and she held on to those simple thoughts. She heard the hags argue and then another wave hit, the mist filling her whole being. Her limbs shook and her bones ached. She tried to remember every inch of their faces and how they liked to hold her. Shim would snuggle, his body cuddling hers, his legs moving between hers as though he was trying to make them one. And Lach. Lach would surround her, pushing the world out until it was only the two of them. Nothing compared to being between them. When she was cuddled between them, everything was right.

The fog lifted, and she was left shaken.

“That’s better.” The hags hadn’t bothered to introduce themselves. There was a wretchedly thin one and the other resembled a glob of rancid pudding with eyes. Bron couldn’t stand to be around either. She’d preferred it when they had hidden their true faces.

The thin one looked at her critically. “I don’t know. She still looks pretty healthy to me. And we’d better hurry, dear one. Did you feel that eddy cloud?”

The puddle of goo with eyes replied. “I did, sister. The triad is here along with her husbands. We knew this would happen. We counted on it. They should breach the palace walls, and then Torin will be slaughtered and we’ll have her power. Do you understand what that means? The little idiot doesn’t know how to use it, but I will be able to.”

Bron kept her face perfectly still. She didn’t need them to know that she was well aware of how to use her power. She intended to use it on them.

“Are you sure? You thought you would be able to hear them by now.” The emaciated one tapped her foot against the floor, her cold eyes darting around.

Her sister sneered Bron’s way. A long, taloned hand pointed toward her. “I just need one more soul. Hers. She’s the key, but then we figured that out long ago. Our mistake was in trusting Torin. He was supposed to have caught her and brought her for execution.”

“Instead the dumb bastard just killed her. I wonder how she came back. I’m sure she was dead.”

The big hag with cold, dead eyes stalked toward her. She put a hand on her chest, right above Bron’s heart. “All things will be learned when we pry that damn soul out of her body. And then I’ll be the one who binds her husbands, and I’ll be the one with the power.”

The idea of this odious woman having access to her husbands’ power made Bron sick.

The slender one frowned. “I don’t see why it has to be you.”

The hags continued to argue as they raced to get the ingredients for another spell. This one, Bron was sure, would nearly kill her and she didn’t dare open herself. Not yet.

She would have to be strong. When she opened wide, she would pull their power, and there would be no going back.

The hags began to walk toward her when the cell door opened and Torin raged in.

He stopped in front of her, giving her a once-over, his eyes narrowing and his lips thin. A spark of recognition hit him, but he turned from her as though she didn’t deserve a moment’s notice.

Her uncle was older, his hair gone to silver. He looked nothing like the man who would sit at her father’s side and talk at night. He was wrinkled now, care and guilt obviously taking their toll. But he was still strong. He hauled two guards with him.

“Take the hags into custody,” Torin announced, his voice ringing out.

The hags laughed. They stood their ground, staring down the guards. “I don’t think they want to do that, Your Majesty. They might discover they prefer their man parts on the outside of their bodies.”

The guards hesitated. They were all here.

I’m ready . She sent the message out to everyone, but especially to her loves.

And then Maris entered the room. Bron couldn’t believe it. She should have run the minute she’d convinced Torin to find her. Maris should have fled the castle or joined the bondmates. It had been her and Niall’s job to ensure their safety.

The hags began their threats and Torin his screams for vengeance. He didn’t even look Bron’s way. But Maris did. She moved in close. She still wore her thin, diamond-and-gold crown.

“Do it,” Maris whispered.

Bron shook her head. Despite all the chaos Maris had caused, she couldn’t kill her. She’d repented in her way. “I can’t. You know I can’t. Maris, you know what’s going to happen.”

Maris whispered. “I’ve protected the others with a spell and Niall is with them. Fire won’t touch them. And I always knew this was how I would end. I don’t want to live, Bronwyn. I want to go home, and my home is no longer here. Do it or I will tell them what’s happening. You will lose your chance. You will lose everything.”

Bron was weak again. So weak. She felt sick, her stomach rolling. She could barely move her fingers. How would she do what she needed to do? Misery swamped her. She had been so close, but she was going to fail. She was going to let them all down. Her people. Her brothers. Her loves. Herself.

Her vision was starting to fade.

A cool wind buoyed her and a familiar voice filled her head. “Then take my strength, daughter. It was always meant for you and Beck and Cian. My children.”

Her father floated in front of her, the hags and Torin ignoring him as they continued their argument. Her father kept his eyes on her. “Tell them I did love them. My sons. They will make great kings, and you are already a queen. You didn’t need a crown, Bron. You only needed your strong heart.”