My stomach twisted uneasily. What’s wrong with her?
When her cool gaze swept the crowd, I tensed a little. Her eye stopped for a millisecond longer on Erebus and me. Her lips parted slightly before she tightened her jaw and carefully returned to the same dispassionate look as before. If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn there was a bit of fear in her gaze.
My anxiety spiked when the hairs on the back of my neck rose. The urge to look around hit me like a sledgehammer. It felt like someone was watching me, and I needed to know who. Erebus twitched just enough for me to know he felt my tension.
The Light King went on further to say how his daughter came back to them, but my focus was split. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Olezka standing near the tables of food. But my attention snapped back to the King when I heard his next words.
“And to reward him for bringing my daughter back to me, I would like to present her future mate.”
The air around me froze as Erebus straightened his spine. Power pulsed from him and made me feel queasy. I took an uneasy step back.
The man who stepped forward to claim Ana as his mate looked dangerously different. His slick, silver hair was twisted in warrior braids that gave him a commanding air. Key strolled across the stage as if he practically owned it. The Light King looked less than impressed with him as he sauntered past, but he carefully wiped it away before speaking once more.
“My future son: the true King of the Dark Fae.”
As he uttered the last words, the Light King locked eyes with Erebus. My heart pounded in my chest as Erebus’s power became choking. The others around him started to move away as well.
“You dare insult me?” He practically whispered it, but his words echoed around the room as if he’d screamed them to the heavens. In their haste to move away, the crowd pushed me farther from Erebus and Timur. Timur, standing on Erebus’s other side, managed to keep his ground.
A bitter chill swept through the room again as the Light King stared down Erebus. “You insult me with your presence, false King.”
Several of the Dark Fae moved forward to back their King, but other movements caught my eye. Key moved closer to Ana and spoke to her in whispered tones. Their gazes flicked to Erebus, but Key kept a hard grip on her elbow. She shook her head and tried to pull away, but he held her firmly. My instincts screamed at me to help my friend. As I moved closer to the raised throne, I felt someone brush up against my back.
“There you are, you slippery little human,” a slimy voice whispered behind me. It sounded so familiar. A chill went up my spine along with a finger. “What I wouldn’t give to be able to dissect you, all alone and undisturbed.”
I gulped.
Alastor, the creepy scientist fae!
I tried to step away, but he wrapped an arm across my chest and pulled me backward. His other hand wrapped around my jaw and forced my face toward the throne. Key continued speaking with Ana, his demeanor angry, and jerked his head over at us. Ana’s eyes widened, and fury overtook her features as she turned back to Key.
I strained to hear what was being said, but before I could think about it further, I felt a pinch of pain in my side and gasped. The sound was drowned out as Alastor wrapped his hand around my mouth. Pain erupted from my side, and I looked down to see a dagger plunged into my body up to its hilt. Nausea and blood filled my mouth as I tried to cough against the hand across my lips.
Wetness splattered onto the fae’s hand. He pulled it away and brought it to his mouth, licking it off. “Hmm, not yet, little human. Not yet,” he whispered seductively.
He gripped my chin with his blood-slickened hand once more and forced my gaze over to my mate, who was straining to reach me. Unfortunately, the Light King’s guards blocked him. Timur closed ranks with Erebus while Ana and Key continued to argue at the front of the room, Key purposefully moving them farther from the King.
The fae holding me finally released me. Unable to remain upright, I sense my vision darkening as the pain escalated. Blood pulsed from my wound, and the strength I had before seeped out of me in a whisper. As I collapsed, the Light fae around me moved away.
Alastor joined Ana and Key at the front, and a portal formed behind them. The scientist stepped through first. Key looked back at Ana and said something, and with a nod, she glanced back one last time at where I’d fallen. Pain entered her gaze, but she stepped through the portal, followed by Key.
My heart shattered. What is she doing?
Tears flowed down my cheeks. I reached forward weakly.
“Ana?” I croaked.
Pain sliced through me once again when a roar echoed around the room, but I was senseless to it all. The last of my strength faded, and my vision went dark.
To Be Continued in…
The Sidekick Chronicles: Sixx Saves the World
LAST WORD FROM THE AUTHOR
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Stuff about the Author
Becca Vincenza lives in wonderful Michigan. She has an obsession with candy, her animals, and of course books. When she's not wearing her author hat, she's working to pay off her student loans for her acquired English degree.
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Sixx and the Incubus: The Sidekick Chronicles Page 19