Page 66 of The Unseelie Wish

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Izael threw up his hands in exasperation.

“Listen, Anfar.” Alex rubbed a hand over her face. “I don’t want to die. Neither does Izael. Nor do I really want to kill Valroy. But I will not let myself get turned into a bazooka. I will not let him wage two wars because of me. If you have another suggestion, I’m all ears.”

Anfar just kept staring at her blankly. Whatever was going on in his head was impossible to discern.

“And if you give me some bullshit line about how I’m a human and therefore I don’t get to decide these matters, I will absolutely turn you into something extremely stupid.”

Anfar stepped in front of them, blocking their way forward. “I could stop you.”

That was it. She’d had enough. She stepped toward Anfar and fixed him with a hard stare. “I like you well enough. I don’t have a fight with you. But if you like being whatever-the-fuck-you-are-now, I suggest you get out of our way.”

“Would you do such a thing? Are you truly capable of that?” Anfar stood his ground.

“Dunno. Why don’t we find out together?” She smiled beatifically.

The sea monster watched her, his expression flat and empty. “I see why you love her, Izael.”

Izael draped his arms over Alex’s shoulders, resting his chin atop her head. “I have no problem letting my girl mop the floor with you. I, personally, would love to see it.”

“I am certain you would.” Anfar sighed. “Very well.” He stepped out of their way. “Pursue your deaths if it pleases you both.”

“Love to know if you have an alternative suggestion. Otherwise—nice meeting you.” Alex walked past him. Her heart was racing as adrenaline flooded her body. They were close.

A left turn. Followed by another left. And another. Then…they were there.

The path dumped out into a larger clearing than all the others. Ringed by stones on all sides, she felt the air rush out of her lungs as she took in the sight in front of her.

It was an enormous tree. It stretched up above them, its bare branches like dark fingernails scratching at the sky. It grew from a circle of stones that was intricately carved in writing and shapes she didn’t recognize. The stone was centered in a pool of blood that reflected the light of the moon in a pale, ghastly red.

And from its base flowed out its roots, not buried in the ground, but spreading out like the capillaries of lungs.

They pulsed with the beat of a heart.

The thick and knotted bark that covered the massive trunk of the tree was peppered with weapons embedded into its surface of every kind and nationality she could imagine. Spears, swords, axes, arrows—even a rifle that looked like it was from World War I, its bayonet stuck deep in the tree’s surface.

All the weapons were rusted and degrading to the sands of time, in various stages of decay. She wasn’t the first person to try to destroy Valroy.

Whether or not she would be the last still remained to be seen.

The sound of the pipe organ was almost deafening now as it filled the air around her with a furious dirge. Angry and lashing out at its defilers, even as it sang of death and retribution.

“This is it. The true form of our charming King Valroy,” Izael murmured to her. Even he seemed to be in awe of what stood before them. “His beating heart.”

She took a careful, tentative step forward. She couldn’t help but step on the tendrils of roots that spread from the tree in a thin membrane. There was no way to avoid them. She tried to stick to rocks as much as she could.

When she had to step into the mess of blood, she groaned at the way it squished and squelched beneath her weight. It was disgusting.

And it was warm.

When she was a dozen feet from the tree, she stopped. It was only then that she realized she was shivering. Could she do this? Could she really destroy Valroy? Was she powerful enough to warp something that was that loud? That old and that strong?

There was only one way to find out, she supposed.

“I have faith in you.” Izael kissed the back of her head. “Do it.”

Swallowing the rock in her throat, she took a deep breath, held it, and let it out. “Here goes everything.”

Lifting her hands in front of her, it took everything in her to keep them from shaking. Taking another deep breath, she shut her eyes and forced herself to truly listen to the music the tree was giving off.