Page 43 of Court of Winter

The minute we pushed through the castle’s protective ward, the sound of steel meeting steel clanged around us.

“Fuck,” the prince hissed under his breath.

He dropped from the sky, and my eyes widened at the horrific fight occurring by the castle’s outermost wall.

Two guards were lunging at each other viciously. Deadly blows nearly landed on each male as they sliced and danced around one another.

The prince touched down and released me in the same beat. I stumbled back as he strode toward them, his affinity rising as a ripple of his aura shot out. The guards surrounding the two fighting males all stumbled back, then fell to their knees in deep bows when the prince passed them.

“My prince, I’m sorry,” one of the guards called as he rushed after him. “I tried to stop them, but they’re fighting over—”

“Let me guess,” the prince seethed. “Lorinda, that barmaid?”

“Yes, my prince.”

The prince reached the two dueling guards, and one of them seemed to finally realize the storm cloud that was about to unleash, because he glanced away from his opponent.

It was enough of a distraction for the second guard to land a blow. The sound of flesh tearing, then a gurgle of blood erupting filled the courtyard. The prince stopped in his tracks, and my hands flew to my mouth as the guard fell.

His opponent’s sword had struck right at the base of his neck, severing part of his head. Blood pulsed in shooting sprays from the wound—a lethal injury unless a talented healer could be located immediately.

“Get Murl now!” the prince bellowed.

Several guards rushed away as two ran toward the fallen male.

“What in the realm is happening out here?” a portly, older male called, coming from across the yard as the prince rounded on the one who’d landed the blow.

“Not now, Lord Crimsonale,” Prince Norivun bit out as he faced the guard.

The young male backed up, dropping his sword as his righteous anger morphed into palpable fear, but I didn’t pay him or the approaching lord any further attention as my focus shifted to the fallen fairy, the one who was seconds away from dying.

A deep throbbing sensation started in my gut as a strange yearning began to fill me. And then the land was rushing past me as my feet carried me like the wind toward the fallen guard.

Everything happened as though time stood still. Breath rushed from my lungs. The throb in my belly grew. My attention focused with pinprick precision on the dying male.

I slammed into the crowd around him, pushing through the guards hovering at his side, fighting to reach the fallen male. I had to get to him. Had to help him. Had to—

“Out of the way, the lot of ya!” a male roared.

The commanding demand fell on my deaf ears. A shadow shimmered along the dying male’s form. My gaze was fixated on that shadow.I needed to—

Rough hands yanked me back just as the healer hunkered at the male’s side. The healer’s affinity rose swift and strong, clouding the nearly dead fairy as an awareness crept over me.

Something was rising from the dying male, like a translucent cloud. The throbbing in my belly increased just as the prince’s head snapped toward the dying male’s form, then to me.

My vision tunneled again, shrinking inward to that hovering essence.Hold it. Protect it.

I fought against the hands holding me, but then the prince was suddenly there, towering over me.

Disbelief swam in his eyes. “You’re—” His mouth snapped shut, but his eyes widened more and more. Blood drained from his face as though he’d seen a ghost.

A guard tried to yank me away as Lord Crimsonale watched us with narrowing eyes, but a deep growl vibrated the prince’s chest as he shot the guard a furious glare. “Release her.Now.”

The guard stumbled back as the chaos around the fallen guard increased. Magic surrounded the dying fairy, but Prince Norivun’s attention fixated entirely on my face. His gaze roamed over my features as his eyes swam with confusion, awe, and something...primal.

“And who is this, Prince Norivun?” Lord Crimsonale asked.

The prince snarled, and then his arms encircled me before we shot into the sky. He moved so fast that I couldn’t breathe. The ground rushed by as the castle’s yard disappeared behind us.