The wolves laugh. Valka's eyes burn into Rafael's as he chuckles, clapping with delight. "Release me and I will gut you and hang you by your fucking entrails--"
A hand slams against her cheek, hard, snapping her head to the side. It is Lilith's hand. "I will cut out your tongue, useless bitch."
A warning snarl rips out of me but Rafael's tut of displeasure stops me. "This won't do," he purrs, and cocks his head to the side. "Kill her," he orders with serene malice as if asking for tea.
"No!" I roar, but the sound is a thing I do not own, it rakes against the ring of men who flank us.
"Crawl, king," Rafael says. "Tell me why I shouldn't carve that pretty head from her shoulders."
A life for a crown.
