I peeked at the imbecile, curious to see which Noir had the balls to try to approach the royal. The hairs along the princess’s arms danced, her mouth curling down into a frightened frown that seemed to heighten her scent.
Both my eyes opened, my own lips curling down to match hers.
Auric appeared unfazed, his expression one of astute boredom. Oh, come on, now. You won’t really let that dick touch her, will you? I wondered at him, fully aware that he couldn’t actually hear me.
Then I caught the subtle tick in his jaw, and my frown dissolved into a smirk.
That’s what I thought.
“Just watch,” Raven said, interrupting my concentration. I nearly told her to shut it, but she wasn’t done. “You’ll see. She’s going to show her true colors.”
More like Auric is about to show his, I murmured back, but not with my voice. It wasn’t my fault she couldn’t read my mind.
“Why don’t you ditch the shiny toy and get yourself some real protectors? I could show you—” The idiot reached for her, thereby igniting the show.
Auric’s blade whistled through the air with an accuracy I begrudgingly admired, slicing the Noir’s hand clean from his wrist.
I see you’ve stayed on your game, I mused. Nice form.
“Anyone else want to lose a hand, or worse?” Auric called to the crowd, his blue eyes flashing with aggression.
The female beside him paled, the contrast startling against her gorgeous wings. I almost wanted to take Auric up on the offer, if only to be the one to help massage those frown lines from the beauty’s forehead.
I didn’t care what she’d done to earn her black plumes. Her scent around my cock was all I needed. And maybe her plump lips.
“Yeah, I see what you mean,” my cousin drawled. “The princess is absolutely terrifying.”
I ignored him in favor of watching the female wrap her arms around her middle, her shiver visible even from here. Auric sheathed his dagger, then walked up to her side.
“I don’t belong here,” the female whispered, her scent coming to me on a stiff breeze.
I rubbed at my nose, then narrowed my gaze. The stench of royalty surrounded her, that pungent jasmine and rose enough to make me sneeze. I much preferred the cherry blossoms beneath, which fortunately came next.
Zian bumped my shoulder. I glared at him. What?
He studied me.
I studied him.
Then I went back to watching the female. Her eyes caught mine as if she could feel the intensity of my gaze on her.
I didn’t move or react, not wanting to frighten her more. But I caught the subtle flare of interest in her pupils.
Then Auric interrupted the moment by placing his hand low on her back.
A growl tore through my chest before I could stop it. I clenched my hands so tightly my nails bit into my skin.
Oh, I’d received that message loud and clear. Mine.
We’ll see, I said back to him with my eyes. Because I didn’t sense a mating bond between them. Just general interest. Because she was compatible with him, too.
Given my past with the Nora Warrior, that wasn’t surprising.
“It would be so much easier if I could just kill her,” Raven whispered mournfully.
I cut my gaze to the female beside me. “I don’t recommend it.”
Not only would it create a severe conflict of interest—whereby I would be forced to choose between the life of a potential mate over the life of my cousin’s mate—but Auric would destroy her. Raven might be strong for an eighteen-year-old angel, but she wouldn’t stand a chance against the practiced Nora Warrior. Neither would Zian or Sorin.
No, if it came down to a fight, it’d be between me and Auric.
Because I was the only one aware of his true weakness.
Raven crossed her arms over her chest with a petulant ruffle of her feathers, then turned her glare on the princess.
She stood at the edge of the field now, her eyes on the labyrinth in the distance. Auric’s jaw tensed as he watched, making me curious.
Were you not aware of Sayir’s penchant for games, old friend? I thought at him. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course you were. You’re a Nora Warrior. All you live for is death.
The princess gasped as an inmate fell prey to the spike trap, then she backed away from the fence, bumping into Auric. The Nora Warrior slid an arm around her shoulders and pivoted her until she was no longer facing the labyrinth, his face grim.
Is that for show? I wondered. Or are you truly bothered by the fate you left so many to?
His focus shifted suddenly to the side, just a hairsbreadth of a second before I heard the approach of engines in the distance.
Oh? Is it finally time to play?
Sorin and Zian had warned me about the cullings and battles—something that had been a common occurrence throughout my time in solitary—but I hadn’t yet been given the privilege of drawing blood. Apart from my initial landing in this hellhole, anyway. Apparently, I’d killed too many inmates. Solitary with a bunch of insane demons had been my punishment.
“How many can I kill?” I asked Zian as black feathers began to rain from the sky above.
Zian whistled long and low. “I don’t know. That’s quite a crowd.”
Sorin grunted. “Noir seem to be Falling like rain lately.”
“Or maybe they’re all being sent here for a reason,” Raven said in a low voice. “For Reformer kind of reasons.”
Yes. I suspected she was right, because there were at least twice as many Noir coming down right now, in comparison to the day I’d initially arrived. And they were all angling directly for the courtyard.
Hmm, a quick mental count of cells and beds told me the prison was already almost at capacity. And I doubted the guards intended for anyone to sleep on the floor.
Well, they might.
But they wouldn’t want to feed us all.
Looks like I’m about to experience my first real culling. That death duel when I first arrived didn’t really count.
I stood to loosen up, ready to play. Beside me, Zian and Sorin did the same and closed in around Raven protectively.
Sorin rolled his neck. “Buckle up, little dove.”
Raven flashed a feral grin. “I could use some action.”
Zian slid his finger down her back between her wings, a glint in his eye. “Don’t we give you more than enough, sweet bird?”
A mental image of doing that to the princess caught my focus, causing me to drag my eyes to the female in question. She stood in the center of the yard, watching the sky as the new Noir dropped gracefully to the ground in the yard, completely unaware of what was about to happen.
And Auric had taken a few steps away to converse with a Nora Guard.
They had no idea what was coming.
I couldn’t give a flying fuck what happened to Auric, but I felt an overwhelming need to keep the princess safe.
I reached into the hidden pocket on my jeans to pull out my knife, my fingers already tingling with anticipation.
“How many?” I asked again, my wings flickering, ready for action.
“No beast mode,” Zian replied, spoiling all my fun.
I glanced at him, arching a brow. I like my beast mode. And I rarely exercised that lethal part of me. Too much blood. But razor-tipped feathers were certainly a useful trait to possess during a culling.
“I’d keep it to less than a dozen this time,” Zian suggested. “With a regular knife.”