Snarling, she glared at him as he offered her a vicious smile. “You’re no better than a wild animal. Look at those canines of yours.”
She’d need to use her magic.
Lessia closed her eyes, beginning to draw it up, when a loud thud sounded behind them.
Whipping his head around, Craven swore, and soon crunching footsteps followed. Quickly repressing the magic now glinting in her eyes, she remained still as Venko and Loche appeared, her breathing shallow as she tried to stop the magic from surfacing.
“It seems we weren’t informed we were to roll around in the snow today.” Loche’s dark hair was stark against the snow around him as he tilted his head and eyed them.
Craven growled, and the sharp blades of the daggers dug harder into her skin. The smell of iron reached her nostrils as warm blood began trickling down her neck.
“This was probably not your brightest idea, old man.” Loche’s eyes followed the blood she was sure started to stain the snow.
“You don’t want her here either. It’s not like she’ll win.Let’s get rid of her together. No one needs to know,” Craven spat.
With a snarl, she tried to shift him off but only succeeded in getting one of the daggers to jab into her shoulder.
Lessia bit her cheek not to cry out at the pain.
She refused to give him that satisfaction—would die quietly if it came to that.
“If you’re not scared of her winning, why are you trying to cut her head off?” Loche brushed some snow off his tunic, a bored expression on his face, but when his eyes flicked to hers, a dangerous flame burned in them.
“Because it’s not right,” Craven bellowed. “She is a disgrace to this election. She is Fae, for gods’ sake.”
“And you’ll be thrown out right after you finish this,” Venko said quietly, his gaze warily flitting between her and Craven. “Think about what you’re doing. It’s not worth it.”
“You’d take her side? You’re as bad as she is. You all disgust me.” Craven turned around to glare at the two men, and she didn’t hesitate when his weight shifted.
Throwing her arms up, she pushed him and scrambled away when he fell onto the snow. She used a branch to get to her feet, then bent down to clutch the dagger that had fallen out of her hand.
When Craven stumbled to his feet, she stalked up to him and pulled at his stupid robe to get his face close to hers. “If you ever try that again, I will kill you.” Her lips curled back to show the canines he’d mocked. “I’ll rip your throat out with these, make sure no more vile words can ever leave that wrinkled old mouth of yours.”
He started to respond, but when she slapped him with everything in her, he lunged instead, only to grasp air as she’d anticipated, nearly falling when she jumped to the side.
A chuckle sounded before her, and she switched her glare to Loche.
A soft growl left her mouth when one corner of his mouth quirked up, gray eyes flickering with amusement.
“I am going inside. If any of you bother me again, I promise you… you will regret it.”
With that, she stalked back to the house.
Chapter
Twenty-Six
Lessia angrily shifted the fire, energy like she hadn’t had for days bristling under her skin when Venko and Craven walked through the door. The old man stomped through the room and up the stairs, but not before she caught a glimpse of his bright red cheek.
Despite everything, she smiled to herself.
He deserved it, deserved even worse, but she wouldn’t bother wasting any more time on him. She’d be prepared next time, wouldn’t hesitate to use her magic to convince him to use those daggers on himself.
Venko made his way over to her, and her eyes slitted when he chuckled as she bent down to count the branches before the fire.
“That was the best entertainment I’ve seen in years.” Venko slumped down on the creaking couch, patting the seat beside him. “You should sit down. Rest. You might have adrenaline running through those veins of yours right now, but you’ll crash soon. You need to preserve your energy.”
Shaking her head, she glared at him. “I still need to get more firewood. This won’t last us through the night.”
