Court of Nightmares and Ruin

Chapter 21

Icelyn

The mate bond inside me reared its ugly head and protested loudly to me kissing anyone other than my mate. My stomach heaved; nothing about this male was right. His touch, his smell, the way he looked, nothing about him appealed to me, yet I forced my body onto his.

I finally pulled away when I noticed his eyes round in horror. He quickly peeled my arms from around his neck and pushed me away. I caught myself and saw Kohl standing only a breath away from me. My body went ridged at his nearness and fury.

Something about Kohl was off, he never looked at me, and his ordinarily beautiful stormy grey eyes were pitch black. Everything about him emanated pure evil.

"Forgive me...my king...I did not realize you had claimed this female for yourself tonight." The fae I kissed trembles before Kohl, barely capable of forming complete sentences under Kohl's immense anger.

"Do you think it forgivable that you dare to touch my mate?" Kohl's voice was like thunder as he yelled loud enough for everyone in the courtyard to hear.

Everyone gasped out loud, including me. Did he just admit in front of everyone that I was his mate?

The ground beneath us began to tremble violently, and an invincible force overtook us all and forced us to our knees. I looked around in horror. Every single fae and human in the courtyard was being forced to their knees. I struggled against the invisible hold, but there was no overcoming it.

"Please, your grace, I did not know. Have mercy!"

My heart stopped in my chest as the one I kissed begged. Tears streamed down his face, and I saw his pants darken where he had peed himself. Kohl's eyes were still swirling menacingly without mercy.

Blood pooled from the fae's eyes, nose, and mouth. This wasn't my Kohl; he wasn't like this. What had I done?

"Kohl, please! Stop! It's not his fault!" I screamed and tried my best to stand to reach him, but Kohl's power hopelessly oppressed me.

The three other fae I was dancing with suddenly cried out in pain too. Their shouts ripped through my heart. He was killing all of them!

"Kohl! Stop!" Athen swooped in and attempted to stop Kohl, but one glance in her direction and she is plucked from the sky and forced upon her knees just like the rest of us.

"Do something, you imbecile, before he kills us all!" I stared at Athen in disbelief as she yelled at me. What the hell does she think I can do to stop him?

Athen's eyes pleaded with me, and I looked at her dumbfounded. She rolled her eyes as she tried to fight against Kohl's hold.

"He has gone feral because of you! He hasn't claimed you yet, so any other male is considered a threat! That's why he didn't want you at the party tonight with all these horny males. You couldn't do like you were asked just once!" she cursed at me.

"I wasn't asked. I was told what I was going to do, and if he stopped being such a pompous ass for one second and actually took the time to explain this to me, I would have gladly stayed in my room." Anger hissed through my veins as I yelled across the courtyard at Athen.

"Well, you broke him. You fix him!"

This was completely asinine! I didn't want to be taken by force to the Night Realm, I didn't want to fall in love with this sexy god-like male, and I surely didn't want to be told that I was his fated mate, and yet here we were! Now it was up to me to save the day. Our outlook was very grim...

"Kohl! Look at me!" I yelled in anger, and he never looked my way. Blood continued to seep from the males in the courtyard, and tears pooled in my eyes.

"Kohl, please, if you love me at all, you will look at me." I begged this time, and my voice cracked with emotion. Finally, his demonic eyes shifted to me.

"Kohl, you promised me you would never trespass in my mind without permission. You are breaking your promise." I reminded him of the words he spoke to me the night I killed that coyote male.

That's what he was doing now to all of us. He had entered our minds and was telling us to kneel. I felt his suffocating presence lift from me instantly, and I bounded to my feet.

"Now stop this!" I stood before him and yelled.

"This isn't you, Kohl. You must fight against that stupid mate bond that tells you these males are a threat. They are no threat to you. Unfortunately, the only male I want is you!" I was yelling at the top of my lungs and went instantly still when I realized I had just announced to every fae in this forsaken realm that I desperately wanted their king.

"They must pay for what they have done..." Kohl hissed. The males cried out again, and more blood gushed from their orifices.

"I will not let you kill these innocent fae, you feral jackass!"

I reached down deep, grasped my powers, and hurled all I had within me at him. I watched in awe and horror as he was catapulted across the courtyard by my ice, crashed into the castle wall, slid down, and hit the ground.

Everyone around was instantly released from Kohl's hold and started stampeding out of the courtyard quicker than I could blink. I rushed over to Kohl with my heart in my throat. I loved that stupid oaf, and no matter what he had done, I didn't want to hurt him...too bad.

I stopped a few feet before him as he shook his head to clear it. His eyes were back to their normal grey color, but the devious grin on his face had me retreating a few steps.

"So you want to play rough, little Snowflake?"