We reached the inn at nightfall and Azriel rented a room for us and we went into it and after we finalized the plan, only I emerged.

Now with my cloak off, several males looked in my direction, but I sauntered past, flashing them a pretty smile as I went. I sat down on a stool at the bar and ordered a drink, leaning forward with my elbows on the table.

"What can I get you, lady?" The bartender asked and winked at me. I gave him a bright smile and said,

"Just a glass of red wine, please." I placed a silver piece on the counter and he took it and went off to get my drink.

Someone approached me from behind and rested their hands on my hips and leaned into me. "Aren't you pretty?" The male's voice slurred in my ear.

"Why thank you, sir." I said and looked back at him. It wasn't Galahad, but it was that same Fae who accompanied him, so I grinned, then brought my arm up and rammed my elbow into his jaw and he stumbled back. "But don't you know it's rude to touch a lady without her permission?"

I picked up my drink and took a dainty sip from my wine and smirked at him over the rim of the glass.

"You bitch! I'm just trying to have some fun, that's all!" The male laughed. "Why don't you want to play along?"

I ignored the word, having heard it enough times in my life, and said, "Well, don't all games have rules?" I swished my wine around in the goblet and rested a hand on one hip.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked and grinned widely, but although it meet his pointed ears, it didn't reach his brown eyes.

I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach as the words left my mouth. "Well, there are three words you must wait for. It also can be only you and me." I pointed from him to myself with a wink and his jaw went slack, fists clenching and his friends patting his back. I thought he was going to melt when I winked at him. "Three words. Run. Walk. Stop. It's an easy game, really."

"And does my player have a name?" He asked with a grin.

I laughed and said, "You're cute. You can call me Anna."

"Is that your real name?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." I drank the last bit of the wine and set the empty goblet on the counter. "What's yours?"

"Lance." He replied and ran a hand through his black hair and grinned, setting his tankard down.

I turned my back to him and began to walk away and said over my shoulder with a wink, "Walk."

He began to follow me and I said in a sing-song voice, "Slower, darling. You can't rush it. This game isn't a race."

I made it down the hall and out of the main room, then called, "Run!"

I looked behind me, and as he entered the hall, I said, "Stop."

He shifted uncomfortably. "Are you enjoying yourself, Anna?"

My superior eyesight caught a bead of sweat trickle down his face. I knew exactly what to do to get a male like this. This flustered. And I would enjoy killing him.

"Maybe a little." I said with a wink and opened the back door.

"The woods? Isn't the inn a lot more comfortable?" He asked and I smirked at him.

"What? You seem like the adventurous type. And aren't those sentry clothes? Do you work for the High Lord? That is a great honor, Lance. You should be proud. Hold your head high. A simple night in the woods shouldn't bother you. After all, I doubt we'll be cold."

I heard him growl behind the door as it closed and I called, "Walk."

I began to make my way across the grassy field and the door opened and shut behind me and I grinned back at him. "This way." I said and began to run and disappeared into shadow once I was far enough away in the tree line. I went up into a tree and waited for him.

He appeared under the tree a moment later, squinting in the dark, but I could see him clearly. "Anna? Where are you? Come on out, now. You promised me a reward."

I dropped down behind him and ran my hand across his shoulder blades and he shuddered. "Right here, darling." I purred and shoved him back against a tree, pressing against him. I ran my hands down his arms and said, "Close your eyes. Let me lead."

He shook like a leaf, but did as he was told.

I drew a knife from my boot and grabbed his jaw in my hand and squeezed so tightly he let out a pained grunt. His eyes opened and I drove the knife into one of them. I rammed my knee between his legs and he sank to the grass and I covered his mouth tightly to muffle his screams.

"Didn't expect that, did you?" I hissed as his one eye watered and tears spilled from it. It widened even more when my wings materialized behind me and I hissed, "You also didn't expect to see me alive. How much did you get for bringing me to Amarantha, him? For killing my fiancé?"

"I-It wasn't me! I-"

"Stop. I'm going to warn you. My blade is in your eye. With one twist, I can make your pain ten times more apparent and I wouldn't even have to twitch the blade all that much." Blood poured down his face and onto my hand, but my grip on his face was firm and unwavering. "So, to save yourself anymore pain, I suggest you tell me where your partner Galahad is. Exactly. And if you lie, well, Illyrians can do a lot in the Night Court."

Fear paled his face and he stumbled, "Why don't you kill me and be done with it?"

I laughed darkly. "Oh, I am. But it's going to be slow and look like a creature from the forest did it. I'm going to go back, covered in your blood, and have a few bruises and cuts myself, and say that a simple game became too harsh and you hurt me. But I managed to escape when a naga came out of nowhere and tore you to shreds. Now. Where is Galahad?"

******

I returned to the Inn two hours later, having gained my intel, but also a few cuts and bruises. He gave me a run for my money, that was certain.

Wings hidden and any trace of a savage killer gone, I told the innkeeper through tears about what happened and merely asked for my money back so I could stay elsewhere, having had too much of a scare as it was and he immediately did and pointed me to the inn that I had learned from Lance that Galahad was staying in that was located two miles away.

I went back to the room Azriel waited for me in and went into the bathroom without a word and scrubbed at my hands furiously, cleaning the blood off of my body.

He appeared behind me with clenched jaw.

"He's dead. It's done. I know where Galahad is. Apparently they were hired by someone in the Night Court. But I'm going to kill him before we leave."

"Did he hurt you?" He asked softly.

"I didn't expect him not to fight back." I mumbled.

"Where did he hurt you?" He demanded, tone becoming harder and I flinched.

His gentle hands came up to pull my hair behind me and he pulled me back into him gently and rested his forehead on my shoulder.

I wiped my shaking hands on a towel and then turned the water off. I rested my hands over his and I whispered, "I killed him. And I did it..."

I couldn't say it. I couldn't breathe. I felt sick.

"Azriel, I..." I choked on my tears and my voice came out hoarsely. "I was a different person and all I can say is I am so glad you didn't see. Didn't see what I did or how I did it. I was just so angry..." Tears began to fall down my cheeks but he didn't move away. He merely pressed a kiss to a large bruise on my collarbone and I clenched my jaw.

He looked at me and gently turned me to face him and  kissed away my tears and I just held onto his shirt and let him.

"I don't think anything less of you." He whispered. "You are still my Adrianna, and I love you more than anything in the world."

I dropped my head onto his chest and just hugged him tightly and his wings appeared and wrapped us in a cocoon of warmth. His fingers combed through my hair and when I stopped shaking, I whispered,

"Does it really get easier?"

"No." He whispered his plainly and just held onto me tighter.