## LANDON
I cradled Seraphina's broken body against my chest, her blood soaking into my shirt. The iron stake had left a hole clean through her—a wound that would have killed anyone else. Even now, I didn't understand how she was still breathing.
Her lips were stained crimson from my blood. Some visceral, primal part of me found satisfaction in that—in seeing her marked by me, sustained by me. My beast purred at the knowledge that my essence now flowed through her veins.
"My King?" Regina approached cautiously. "The healer is waiting."
I nodded sharply, striding past her with Seraphina clutched protectively against me. Every step jostled her, drawing small whimpers from her unconscious form that made my chest tighten painfully.
"Tell me what happened," I commanded as Regina fell in beside me.
"A boy was taken. She went after him." Regina's voice was careful, measured. "The attackers were waiting. They knew she would come."
