The living target Eirlys selected was Kael which was either deliberately cruel or strategically calculated, and knowing the Fae it was probably both.
"No." The word came out before I could stop it. "Anyone else. Please. Not him."
"The Alpha King is the strongest wolf present." Eirlys's voice was matter-of-fact. "He will survive what we ask you to do. Others might not. This is mercy."
Mercy. Right. Forcing me to age my mate repeatedly was mercy.
"I refuse." I tried to make the words stick but the oath flared and they died in my throat.
"You cannot refuse." They gestured to Kael who stood in the center of the training yard looking absolutely murderous. "Begin. Age him twenty years. Then reverse it. You have practiced on plants and animals. Now you practice on what matters."
On what matters. On my mate. On the person I'd die to protect.
"Selene." Kael's voice was steady. Certain. "It's okay. Do it."
It's okay. Nothing about this was okay.
