This was not the first time he had fought Nix. But he had always lost before. And I knew Ryder; I knew that he would never give up. Ryder would fight and fight and fight Nix until one of them was dead.
I was just afraid that it would be Ryder that lost first.
“I’ll go with you,” I said evenly. “But I want to see my friends first.”
His eyes narrowed with suspicion, “You can’t save them, Ivy. They’re as lost as you are.”
“I just want to say goodbye,” I said sincerely. Meeting his eyes again, I felt the truth bubble out of me. “I’m tired of fighting this. You can have it.”
His eyes twinkled with victory and his smile stretched across his face, revealing straight white teeth. He stepped into me, wrapping one arm around my waist and pressing me against the length of his body. He leaned into my neck and let his weighted words whisper over me. “That’s the last time you’ll get a choice of your own.”
I blinked and when I opened my eyes, the sounds of battle had faded and a fresh sea breeze coasted through my hair.
Naxos.
Nix’s island.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Nix’s hand curled around my bicep in a punishing grip. He didn’t hesitate a second before dragging me along with him over smooth, sandy rock.
I took in my surroundings as we went. His estate took up the entire island. And although the island was small comparatively, the estate was not.
White washed walls gleamed in the blinding sky. After the tumultuous, storm clouds of the mountain, the warm, glittering sun was hard on my eyes. The sultry breeze and fresh sea spray scent hit me in strong contrast to the gory carnage we’d left behind.
Likewise, our filthy clothes and blood-soaked skin seemed drastically out of place in this Mediterranean paradise.
On second thought, maybe we were perfectly dressed for the sadistic hell of Nix’s private residence.
I had never been here before, but he had threatened to lock me up here my entire life. I had seen pictures and my mother had told me stories of the depraved things that happened here.
This looked like heaven compared to the ugliness I’d witnessed of the Underworld, but I knew this was the opposite.
This was hell dressed up to look like heaven.
This was the pits of suffering and depravity tied in a pretty bow.
I looked up at Nix as he moved with purpose, pulling me along beside him. His strong jaw flexed and ticked, his eyes stayed focused on the gate in front of his house, the cords of his neck moved hypnotically. He was the same as his house. Beautiful yet sadistic. Pretty to look at but toxic to touch.
He would be the death of me if I let him.
He would make me the death of this world if I let him.
“I want to see my friends,” I reminded him.
He glanced at me, his eyes dark with purpose. “I know.”
I lifted my chin. “You’ll let me.”
His body slammed to a halt. Before I could think to brace myself, he twisted my arm and threw me against his iron gate.
I winced as the sharp metal cut into my back and the solidness of it bruised me all over. My head rattled with the impact. I tried to steady out my breathing, but the back of his hand connected with my face first.
I tasted the coppery smack of blood where my teeth cut into my tongue. Blood mingled with sweat where he cut my skin above my eye. The stinging mixture dripped into my right eye and blinded me with a sharp bite.
“Stupid girl,” he growled. I felt the heavy rise and fall of his chest as he pressed into me, pinning me painfully against the gate. “I own you now… body and soul. You do what I say. Not the other way around.”
I gathered my dignity and pride, even though my eye stung like a bitch and I couldn’t see, even though my tongue was swelling in my mouth, even though I was weak and tired and confused. He didn’t own me.
