“Why?” Thessa demanded. “What’s the point of all this?”
Soren’s gaze shifted to her. “Princess. I almost forgot you were there.” His expression changed, became calculating. “You’re valuable, you know. A hostage. A bargaining chip. Your family will do anything to get you back.”
“My family will tear you apart.”
“They can try.” Soren turned away. “Rest well, ladies. Tomorrow will be eventful.”
He walked away, his footsteps echoing down the corridor until they faded to nothing.
We were alone.
My mind was reeling. Soren had stopped Vix from killing me because he wanted to do it himself. The ego on these people was unreal.
“Thessa.” My voice came out raw. “The medicine you gave me at the cabin. Was that an antidote for the poison?”
Thessa hesitated, then slowly nodded. “Yes. The healer found traces of a toxin in your system after you collapsed.”
My stomach lurched. “How did you get it? The antidote?”
“We received it after the rejection.”
After the rejection.
“What do you mean, after?”
Thessa’s expression was pained. “It was a bargain, Riley. The rejection for the antidote. Soren, Vix, all of them, they demanded Caelan reject you publicly. In exchange, they sent the cure.”
The air left my lungs. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything except stare at her while the truth crashed through me.
“He was trying to protect you,” Thessa said quietly. “I told you he had a reason.”
The rejection. The cold eyes. The words that had shattered me completely. All of it, all of it, had been to save my life.
And I had run from him. Believed the worst of him. Let Vix’s poison, both literal and metaphorical, convince me that everything between us was a lie.
“I didn’t know,” I whispered. “I thought...”
“I know what you thought, and he was still an asshole for not telling you.” Thessa’s voice was gentle. “But a well-intended asshole. Though there’s no time for this now. We need to get out of here.”
She was right. There was no time for processing, for emotions, for anything except survival.
We examined the cell. The bars were solid, unmovable. The walls were unyielding stone. The window was impossibly high. The cuffs on our wrists still burned with wolfsbane, preventing us from shifting, from using our full strength.
There was no way out.
“Okay,” Thessa said, her voice tight. “Okay. Think. There has to be a way.”
I closed my eyes and focused on the bond. It was still there, that thread connecting me to Caelan. I’d closed it off after the rejection, unable to bear feeling his emotions on top of my own pain. But maybe I could use it.
I reached for it. Opened it. Poured every ounce of panic, fear, and desperation through the connection.
Caelan. Caelan, please.
I had no idea if it would work, no clue how bonds actually functioned or what they could and couldn’t transmit. But I tried anyway. Focused on words, on specific thoughts, repeating them like a prayer.
Soren imprisoned Thessa and me. Help.
Soren imprisoned Thessa and me. Help.
