Something in Hunter’s expression darkened, and before I could react, his hand closed around my throat. My feet were forced backwards and my head bounced off the wall as soon as they met. His grip grew tighter and the airflow restricted, causing panic to race through my veins. My hands wrapped around his wrist in vain. It felt weak to scrabble desperately and show him that he was in a position of power. A tendril of his aura wrapped around my wrist. I glanced down to see it working a key. The cuff was held by Hunter’s aura as golden tendrils of myown reached out, and I tried to focus on directing them, but they were eclipsed by blue.
“I don’t plan to do the same,” he hissed. “Quentin, Goddess of success, hear my plight. I need your power to ensure the council grant our marriage without argument.”
Larkin had once used my powers, but I had told her to do so. She had been reluctant, and it led to her divorce, granting her the freedom she so desperately craved. When that happened, I felt like something integral had been taken from me. A piece was missing, but I knew I had consented to it. This time… it was different. It was a violent motion that made my knees give way and my vision blur. A deep sense of sadness wound through my chest and a sense of violation hit me hard.
Hunter’s grip around my neck disappeared, and I fell to the floor in a heap. It was cold, and I bit back on a sob. He grabbed my hand and clipped the cuff back around my wrist, taking away my freedom again. The one chance I had, gone in a flash.
His fingers gripped my chin and forced me to look at him. “You’ll be of so much more use to me than what Larkin ever was. And that makes you invaluable. Learn to play by my rules, Quentin. Life will be easier if you do.”
The council meeting had gone as expected. Larkin had vehemently accused Hunter of being nothing more than a piece of shit until she was removed. Elva, Erik, and Sloan had voted against the marriage. The rest, including Ignacio, had fallen in line. Bexley, Aria, Malachi, Flynn. Names and faces that I’d grown so fond of barely questioned the decision when Hunter announced it. Either they believed the lies they were fed, or they hated me enough to believe that I would sacrifice my bond and jump into bed with Hunter to satisfy my need for survival and ambition. And why would they think any different? Hunter had explicitly laid out that I was to appear strong and compliant. I didn’t want to think what might happen if I disobeyed.
Days had passed since the disapproving looks from the council and the sealing of my fate. The eeriness of being left alone at the house had me on edge. Hunter’s lack of presence made me anxious and visitors were banned. More than once I’d heard Erik’s voice at the door, but he never entered the house. No matter how much I wanted to reach out to him and findthe support and help I desperately needed, I knew that I’d put myself in a position where it was no longer possible. His face when I turned away from the door would be yet another thing that haunted me. And there was no chance of me leaving. When Hunter left, the front door was locked, and I was left as a prisoner in his gilded cage.
“I need to be able to trust you,” Hunter had said. “You have a reputation for being a loose cannon and I don’t think it’s the best idea to have you roaming around up here unchaperoned.”
“My life is on the line,” I reminded him. “I’m not going to do anything to put it at risk.”
“In my experience, women are prone to bouts of hysteria.”
I bit down so hard on my tongue that I tasted blood, but Hunter seemed pleased with my silence.
My stomach growled, and a pain gripped it, causing me to double over slightly. I hadn’t trusted myself to venture out of the bedroom. After my first run-in with Hunter and how easily he’d taken my power from me, I’d grown wary of my ‘freedom’ in his home. I’d grown accustomed to making sure the door was always in sight no matter what room I was in. Hunter held all the cards, and I refused to hand him any further advantages.
The growling grew to a crescendo, and I sighed. There was a chance that Hunter might have left. He didn’t appear to have a solid routine, with doors opening and closing throughout the day. He didn’t appear to have much use for me at the moment, but I also knew that could change in a heartbeat.
I hadn’t heard any doors today, but that meant nothing thanks to our auras. Also, I couldn’t sense him thanks to the godsdamned cuff attached to my wrist.
Pushing the bedroom door open, I ventured out into the hallway. The house was eerily quiet, so I picked up the pace, moving across the landing and glancing at the doors. Every single one was closed, and I wondered which was Hunter’s. Mystomach turned as a dark thought materialised, but I quickly shoved it away. There were moments when I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, that I contemplated finding a match and burning the place down, but he’d find a way out of it and I’d be the one to pay with my life.
When I reached the top of the stairs, heated voices floated in my direction. Crouching down, I stepped lightly down the stairs, stopping halfway when I could peer into the living room. Hunter was out of view, but Archer’s profile was visible. On seeing the God of secrets, rage spiked through my veins. I gripped the banister until my knuckles paled. It took a considerable effort to calm myself so I could hear their conversation rather than the blood thundering in my ears.
“You’ve gone rogue,” Archer hissed. “Grayson’s still alive and Quentin hasn’t returned to lower Elysia. Or her home.”
“Quentin Scott is none of your concern anymore. I suggest you let it go.”
“What have you?—”
“I am handling her.”
Handling her? Of course, it was only natural for Hunter to refer to me as if I were some disease or piece of meat.
“And Grayson?” Archer continued to push. I wondered who he was more obsessed with—me or Gray? “Is there a reason he’s still alive?”
“I understand this won’t be the first time you’ve heard this, Archer, but you are insufferable.” I could almost hear the eye roll that accompanied the sentence. “I told you I will handle it in my own time. Have you ever wondered why I have lasted as leader and why you are barely able to take a breath in upper Elysia? You’re too trigger-happy. You let your impulses control you. When the time comes, I will allow you the pleasure of watching Gray’s demise.”
My heart stopped. I knew there was a chance Hunter wouldn’t keep up his end of the bargain, but to hear it out loud made my stomach sink to my feet.
“I want the honour of handing it to him.”
Silence stretched out, and I cautiously raised a hand and placed it over my mouth, worried that my breathing was too loud. If I had the will, I would have moved from the spot back to my room, unwilling to hear any more of the conversation.
Eventually, Hunter spoke. “That all depends on how well behaved you are. If you’ll excuse me, I have matters to attend to. You can see yourself out.”
That was enough to snap me back to my senses. Chairs were pushed back and the sound of shoes against the carpet sounded, and I quickly tracked back up a few stairs, pressing myself against the wall. Heavy footsteps moved out of the room and to the left, heading towards the kitchen and gardens. Another set followed, but this one went right. I assumed Archer was leaving.
“Haven’t you learned that you can’t hide things from me?” His voice was smooth like silk and held a note of amusement. The earlier aggravation hadn’t quite left, making Archer sound more threatening than he usually was.
I dropped my hand and turned my head to see him paused at the foot of the stairs. I opened my mouth, but Archer cut me off with a whisper.
