Onyx Caverns were just as Rylo remembered them from his first visit, so many years ago. The palace underground was lit in low fae lights, casting dark shadows across the rock hewn walls in the towering cavern entrance.
Maglar met them with an entourage of Goldoths beside him. His skin was white with faint silvery lines. Even his bald head was etched with the lines, like a vein of metal in solid stone. His grey eyes reflected the light, causing them to shine like orbs. Eyes made for seeing underground, for stalking prey through this labyrinth of tunnels and mines.
Rylo looked at Morgan. She wore a blank expression, except for the tiny shake in her hands, nobody would know that she was uncomfortable. But he saw her discomfort. This place, these people would bring up her experience in the tunnel in her realm. The Goldoths’ essence sketched across their skin was similar to the Latian shifters. She looked back at him, green eyes wide with doubt.
He knew she’d react this way, and yet he’d still brought her here to this place of nightmares. She was the only one who would be able to locate the lost relic, and he needed that relic if he was going to access the power that would come with combining the Divine Five together once again.
Maglar sneered at Morgan before bringing his attention back to Rylo. “King Rylo. Good of you to join us. Welcome to Onyx Caverns. And for bringing your prize with you. Is she truly marked by the Goddess?”
Rylo gave Morgan a harsh tug into his arms and lifted her hair up, revealing the five stars of Althea. “As you can see, she is.”
“And the necklace she wears? You decorate your slaves as you would a queen,” Maglar replied, showing a sharp-toothed grin. His soulmate, Mara entered the towering cavern through an arched doorway at the back of the expansive space. She slipped in beside him, past their guards. Like Maglar, she was bald, and her essence seemed to sparkle like a cut diamond against her pale skin. Her silvery dress looked as if it were dipped in glimmering diamonds, blending almost seamlessly with her essence.
“King Rylo, welcome to Goldoth.”
“It is my pleasure, Your Majesty,” Rylo replied with a bow.
“The necklace, Rylo. Why does your human wear such fine jewelry?”
Rylo grinned and rubbed his fingers across the necklace on Morgan’s throat. “I assure you, it is nothing more than a means of control.”
“You control her through the gems? Rumors have already spread of her dark magic. You’re right to put a stopper on it.”
Rylo traced his black veined hands across Morgan’s collarbone. How he loved the delicate details of her bones. Like a fragile bird, he had to resist the temptation to feel them snap between his hands.
“Something like that. If she wanted, Morgan could be the most powerful force in Aeritis, after the Goddess, of course,” Rylo said. Not a lie. None of this was a lie.
“In that case, we’d prefer to take our own precautions. We do not like to leave our slaves without chains in Onyx Caverns.” Mara stepped forward, holding a finely crafted collar with a leash of the same material stretching out.
A guard took the collar and leash into his hands and carried it to Rylo. Rylo took it in his hands, feeling the biting cold of the metal. Just as he’d put a stopper on Avery’s magic, the Goldoths were within their rights to demand this and Rylo expected as much.
“A wise choice, Mara,” Rylo said as he lifted the collar to Morgan’s throat.
Rylo felt Morgan’s presence slip into his mind. Cool, dark, and comforting. Like staying in bed on a rainy day.
Don’t you even think about putting that thing on me. I’ll ki—
The connection between their minds came down like a wall dividing them, leaving him with a cold sense of longing. Her eyes widened, and he felt her shaking with betrayal as he clicked the collar in place and took the leash in his hand.
“I won’t be turning my witch over to your care. I need the key and the leash for myself.”
Mara grinned. “We would never take your property from you, but I shall hold the key. It hasn’t escaped me that you carry a mark of your own on your once gleaming hands.”
Maglar’s expression turned cold. “Yes, Rylo, please explain how you broke a vow and now carry the consequences.”
Rylo brushed off the menace in Maglar’s voice, letting his own tone sound bored with the conversation. “I was put in a position where I had to accept Savine’s mate’s oath. She expected me to leave Morgan in Latiah after one month in Nephel. I did no such thing, and carry the mark to prove it. As I said, I refuse to turn my witch over to you, just as I did not give her to the King of Latiah.”
“That is reasonable. She should have respected your ownership of the witch,” Maglar said without question. Fool. How could such an idiot have control over such a powerful nation and military? It made Rylo want to rage at the insult of it all.
“We’ll have guards show you to your rooms so you can refresh before supper,” Mara said as she led them toward the arched doorway leading deeper into the tunnels of Onyx Caverns. Darkness settled over them in the halls. Of course, Goldoths could see clearly in such dark conditions and had little use for faelights. Their senses were adapted to such living conditions.
“Your hospitality is appreciated,” Rylo said as he tugged the leash that connected him to Morgan. She tugged back, trying to knock Rylo off balance in the darkened tunnel. A tingle went down his spine, anticipating how much fun Morgan would be when they were alone and he could hear her rage at him.
It was going to be delicious, seeing her angry and at the end of his chain. Perhaps heshouldbe thanking Mara for the collar.
***
Morgan
