* * *
At the edgeof the forest, I once more strip out of my clothing, fold it carefully, and tuck it all into the leather bag. Naked, the early autumn breeze tickles my skin, and I stare up at the tower. At Aurelia’s window.
I am coming for you, my darling. We will survive this. Together.
My dragon takes flight, the leather bag clutched in his talons. Exhaustion presses down on me, and I struggle to maintain the magic that hides me from Fae eyes. Our landing on the tower roof is nowhere near as graceful as it was the previous night, and I cringe as my beast relinquishes control and I shift back into a man. I only pause long enough to pull on my pants and shoes before securing the leather strap to the capstone and rappelling down to Aurelia’s window.
The moment I land in a crouch in the tower room, I know something is very, very wrong. Her scent has faded, and that of a male Fae lingers. The fucking Prince.
When I see her clothing torn to shreds on the stone floor, rage consumes me. My dragon whines, desperate to take control and destroy everything and everyone that had a part in her pain.
If she is not here, she is withhim. My mind reels. He could be torturing her. Or worse. Touching her. Convincing her to mate with him.
No. I will not lose her.
Jamming my hand under the thin mattress, I find the bag of iron shavings. She did not use them.
“He fed me this sweet nectar. And then I could no longer think clearly. I started to wonder…would it really be that bad here?
Fuck. He turned her. Fed her, drugged her, and charmed her into loving him.
Except, I can still sense Aurelia. Her heart. We are still linked in some way, so she has not completely turned to his side.
“Aurelia, my darling. Can you hear me?”I sling my bag over my shoulder and stride for the door. It opens easily at my touch, revealing a long hallway with oil lamps every few feet. Letting my dragon take control, I scent my mate and head to the left.
“Roarke! Run!” Her terrorized scream sends my heart leaping into my throat, and my dragon roars so loudly, it shakes the tower walls. He’s so close to the surface, my skin starts to shift into dark green scales along the backs of my hands, and sharp talons extend from my fingers.
At the top of the stairs, the Prince holds Aurelia against him. Her hands are bound, and his fingers wrap around her throat. Her white silk gown leaves little to the imagination, and my anger flares white hot.
“Let. Her. Go,” I shout as I reach for the dagger. But the talons make gripping anything difficult, and I come away empty handed. Before I can try again, men who feel more like gargoyles than Fae slam into me from behind, and I go down, hard. Fists rain over my back, and I let my dragon take control.
He snorts and tries to burn the Fae, but shifting takes precious minutes, and as my bones pop and crack, something snaps around my neck. My body goes ice cold. It’s as if my dragon has been torn away, ripped from my being and murdered before my eyes.
I howl in pain, and I’m drowning in the loss of my other half, as vital to me as air. He’s left me with broken bones, scales that turn black as pitch in a single breath, and no strength in my limbs.
Manacles wrap around my wrists, pinning them behind me, and then the guards roll me over and continue to kick and pummel me as Aurelia screams.
“Let him go! Please!” she begs. “He is no threat to you. I cannot leave this place. Ever. You have seen to that! Let him live!”
“He is adragon, my sweet Lia. His magic? It will give us power for centuries. Perhaps even allow us to leave this realm and return to our own. With you. Of course.”
“I will accept you!” She turns and grabs his vest. “If you release him, we can be married before the sun sets.”
“No! Aurelia, no!” My voice is hoarse and weak, and I use my legs to push my prone body towards the stairs. The guards stand back and let me try to reach her, which should terrify me, but all I can think about is Aurelia.
Blood drips into my eyes, and I cannot wipe it away. Aurelia’s gaze locks onto mine, and the sorrow and regret in those hazel depths tear what’s left of my heart into pieces.
The Prince grabs her by the hair and drags her down the stairs behind him. Her legs scramble for purchase, and she claws at his fingers with her bound hands.
“If you harm her,” I growl as the guards haul me up and slam me against the wall, “I will gut you.”
“I would like to see you try,” the Prince says, throwing Aurelia at my feet. She tries to rise, but he presses his booted foot down on her back and she whimpers my name. Her fingers graze my ankle, and a spark races through me at the contact.
But then the Prince shifts his foot onto her hands, and she screams as a bone snaps.
With a lecherous grin, the Prince punches me in the stomach. “Take him to the dungeon and ensure hisbeastis well contained. My father and I will be down as soon as I teach my future bride a lesson about what happens when she keeps secrets from me.”
As they drag me away, I have to watch the Prince lift Aurelia to her feet and press a kiss to her broken fingers. She’s shaking violently, and I call her name, over and over again, hoping for one more moment of connection. But the Prince turns her away from me, and all I hear is her sobbing, “I am sorry. So sorry,” over and over again.
