My dragon rails against his confinement, and if he were a physical being, he’d claw through my chest in his rage. I cannot watch the woman I hoped would one day be my mate suffer like this, but if I attack now, I am assuring my death as well as hers.
“Let. Me. Go,” I say. “I will not attack them. But I cannot let her out of my sight. Not until I must.”
Whatever Crux and Valinor hear in my voice assures them if they do not do as I ask, they will die, and they release my arms, but Valinor steps in front of me before I can follow Aurelia.
“We have survived this long because we do not make trouble, Roarke. This may be a pitiful existence compared to what we once knew, but wearestill alive. See that you stay that way.”
I nod, clapping him on the shoulder as I duck around him to the edge of the square.
The King leads Aurelia away, the Prince as his side, and I skirt the realm’s tavern and hide in an alley, pressing my forehead to the cool stone wall.
Bide your time. She is guaranteed to live for the next three days. The Fae do not lie. Tonight, you can try to find a way into the tower and rescue her.
I do not know what I will possibly do after that. They will come for us. But I cannot let her suffer there alone.
They’re coming closer. To reach the tower, they will pass my hiding spot, and I sink further into the shadows. “Please,” Aurelia begs. “Take off the blindfold. I am not fighting you.”
“You belong to us now, and you will obey,” the King snarls and jerks the rope again. Aurelia falls to her knees with a whimper, and my dragon roars in my head, desperate to put an end to her tormentors.
The Prince lifts her to her feet, and his smooth voice makes me want to rip out his throat. “There, there, my sweet, Lia. You will soon come to trust us. We know best.Iknow best.”
“Never,” she hisses.
“You say that now. But once you are within the tower walls, you will understand.” He slaps her ass, and she yelps.
“Do not touch me!”
“Enough!” The King stops and holds out his hand. “Handkerchief. Now.”
One of the guards passes him a strip of cloth, and he gags Aurelia tightly. “I tire of her protests, son. I want her locked as far from my chambers as possible. Humans are so...loud, and this one will scream. I am certain of it.”
Fuck me. If the Prince harms one hair on her head, I will find a way to let my dragon eviscerate him. The Fae’s only weakness is iron, and they believe they have rid the realm of every last bit of it. But surely…some must remain. This land is ancient, and they stole it a mere two centuries ago. If I can find even a small amount…I can weaken them. Perhaps enough to kill them. With the King dead, the magic that keeps us all prisoner will fall, and I can escape this place with the woman I love.
* * *
Aurelia
The ropes make it hard to breathe. They’re so tight, and without being able to see, I take short, quick steps, terrified with every one that I’ll fall again. That the Prince will put his hands on me. That he won’t be satisfied with a quick grope, and will touch me in places no man has ever been.
The dirt turns hard under my boots, and the warmth of the sun fades. This time of year, the nights last only an hour or two, so it can’t be dark on the other side of the blindfold, but wherever we are, the sun does not wish to be.
The corners of my mouth ache from the rough fabric gagging me, and my hands are numb. Three days. I can resist for three days. There is nothing the King or the Prince could possibly to do to me to persuade me to marry that bastard in so short a time. They will force me to work. But he swore he would not harm me.
The King utters words in a language I do not understand, and the sounds of stones scraping against one another send a shiver down my spine. We’re at the castle, and though I have no choice, I pull against the ropes, desperately trying to get away—but bound, gagged, and blindfolded, there’s nowhere I could possibly run.
A snap of fingers is quickly followed by the Prince throwing me over his shoulder like a sack of grain. My hands are pinned under me. I flail my legs, hoping to catch him in a delicate spot, but he clamps a second arm around my calves and holds them tightly to his chest.
The bouncing as he climbs set after set of stairs makes me want to vomit, but I swallow the urge and try to count. At least twenty floors. We must be close to the top of one of the towers.
Metal. A heavy lock. The creak of wood. And then I’m back on my feet, pushed against something hard and thin that runs vertically down to my feet. A beam, perhaps? More ropes wrap around me, binding me to the beam all the way down to my knees. I cannot move, and I scream through the cloth between my teeth.
“This is your new home, my sweet Lia,” the Prince says, his voice dripping with fake concern. “I do hope you enjoy your time here.” His lips brush my parted ones, and I’d recoil if I had anywhere to go.
He would not leave me here, would he? Bound and gagged, unable to move or lie down? All night?
Footsteps recede, the door slams and locks, and I start to cry. Yes. That is exactly what he intends to do.
Chapter Four
