Last thing I remember, I was running with Reid, trying to escape when we were stopped?—
“Ah, you’re awake,” Zelos comments, stepping into my vision.
My body freezes.
That’s the voice that’s haunted me for days now.
I pull my shoulders back as if to tug free. He tsks lightly, amber eyes unsettling. It’s not that they remind me of Kaden—they’re the same shade, same shape, thick lashes—but the emotions behind them are wrong.
Kaden’s are filled with warmth. Even when angry, I was never frightened ofhim.
Zelos’ eyes are twin pools of cold ice. He’s unpredictable and unstable. I start to shake as fear twines around my gut.
“What did you do?” My voice cracks as I shift, pulling at the restraints. “Where are we?”
“Still in the palace.” He crosses his arms behind his back as if inspecting a new colt. “After your little display, my guards were forced to render you unconscious. Can’t have ourfuturequeenrunning off.”
I ignore his implied insult. “Where’s Fee? Reid?” My heart constricts with worry over their fate—they better be alive. Kaden wouldn’t survive if one his siblings were killed.
Zelos rolls his eyes. “My ungrateful children are in a timeout. Now.” He gestures to a guard who stalks close, coming up behind me.
My body trembles harder, the chains shaking with me. I remember the test he gave Fee. Would he let the guards touch me—defile me for my insolence?
Regardless, I lift my chin and don’t break my gaze with the king. I won’t show him fear.
“Open it,” he commands. The guard grabs my nightgown, ripping the fabric with a hard yank as he exposes my back.
Growling, I whip around, as the king goes to a far table. On it are various instruments: knives, pliers, chains. His fingers skim them all lovingly, until he reaches the whip, the very tips studded with iron.
My throat dries.
The guard grabs me and he shakes his head. “Wait.”
Grabbing the necklace from my throat, he tosses it to the side. “That doesn’t belong to you.”
My jaw feathers with terror as I spit, “It belongs to me because your son gave it to me. The true rightful ruler of these lands.”
He smiles, eyes glinting with madness.
“We’ll see about that, my dear.” He steps close, swinging the flogger mindlessly. “We need to have a chat.”
“About what?” I ask. The trembling has gotten worse and I puff, air no longer calming me down.
He’s going to torture me. Hurt me. And there’s no one to stop him.
“About you. Me. This world,” he explains. “You see, when you came to this palace, I put you in the dungeon, to assess your skills. I wanted to see what this magnificent blood summoner could do.”
A flare of lust lights his eyes and my stomach gurgles in disgust.
“But then,Kadenintervened.” He sighs deeply, as if explaining a disrespecting child to a peer. “He claimed you, which was unfortunate for me. And my plans. I had wanted to break you early, molding you into the weapon we needed. A weapon that would save our world.
“Because of mysonand his inability to follow orders, I didn’t get the tool I spent years looking for.”
Swallowing, I eye the whip as he walks behind me. Everything tenses and I hold my breath.
“Do you know how the bond works?” At my silence, he laughs. “No, how could you? Witches don’t have such things. You all believe in Heartbonds. No matter. The bond between Dark Fae is fickle, at best.
“When you’re apart, the bond lessens. For instance, if you’re whipped,” the flogger runs over my spine and I shudder, “Kaden is far enough away for it not to affect him. I hear even the emotions will die down. Nasty things, that need to be close to your soul-bound.”
