Sizzling pain extends over my body as I try to roll over, coughing against the pull of my sliced skin. Fresh agony dances over my spine as my lungs heave with the exertion. Blinking against the black spots, I fight to stay conscious.
He whipped me. Cold, cruel Zelos tortured me to tell him Kaden’s plan, my involvement, all of it. But I never broke. Even as my body bent, my mind scattered, I held my tongue.
My magic stirs in my body, rushing with the pain as if to soothe it, ebbing the sharpest points. Breathing, I let it happen enjoying the small reprieve. Pain flares along my limbs, white hot flashes of heat coursing over my skin.
A hand stops me from rolling again, my back exposed to the warm air.
“Easy,” he soothes. I peek open one eye to see Kaden’s hunched form hovering over me. But it’s notmyKaden, it’s a piece of him warped into a monster.
He looks stuck between the worlds—part beast, part Fae. His pointed ears are elongated, his fangs crooked and gnashing together into a crooked smile. A thin, fine furcovers his body.
And his eyes.The amber is gone, snuffed out by pure darkness. I fight off a chill.
“Kaden,” I whisper, words hitching on a sob. His clawed fingers brush back my hair as he nuzzles my cheek.
Snorting, my chest expands as tears flow down my face. His smokey campfire scent wraps around me and I surrender, allowing his shoulder to hold my head. A spot in my heart, that’s been permanently claimed by Kaden unlocks, filling with peace. He’s here, different and changed, buthere.
Sighing, my fingers trace his jaw, enjoying the softness of his fur.
“Maybe you should grow a beard,” I rasp, “when this is all done.”
He chuckles, a wheezing noise, obstructed by the fangs.
“Maybe,” he replies, voice harsh and broken. “Hurt?”
“Very much so.” I push on my elbows, body protesting immediately. My head swims and everything goes sideways. Magic stirs in my limbs as if to heal the aches. “I guess he did more damage than I thought.”
There’s a flash of rage in those expressive, wide eyes, and I tap his pointed chin. “I didn’t tell him anything.”
He growls from deep in his chest, but doesn’t speak. It’s must be difficult for him to talk, and my heart aches for him.
“What happened?” I run the back of my hand along his cheek.
He points a claw at my chest. “You.”
Me? I didn’t—oh.
“On Cella’s crown,” I curse, pushing more only for pain to rip across my back. “You allowed the beast to take over. For me.”
“Yes.” He nods, unaffected.
My eyes waver, guilt consuming me. “Why?” Kaden spent years learning to keep the curse at bay, never allowing it freedom. Then he met me and everything—all that work—was lost.
“Help.You.”
My heart breaks. “How do we fix it?”
We share a tense look. I see the uncertainly, the pause in his features. He doesn’t know how to push the beast. This has neverhappened before—stuck in the in between. His ancestors were taken by the curse and driven into the forest when it succumbed. Oslo taught Kaden how to remain him.
Now? He’s at once Fae and beast—a hybrid.
What if this is permanent, him a Fae trapped inside a beast? I’ll be bound to a monster—a real one.
I rub his cheek. Regardless of what he looks like, he’s still my Kaden.My mate. I won’t abandon him. I’ll save him just like he saved me.
Choosing him means all of him—every part.
“Heal you.” He gestures to my back and I nod, slowly falling back to the makeshift cot. We’re in some room, a fire burning to our side that gives very little light. But the outside is dark, and I’ve lost a whole day, maybe more, since Zelos attacked me.
