I let out a strangled cry. Quickly, I start strategizing—no sword could cut through this, but perhaps a blacksmith can melt the metal. But even as the thought comes to me, I know. In my bones, I know.
There’s nothing that I can do to get this bracelet off, not without the Siphon magic that created it.
This is what Killian’s done to me. Sunk his fangs deep, right to the heart of me. Stolen my crown, stolen my powers.
And now he won’t let go.
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
It takes a while for me to come back to myself, but when I do, Stark is by my side. His hand is warm on my back, rubbing in gentle, calming circles. I didn’t know this big brute of a man was capable of such a small and soft motion.
I close my eyes, let myself concentrate on the feeling. On his musky, amber smell and the welcoming heat of his body next to mine.
Who would have ever thought that I’d find Stark’s presence so… soothing?
After a minute, he asks, “Are you alright?”
I reopen my eyes and look up at him. There’s no pity in his gaze, which helps. Still, the physical contact is starting to feel like too much. I don’t want to be touched by anyone, not after Killian. Not for a long while, maybe.
Maybe Anassa relays that to Cratos, because Stark removes his hand and steps back from me.
“No,” I tell him. “I’m not alright. But I’ll fall apart later.” Because as much as I’d like to wallow over Killian, there’s something much more important on my mind now. “Where’s my sister?”
“Venna and I led a small group of my pack members on an incursion into the buried dungeons. We had to… eliminate… some of the royal guards along the way.”
I narrow my eyes. “The royal guards who helped the king imprison and kill kidnapped children? Their deaths were well earned. You found her?”
He inclines his head. “We recovered the children. Venna is guarding Saela in my office. The other children are being returned to their families in the city, escorted by Bonded.”
“Take me to her,” I say.
We move quickly through the halls, Anassa and Cratos trailing side-by-side behind us. They’re eerily silent. Whatever nobility remain are likely hiding in their guest’s chambers. The Bonded are still sequestered to their side of the castle. As such, our footsteps echo deafeningly as we walk.
And I know I’m not imagining it. “Stark,” I say.
“Yes.”
“You see it?” I ask for confirmation.
I watch as his eyes dart to the corners of the halls, to the stone at our feet, back to me. “Yes,” he says.
The shadows around us are shifting. Trembling.Alive. They move with me. Every step I take, they stretch, swirl, and bend as if to follow me, like the drag of a finger through a spiral of paint.
But even so, there’s a distance. I can reach out to them and drag them along with me… but I also sense that if I had full use of my powers, I could make them do anything.
I could sever the world in two.
Venna is waiting for us in the hall, on alert with two of the Daemos Rawbonds—well, Bonded now, I guess. When she sees us coming, she pushes up onto her toes and jogs towards us. Her wolf lifts its head, watching us closely as Venna wraps her arms around me.
“Saela is safe,” she says, stepping back.
I take her hands and squeeze. “Thank you,” I say shakily. She nods and hugs my hands to her chest briefly before releasing me and leaning against her wolf’s side.
Stark pushes the door to his office open, and I rush past him. Saela is past the sparring mat, curled up in one of Stark’s comfortable chairs and buried under one of his soft blankets. She has one of his books on her lap. But when she hears the door open, her head snaps up inhumanly quickly.
She breaks into a wide smile and sets the book down before ripping the blanket off jerkily. Tears immediately burst from me. I’m so relieved that I don’t even care that Stark is watching.
Saela’s streaking down towards the mat when I reach her. I throw my arms around her, pulling her trembling form close. She grips me painfully tight.
