I try to move, to fight, but nothing happens. I can’t move. I can’t breathe. I can’t—
Suddenly, a warm hand squeezes mine, grounding me.
Dean.
My head snaps to my right, and relief crashes through me when I see him. He’s here… right beside me, panicked and confused, but his eyes never leave mine.
I’m not in Eldoris. I’m here… withhim.
Dean steps in front of me, his hands framing my face, blocking everything else out. His lips move, but I’m too shocked by how he just freed himself from a siren song that I miss whatever he’s saying.
I try to look past him, but he forces my focus back to him.
“Hazel, look at me. Tell me what’s happening. Right now.”
“I thought I killed him.” I breathe out.
His brows pull together before his head snaps toward the footsteps closing in.
“Is that him. Is that Tiberius?” Dean growls, his eyes darkening, his Divine surging dangerously close to the surface.
“So you know about our King.”I hear his voice for the first time in a decade, and my heart drops to my feet.
Timor.
He’s alive. He’s here.
Dean turns, his broad shoulders giving me a moment to compose myself. My hands are still shaking when his warm grip closes around mine, and he pulls me to stand beside him. My foot shifts on the tiles, and I blink in shock. I’m not stuck anymore.
I glance around, expecting the trance to be broken, but everyone else except Dean and me is still frozen.
How is Dean resisting Timor’s magic?
The man who nearly destroyed my life, who I thought I killed, steps into the light.
“Hey,Flaw.” I go rigid at the name. The name Tiberius gave me.
The smirk on his face stretches the scar that runs from his cheek down his neck, then disappears under his shirt.
A parting gift from me.
I should’ve cut deeper. He deserved more than just a scar. He deserved death.
Is that why he’s alive? Because I assumed the blade or the poison lacing it would finish him off?
I always knew my past would catch up to me, but seeing Timor is bringing up what I spent years burying.Tiberius finding me was always a possibility. But now that it’s real, fear claws up my throat. I can’t breathe around it.
“Who are you?” Deanasks, voice low.
“Timor. The king’s brother and second in command.”
When Dean stays silent, Timor’s gaze slides to me, lingering on where Dean’s hand grips mine. “So the rumors are true. You found your mate.” He shakes his head with false pity. “Tiberius is mad, Flaw. He wanted to tear the Tetrad kingdom apart to retrieve hisslave, but I convinced him to try something more… civil.”
Dean glances at me, something dark and certain settling in his expression. “I’m going to rip his balls out.”
The fire in his eyes warms something deep inside me. He’s angryforme.
Timor inhales slowly before he bursts out laughing. “Your Divine is…weak. Was it worth it, Flaw? Running away and losing your identity?”
