It was just a dream.
There is no way I’d have torn her wedding dress and devoured her even if my aching cock is wishing otherwise.
She’s with Caiden. In his room. In his bed.
I punch the wall and the rock splits the skin of my knuckles, likely resulting in bruises later. Thinking of her in his bed makes me want to tear his head from his body, but I know I can’t because he’s the prince.
No, he’s the fucking emperor.
And if anything happens to him, the guards watching over my sister’s cell have their orders. I know the magic would alert them to his death in seconds.
She’d be long dead by the time I make it to her prison.
I lift my arm to punch the wall again but think better of it. Breaking my hand isn’t going to help me.
Covering my face with my hands, I tilt my head back and growl through gritted teeth. I want nothing more than to tear something apart.
To watch something break.
To watch someone bleed.
I drop my hands. This is exactly why she’s better off without me. But she shouldn’t be withhim,either. He’s worse than me; he simply hides it better.
The only option for escape is to get her away from him. She won’t leave without her ladies, and I won’t leave without my sister. Except her ladies aren’t guarded the way my sister is, giving Sabina a better chance.
Balling my hands into fists, I consider my options. I can’t have her because she’s someone else’s wife, but maybe I can help her leave. I know a place where she’d be safe—they’d all be safe. None of her ladies would have to marry any of the monsters that are thrust their way. They could have the freedom I have no hope of tasting.
Maybe my sister could go with them.
Then I could follow.
I laugh darkly. No. She’s never going to be free. And neither am I.
The rage returns, bubbling up like a starving lion that threatens to tear me apart. I know this feeling too well. If I don’t destroy something, I’ll feel the consequences.
My hands are already trembling, desperate to inflict pain as they’ve been trained to do.
If only I could kill Caiden. Then maybe this curse on my blood would be cured, and I could find my way again.
I can’t repent for the things I’ve already done. This empire has made certain of that. But I could redirect my talents—my monster—toward those who deserved it instead of the innocents I’m forced to murder.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, working to steady myself. To send the violent urges away.
Her face flashes in my mind. Her head thrown back, exposing the long column of her neck. Her head is tilted back, revealing the long column of her neck as her body responds to me. I can almost feel her hand trail down her body, her warmth around my cock.
Fuck.
I force my eyes open and quickly rise from my bed.
She’s a liar who used me, played me—she played all of us.
So why do I still crave her as if she’s the only thing that could ever sate me?
Marching over to the corner where I tossed the rest of my clothes, I pull my tunic over my head, then tug on my boots.
I need to stab something. Break something. Or kill someone.
Anything. Whatever it takes to get her out of my head.
