He’s fighting it.
“You’re still in there,” I breathe. “Inside. You don’t want Aoife. You never have. This magic… it’s forcing you to submit. But you’re in there, fighting it, aren’t you?”
My mate scoffs, looking away. The same flash from Fenrir, from Aoife shines in his eyes. The mark of something shifting behind the lens, inside his mind, a force that isn’t him—not entirely. It’s the magic controlling him.
It’s so engrained into his being, that it has fused with him. Down to the tiny beats of his heart that echo in my mind.
It’s there and then not. A heartbeat or two, then nothing.
Looking back to me, his eyes submerge black, his shadows crawling along the walls. Everything darkens, the candles smothered away. The only light is the Hadeon’s chest that has yet to dissipate.
“I can’t kill you,” he murmurs, a menacing statue staring me down. “But I can subdue you.”
“You don’t want to do that. You want to be free of her control.”
“I’m exactly where I want to be.”
“Liar.” My fingers crack and bend, tips staining red. The magic pools higher, almost to my palm, the red blending to a deep black. It rolls in my gut, twisting, looking for a release.
“Don’t make this difficult,” he whispers. “I can make sure you have adequate accommodations. No more dungeons.”
“And what?” I exhale, listening to his heart sadly. “Let Aoife have you? Let her destroy the world? What of our people—your people?”
There is another tremor. He winces slightly, shaking the feeling away.
“What of your siblings?” I press. “What about them? You don’t honestly think Aoife will let them live?” Another shake, his face twitching. “And Mal? She’ll never let him take the throne—he’ll die for her greed.” His jaw snaps and cracks as he fights whatever is in his mind.
“And what of my family?” I tap my chest. “Baris is her brother—she will kill him. She has already ordered the death of my mother, of Sose, allowed Fenrir to die for her plans. You would let me see my only parent die after just getting him back? You would condemn me to such pain, I’d never rise again.”
He growls, body slamming into the wall. His hands claw at his temples, fangs sharp over his lip.
“If you stay bonded to her, you will die,” I remind him. “It’s not natural. It’s draining you. She might survive if you die, but you won’t. Fight it, Kaden.”
The Kaden I know, who I love, moans, head shaking back and forth. Just as Fenrir did in his bedroom, Kaden is fighting to take back his body.
I keep going. “And what of me, Kaden? She won’t let me live. She’ll find a way to separate us, she’ll find a way tokillme. You would risk my death for this? You will kill yourself if so.”
He drops to the ground, snarling into the carpet. His eyes are shut in pain, his face contorted into fury. His shadows rise and fall, waves of anger that can’t decide what to do.
I fall before him, holding his hands, my fingers curving over his. Comfort, security, I push all my love into my words.
“Come back to me, Kaden. Please. Remember why you’re fighting. You fight for your people, your family. Forme. Don’t let her win.”
His hand shoots out, wrapping around my neck. Calloused hands that were things I used to need, cut off my air. Pulling me close, he breathes into my face, eyes flaring with boiling rage.
“Stop talking,” he snarls, shaking me. “The Fae you knew isgone.”
His fingers press into the side of my neck and my breathing halts.I dig at him, nails cutting into his flesh, but he doesn’t release me. Everything starts to ache, heat building in my chest.
I try to speak, but he doesn’t stop. He crushes my throat.
His heart thumps in my mind.
Snapping his head away, he growls, eyes closed. He wrestles within himself and his eyes open. The amber I love, with flecks of black and love, shine back on me, but his hold doesn’t drop. It’s stuck and blackness edges my vision.
“Killme,” he whispers, broken and forlorn.
A sob sits in my chest but won’t release. I shake my head.I can’t.
