24
MAX
The dripping of something wet in the corner pounds into my head. It’s a steady drip, counting how long I’ve been here. Groaning, I close my eyes. A tedious repetition, I’d give anything for it to stop.
Night has passed and the sun is high overhead, turning the dungeon’s air stale and hot. The damp scent of moss tickles my nose and I place my forehead against my knees. No one has come here, and no one has brought nourishment. I’ve been left to rot.
I don’t know where Fee and Reid are. Worry so intense tries to rob me of breath. But I refuse to give in. Instead, I concentrate on the ball of outrage in my gut.
Aoife did something to Kaden, I’m sure of it. She turned him against us—me.
She’s my father’s sister—and the one who cursed the Moorgate over a failed crush, which absolutely infuriates me. Everything is broken because of her pain. My mother is dead, the scar sits on my throat from my almost death, I grew up shunned in a village who didn’t understand because of her. My husband was tortured and changed because of her insane need to possess something thatreminds her of a past love and she needs to take everything good for herself.
My magic rolls in my gut like a waking bear. It wants her heart—it wants to annihilate her, and burn everything she loves to ash. If she stole my love, I plan on taking everything of hers.
But I’m stuck here. With no way of escaping to unleash my rage.
I should’ve had Reid teach me how to pick a lock.
I won’t even think about the bond in my heart. Aoife knows she cannot kill me without killing Kaden, so I know I won’t die in this cell. Maybe torture. Maybe starvation. But I’ll live.
The bond is still there, but the flame of passion and love no longer burns. It’s a blacken coal, left to smolder. I cannot sense Kaden on the other side—and I’m lost.
I became used to feeling him. I loved knowing someone out there felt me—understood me the way he did. He was an extension of me, another piece in the world. It was reassurance and love, wrapped into an ember of lust, like all love stories. Not having him now? I feel despondent, and alone.
How does one grieve a mate when they’re still here?
The smallest beat thumps against my shields and I look up into the shadow-infested dungeon. The gold does no favors down here.
The drum again beats.Someone is there.The pounding increases, tiny drums that pitter-patter inside my head.
Before they round the corner, I whip out my hand, gripping the heart with my magic. It gives easily, nothing but tissue—pliable and soft. The gurgle causes me to smirk and I rise to my feet, striding over to the bars.
I don’t expect to see Mal on the ground, grasping at his chest, eyes wide.
Should I release him? He could be working with Fenrir and his mother. But I’ve seen him with the Moorgate siblings—he cares. He’s one of them, more so than he ever was with his older brother.
He’s lucky.
Pulling back my magic, he coughs, dropping on to his hands.Glancing at me, he breathes slowly and tries to smirk. “That’s terrifying.”
“I could kill you,” I remind him, fingers still stained. “Whatever you have to say better be good.”
He nods, pulling a ring of keys from his pocket. The same ones from when he got Reid and I out during our first stint.
“I’m here to get you out.”
“To bring me to Effy?”
Mal’s shoulder drop. “I should’ve known it was her.” He quickly unlocks my cell, pulling the bars open wide and I take one tentative step. “When Baris mentioned Effy, it sounded familiar. A nickname my father used to call her, but it’s been so long since I’ve heard it, I wasn’t sure.”
Fisting my hands at my side, I lift my chin regally. “Then tell me. Where do you stand?”
Mal’s jaw works, thoughts and emotions floating through his bright green eyes. They’re not dark like Fenrir’s and Aoife’s—his are bright, like a single blade of grass glowing under the sun. And right now, they’re hurt.
“My mother is not a good person.” He speaks slowly, words low. “What she is doing is not right. Whatever you need from me, I will do. But I will need something in return.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Helping the man who treated you as a brother isn’t reason enough?”
