I understood what she was doing. Through the bond, I could feel her intention—sharp and deliberate as a blade. She was goading him, drawing his fury toward herself and away from me. Every insult, every defiant word was calculated to keep his attention fixed on her.
Even if it meant taking the punishment herself.
He stalked toward her, and I saw her tense, preparing for another blow. But he stopped just short of striking distance, his chest heaving.
"It doesn't matter," he said, his voice dropping to something cold and deadly. "When I take control of the Alliance,Earth will be the first planet I subjugate. Every human will be collared and sold into slavery. Every. Single. One."
My blood ran cold.
"And those who've taken humans as mates?" He smiled, and it was the most terrifying expression I'd ever seen. "They'll be executed. Publicly. Starting with Duke Ako—that traitorous fool who's spent decades advocating for human rights." He turned his gaze to Serna. "And then your son Charick. Let him watch his human mate die before I kill him."
"You're insane," Serna said, her voice steady despite the horror I felt coursing down the bond.
"I'm a visionary." Riuondo moved toward me, his smile widening. "But first, I think we need to revisit our agreement. I'm beginning to think you need... motivation to follow through."
His hand hovered over the chair's control panel.
"Don't," Serna said, but there was steel in her voice, not pleading. "You already have what you want. I agreed to abdicate."
"Did you?" Riuondo's eyes narrowed. "Or did you simply say what I wanted to hear while you plotted your escape?"
"I gave you my word."
"Your word." He laughed, bitter and sharp. "The word of a woman who's spent a century lying to herself about duty and sacrifice. Forgive me if I find that insufficient."
Down the bond, I felt Serna's resolve harden. She wasn't going to break. Not easily.
"Then what do you want?" she asked, her voice cold. "More groveling? More begging? I've already agreed to give you the Alliance. What more could you possibly—"
Riuondo's hand moved to the controls. "I want to see you broken. Truly broken. Not just saying the words, but accepting your defeat in your bones."
"Then you'll be disappointed." Serna's voice was ice. "Because I am Vaktaire. We don't break."
"Everyone breaks." He pressed the control.
Level four.
The pain exploded through my nervous system like lightning—every nerve ending firing at once, muscles seizing, lungs forgetting how to breathe. The world went white, then red, then black around the edges.
I heard Serna's sharp intake of breath echoing down the bond, felt her absorbing the echo of my agony.
But when the pain stopped and I sagged in the restraints, gasping, I heard her voice—steady, defiant.
"Is that all you have?" she asked. "Torturing an innocent like a youngling pitching a fit?"
Riuondo's face darkened. "You think this is a game?"
"I think you're desperate." Serna took a step forward despite the guards flanking her. "You've spent a century planning this moment, and now it's slipping through your fingers. The Council is stalling. Your timeline is collapsing. And you're realizing that even if you force me to abdicate, they'll never accept you as Prime."
"They'll have no choice—"
"They'll always have a choice." Her voice was sharp, cutting. "You can torture me. You can torture him. You can kill us both. But you can't make the Council respect you. You can't make them follow you. Because you're not a leader, Riuondo. You're a murderer and a coward who hides behind a century of corpses."
His hand slammed down on the controls.
Level five.
This time I did scream. Couldn't help it. The pain was beyond anything I'd ever experienced—beyond anything I'dthought possible. It felt like every cell in my body was being torn apart and reassembled wrong.
