Chapter Seventeen
Cadence
I set down the teacup, the delicate porcelain clinking against the saucer. The noise seemed to echo in the sudden silence between us. Melania’s knowing stare burned into me, and I realized there was no point in pretending anymore.
“I need your help,” I said flatly.
Melania studied me as the sound of clashing metal rang out, just beyond the door.
“I figured as much.” She moved closer, lowering her voice to match mine. “What kind of help?”
My heart hammered against my ribs. Once I said the words, I couldn’t take them back. I straightened my spine and raised my chin.
“I’m going to sabotage the food deliveries destined for the palace.”
Melania’s eyes widened. “Cadence, you cannot be serious.”
“I am.”
Her expression shifted as the playful glint in her eyes hardened into something sharper, more dangerous.
“Why?”
“Because Ryker has given me no choice.”
“He is your mate. You would betray him so easily?”
Anger flooded my veins, but I reined it in. I wasn’t angry at Melania.
“He betrayed me first. He kidnapped me from my home and demanded that I submit to him. He had no regard for what I wanted or how miserable he made me. All Ryker cared about was putting me on a leash and keeping me under his control. That is not how mates are supposed to treat one another, Melania.”
Melania winced, knowing I was right.
“Still.” She let out a slow breath. “What you are proposing is treason, Cadence.”
“I know I ask too much, but I have no other allies inside this kingdom, Melania. I have no ill will toward the Unseelie Fae. I only want my freedom. My brother is here, risking his life to bring me home, and I can’t stand back and watch Ryker use him as a pawn against me.
I need to get him away from this place, and he refuses to leave me behind. ”
The pleading tone in my voice was not feigned. I was desperate, and it showed.
Melania rose from her seat and began pacing the room with measured steps. Each footfall was purposeful, deliberate. I watched her carefully, trying to gauge her thoughts, but her face remained impassive.
“How do you suppose disrupting the wagons will help you free your brother?”
Hope flickered in my chest, dangerous and bright. I did my best to stifle it, knowing I was still too far from victory.
“I’ll intercept the food deliveries and redirect them to those who need them most. The King has abandoned his people to the vengeance of the Wraith Borne, and they have been forced to flee their homes, starving and destitute.”
Melania’s shoulders stiffened, and a scowl overtook her features, letting me know exactly how she felt about the situation.
“All I require is a minor distraction. Something for Ryker to focus on. He will be preoccupied with uncovering who is behind the theft, and that’s when we’ll escape. Callum and I will slip away undetected.”
Melania gave me an incredulous look. “You really believe it’s going to be that easy?”
“No,” I admitted. “There are other… elements of my plan that I am still working to resolve.”
“What about the mate bond?” she asked. “He will use it to track you down, and then what?”
I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. “I know the bond can be masked temporarily. I am researching whether it is possible to sever it.”
Melania recoiled as though the idea of severing a mate bond was reprehensible.
“You would do that?” she breathed. “You’d go that far to rid yourself of him? It wouldn’t be only Ryker who suffered in your absence.”
I swallowed the bile creeping up my throat at the words she left unspoken. Breaking the bond would have consequences. I knew that. Only I had no way of knowing what those consequences might be.
Maybe we’d both slip away, losing our minds like those who survived the death of a mate. I had no insights to offer, but my path remained unchanged all the same.
“Our bond is not like the one you share with Malesh. If I had to choose between Ryker and my brother, I would choose Callum every time.”
Melania narrowed her eyes, studying me. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“I do,” I said without hesitation. “There are other crimes Ryker has committed to earn my ire, Melania, unforgivable things. I didn’t reach this decision lightly.”
Melania’s jaw clenched as she turned away, her hands clasped behind her back. The tension in her shoulders told me she was weighing her options carefully. When she whirled around, her eyes flashed with something unreadable.
“And if I help you, what then? Ryker will know someone betrayed him. He’ll tear this court apart looking for answers.”
“I won’t implicate you.”
“That’s not what I asked.” Melania stepped closer, her perfume enveloping me. “What fate awaits those you leave behind? Have you thought about that?”
The question sat heavily between us. I had considered it.
Carefully.
But she would not like my answer.
“I have.”
“And?” Melania folded her arms, waiting for my reply.
I sighed, defeated. “Not only are you one of the few people I can trust inside this kingdom, Melania, but you are also the only person who can help me without serious repercussions.”
Her brows furrowed. “What does that mean?”
“Malesh is Ryker’s friend,” I said, my tongue darting out to wet my lips. “One of his best friends. If he were to hurt you, it would hurt Malesh as well.”
Her eyes widened in realization, and her jaw dropped. “You would use our mate bond to your advantage?” she asked in disbelief.
“I wish there was another way, Melania. I truly do. But Ryker has tied my hands, and I would do anything if it meant protecting my brother.”
Her mouth snapped shut, her expression turning contemplative. Despite her disgust, a hint of admiration shone from within her eyes.
“You’re more ruthless than I gave you credit for,” Melania finally said.
I didn’t recoil from her assessment. “Survival demands it.”
She hummed in agreement.
Melania’s fingers tapped against her forearm, a rhythmic beat that matched the pounding of my heart. She moved toward the window, peering out through the curtains at the palace grounds beyond. The longer she remained silent, the more I fought the urge to fill the quiet with desperate pleas.
I had laid my cards on the table. All I could do now was wait.
“You’re more like him than you realize,” Melania said with a wry smile, twisting her lips. “It is a shame, really. You would make a fierce queen.”
“Does that mean you will help me?”
Melania released a slow breath, her fingers drumming against her arm once more. “Freedom is rarely as simple as we imagine it to be, Cadence. You need to be certain it’s what you want?”
“Perhaps not, but I’d rather face those risks than allow someone else to chart my course for me.”
“There are fates far crueler than what Ryker has done to you,” she said, her gaze distant.
“Will you help me?” I asked again.
Instead of answering my question, she asked, “How do you intend to overthrow those who bring the supplies? It won’t take long for the King to add soldiers to the supply routes.”
I’d thought about it, and the simple answer was that we needed allies. Men and women who would benefit from the unrest.
I told Melania as much.
“It seems you have it all figured out,” she said, pursing her lips.
I held my breath, waiting for her response.
When I couldn’t stand the suffocating silence any longer, I said, “Will you help me?”
Melania stared at me, the seconds stretching between us, before she sighed. “I need more time to consider your request.”
I tried to hide the disappointment from showing on my face.
She hadn’t said no. Until then, there was hope.