Chapter Sixty-Two
Ryker
Blood coated my fangs, and I ran my tongue over the tips, savoring the memory of Fallon’s screams as I tore his throat out. The bastard had given us nothing. No hint of the rebels’ plans or their target, not even a plea for mercy.
I had to admit, I was surprised that he had it in him. The way he carried himself in council meetings, arrogant and self-indulgent, made me think he would crumble with little effort.
But he hadn’t.
Good for him, I supposed.
“Well, that was a complete waste of time,” Riordan said, voicing what we all thought. “Honestly, I didn’t expect him to hold out like that.”
“Right.” I scraped a stubborn piece of flesh off my palm. The scent of blood still clung to me, coppery with a hint of something sweet.
“You seem far too pleased by that fact, considering we failed,” Callum said, his tone edged with accusation.
I was about to reply, a sharp retort ready on my tongue, when a low, keening wail shattered the silence. Rising from somewhere deep within the palace walls, it threaded through the air like a blade dragged across glass. The raw, inhuman sound was familiar, making my muscles tense.
It was the same noise I’d heard when the dissidents attacked the supply wagons.
“You hear that?”
Both Callum and Riordan glanced around, searching for signs of a disturbance.
“No,” Riordan said as Callum shook his head, frowning.
Someone moved at the far end of the corridor; hurried, uneven footsteps, almost panicked. My head snapped up, and when Malesh burst into view, sprinting toward us, eyes wide, all thoughts of the eerie wail were forgotten.
“What is it?” I said as unease roiled within me.
Malesh skidded to a halt, chest heaving. “It’s Cadence. They’ve arrested her for treason.”
“Treason?” As soon as the word left my mouth, an icy knot of dread twisted my gut. “They know she’s Wraith Borne.”
He nodded, his eyes flashing with fear.
“Where?”
Malesh didn’t have to ask to understand my question. “The throne room.”
Without waiting for the others, I turned on my heel and ran, sprinting down the corridor. The walls blurred as I passed them, every footstep pounding like the thunder of battle against the stone floor. Blood still coated my hands, but instead of satisfaction, I only felt a gnawing, desperate need.
I could hear Riordan and Callum behind me, but I ignored them, my entire focus on reaching the throne room. Each turn, each corridor, narrowed the distance, and everything else faded into the background, replaced by the thundering of my pulse.
If they had touched her… I clenched my fist, unwilling to contemplate the bloodbath that would ensue.
Not yet.
First, I had to satiate my burning need to lay my eyes on her.
The throne room loomed ahead, and I quickened my pace. I was almost there. Cadence was almost within reach.
I slammed my shoulder against the doors, pushing them open. The hall stretched before me, cold, formal, and deathly still. All eyes were on me, but I saw none of them as I scanned the chamber.
For her.
And there she was.
Cadence stood at the center of the room, directly before the dais. Her head was unbowed, but cuffs adorned her wrists, anchoring her to the floor.
When I realized what they had done to her, my fury ignited into something darker: a storm of barely restrained violence that hammered at my control, ready to break free.
“Iron fucking chains!” I bellowed, watching as the entire room recoiled.
When Cadence’s gaze met mine, the look of pure relief in her eyes only made my blood burn brighter.
They had laid their unworthy hands on my mate.
My fucking queen.
A slow, cruel chuckle escaped me as I took in the fae lined up to witness my wife’s humiliation. “Each person inside this hall has just signed their own death warrant. Every. Fucking. One. Of. You.”
Shocked gasps rang out around me, but I ignored them, searching for the man responsible.
My father sat atop the dais, his posture unbothered as he reclined in his throne. His casual demeanor sent warning bells blaring inside my head, and I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to decipher his plans.
“Ryker,” Riordan said, breathless as he fell into step beside me. “Something isn’t right.”
Callum stepped toward his sister, and I caught his arm, halting his movement. Cadence gave a small shake of her head, a silent warning to tread carefully.
“Son,” my father said, claiming my attention.
“What is the meaning of this?” My tone was biting, but my father didn’t flinch.
Instead, he wet his lips, as if he were savoring his next words. “A witness has come forward,” he said, unable to keep the grin from his voice. “She claims your wife is one of the Wraith Borne.”
“Who?”
The word dripped with so much venom that for a moment, my father’s steely exterior faltered, and he flinched.
But he recovered quickly. “Come, dear,” my father said, not taking his eyes off me.
For a heartbeat, nobody moved. Then a single pair of dainty slippers clicked across the marble floor, and Cadence’s maid stepped into view.
“Scarlette?” Riordan said, and the raw hurt in his tone set off a savage hunger in me to make her pay for putting it there.
“I’m sorry.” Tears streaked down her face, but I was unmoved. She’d made her bed, and now she’d fucking lie in it.
“Where is her proof?”
My father gave a derisive huff. “She heard you talking about it, Ryker.” He frowned as if he were disappointed in me.
As though I should care.
“I’ll pardon your lapse in judgment this once, Son. I’m not so old as to forget how stupid a mate bond can make a man.”
A flurry of murmurs broke out amongst the crowd, some claiming to have known it all along, while others could not stifle their shock. The corners of my father’s lips twitched as he fought to contain his smirk.
He was enjoying the chaos, but I still couldn’t figure out what his plan was.
“Wraith Borne or not, you will release my mate. Now.”
“That’s not going to happen, Ryker. The sooner you accept it, the easier it’ll be.”
I stepped toward the dais, ready to end my father’s reign, when someone blocked my path. I glared at the man foolish enough to step in my way, settling on his milky white eyes as he met my gaze.
“Move,” I growled.
Mathias grinned, menace radiating from him in waves.
The urge to sink my fangs into his throat was almost too much, crawling beneath my skin, riding the high of the violence thrumming through my veins. I stalked forward, each step daring him to stop me.
“I said, fucking move.”
His grin only widened, and a red haze descended over my vision. I slammed into him, sending him crashing to the floor. The sword I didn’t realize he was holding clattered from his grip as I caught him by the throat, lifting him until his feet left the ground.
The crazy bastard threw his head back and howled with laughter.
Behind him, my father watched, waiting. He relished this. The spectacle. He wanted to parade Cadence in front of the court, to break her spirit and mine in one glorious show of power.
But he was going to regret every second.
He’d been warned — more than once. But he hadn’t listened.
He’d kept pushing, testing limits that should never have been crossed.
Now, not even the threat of civil war or the promise I’d made to my brother all those years ago would save him.
None of it mattered. Not in the face of my mate’s survival.
My father was going to die. This was his moment. And I felt nothing.
I called forth my shadows, letting the inky tendrils wrap around the man dangling from my fist. His head snapped up, and I saw the pure hatred he’d kept buried.
His hand darted out, striking the side of my face. But the slap wasn’t what startled me. The instant his skin met mine, an icy chill ran through me, making me stumble back. I shook my head to clear the sensation and reached for my shadows, only for them to flicker and withdraw.
“Our friend here has an unusual talent,” my father said from the safety of the dais. “He can suppress another fae’s power with a single touch.”
I stared at the envoy’s hand, and the place where he touched me burned cold, like frostbite working its way beneath my flesh. I gritted my teeth and tried to summon my shadows again, but the darkness wouldn’t come.
Fuck.
Satisfaction curved my father’s features, and I wondered how long he’d planned this.
Returning my focus to Mathias, I hauled him forward until we were almost touching, and let a savage smile spread across my lips. “If you think I won’t rip you to pieces with my bare hands, you’re sorely mistaken.”
Without warning, he reared back before driving his head into the bridge of my nose. Stars burst behind my eyes as pain exploded through my skull. I tasted blood, sharp and cloying, as it dripped down my face. Mathias grinned, his teeth stained crimson as he slipped from my grasp.
I was going to murder him. Brutally.
He swung again, but this time I was faster. I caught his fist and twisted until I heard the sweet, satisfying pop of his joint being ripped from its socket.
Then I slammed his face into the marble.
Once. Twice.
The crunch of bone was music to my ears. I barely heard the screams from the gallery above, or the scuffling of guards as they tried to decide if they had a death wish.
I was too consumed by bloodlust.
Grabbing a fistful of his hair, I dragged his body up so I could look him right in the eyes as I shattered his nose with my fist.
It was only fair to return the favor.
“Ryker!” My father’s voice broke through the chaos. “Stop!”
“You want me to stop?” I sneered, my grip tightening until my knuckles blanched. “This is me showing restraint, Father.” I twisted, my eyes never leaving his. “If you don’t release Cadence, I’ll do far worse than your cowardly mind could ever dream up.”
Ragged, uneven bursts of laughter sounded from the floor, and I peered down to see Mathias clawing at his face as if trying to contain the madness.
“As fun as this has been,” he said between breaths. “I think I’ve had enough for one day.”
Before I could respond, his hand shot forward, grabbing my bloodied palm in his own. The moment our skin touched, shadows crept in at the corners of my vision, and my knees gave way as I fell to the ground.
Behind me, Riordan shouted something I couldn’t decipher, and Callum made a beeline toward his sister. The chamber erupted with voices, each clashing in a bid to be heard.
But above it all came the hoarse, panicked voice of my mate.
“Ryker!”
My gaze darted to her, and I watched through tiny slits as she tugged at the chains holding her captive. I tried to reach for her, but my limbs betrayed me, growing heavy and weighing me down.
As darkness closed in, Mathias’s rasping tone reached me. “Do you want to know a secret?” He smiled. “I’m the one who went after your mate. And with you out of the way, there’s nobody left to stop me from finishing the job.”