Chapter 44 Illusion #2
With a shriek, I pushed against Cyn, ignoring my constricted throat, only for him to press me back against the counter’s edge, pinning me with his hips.
“Get the fuck off me!” I brought my fist down on his chest, sobbing. “Give me back my necklace!” I ducked under his arm and tried to slip out at his side, but his arms banded around me, locking my arms so I couldn’t strike him again.
He looked over his shoulder as I struggled, panic clear over losing my last connection to Mom. I couldn’t see his face, but Zeke’s expression crumpled.
“You see the way she behaves after losing the tool she needs to control you, Young Masters,” Ranthus said, motioning to Cyn. “Prince Brakeal has saved you all from a terrible fate.”
“Fuck you! I don’t care about any of this! I want my necklace!” I drove my knee into Cyn’s groin, forcing him to release his grip, then rushed Roandra. I was going to get to punch her in the mouth, after all—and then some. “Give it back!”
Before I could reach the surprised woman, my body seized mid-stride, frozen by a force I couldn’t see.
“Master instructed us not to harm you to allow for a proper trial. We hoped not to use force, but you have left us no choice,” Ranthus said, stepping forward.
His crimson eyes glowed, making my heart pound, even as I remained frozen.
The sheer panic dried my grief-filled tears.
“Now that the theatrics are over, it is time to return home, Young Masters. It is obvious she has no intention of explaining herself. Do you, human?”
My gaze slid to where the guys stood together at the end of the counter. Seeing the distrust, confusion, sadness, and hatred in their eyes deepened my sorrow, but I couldn’t speak.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to say anything—I couldn’t. The cruel infernal not only incapacitated me, but he silenced me by paralyzing my vocal cords.
“Let us return home,” Roandra said, pocketing Mom’s necklace.
Ranthus remained in front of me as the guys approached.
“I fear this home is under a ward that prevents tracing, which is likely why we couldn't find you before now. We only caught a flicker of your whereabouts, and I suspect you weren’t here when it happened. We believe the human has an accomplice from Elyrdin who made it possible, but we are unsure what binding magic was used or where the ward is located. To avoid interference, we should teleport outside these walls.”
Ezra’s gaze met mine. I couldn’t read anything behind his ice-blue eyes. “It doesn’t matter anymore, Ranthus. Father will take care of any remaining wards,” he said, words as cold and vacant as his stare. He continued past me through the backdoor behind Rinlora and Roandra.
Zeke stopped in front of me. “Why?” His eyes sparkled. “Was any of it real?”
Yes!
I wanted to scream it but couldn’t.
Zeke trusted me. But these people had known him longer, and they could make him doubt himself before he ever doubted me.
I knew it. I’d seen how quickly he folded to authority with the guys.
Not because he was a coward, but because he wanted stability and safety.
From what Ash explained in the elevator, I suspected defiance came with punishment.
Cyn grabbed Zeke’s arms and pulled him away. “Don’t waste your breath on her. She lied to us,” he sneered. “Even with the truth out in the open, she still won’t say anything. She’s pathetic.”
Warm liquid raced down my cheeks, but I couldn’t do anything to stop it.
Ash stepped up to me as Ranthus watched from the side.
I pleaded silently for him to see the truth, but he looked away, shutting me out. “I thought it was real, Rae,” he whispered, his grief tightening my throat more than the magic preventing my speech.
I don’t know if he believed me. All I knew was their words—and my lack of them—hurt him, and I could do nothing to stop it.
His glossy eyes met mine again, his voice breaking when he added, “I wanted it to be real.” He turned and exited behind the others while I remained silent.
“We cherish our Young Masters,” Ranthus said, stepping in front of me and blocking my view of the guys on the back patio.
“To believe you would work with other infernals to upset the balance of our world… to take heirs beloved by an entire population was a foolish endeavor. Have you nothing to say for yourself?”
The magical hold on my voice released, but my body remained frozen under his power.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” I said, my tone weakened by the hurt in their eyes. “Why wouldn’t you let me talk to them? I don’t wanna hurt them.” I sniffed, my voice stronger. “I wouldn’t hurt them.”
I couldn’t.
Not even Cyn, who stole the most precious item I owned. He didn’t deserve to feel betrayed. From what I understood about him, his actions made sense. Even if I couldn’t forgive him, I wouldn’t hurt him the way he hurt me.
“Then tell me who you’re working with.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Ranthus scoffed. “And the necklace? Where did it come from?”
“My mom.”
“And where is she?”
“Dead.”
His crimson eyes settled on my face. “So you claim to have done no wrong, and yet your only defense is dead?”
I lowered my gaze. “What do you need? Like I told the princes, I will help however I can. I wanted to help them go home.”
“Pretty words, human. But if you hadn’t taken them to begin with, we wouldn’t be here.”
“I didn’t mean to! The stupid game brought them here.”
His brow wrinkled. “Game?”
Before I could explain about the book, the woman from the bookstore flashed through my mind, and something in her look told me not to trust him.
I never ignored my instincts, so I kept my mouth shut.
Besides, while I’d considered their concern for the guys earlier to be genuine, I no longer trusted they had the guys’ best interests in mind.
They twisted Ash’s protectiveness into my influence rather than an example of who he is at his core.
They manipulated the situation by silencing me with magic and never telling the guys they’d done so.
Instead, the triplets hurt them by letting them believe I didn’t care.
Their willingness to break the guys’ spirits spoke volumes.
Nothing I said would help—and the woman’s warning in my mind told me they’d twist anything else I said.
“Fine then. Keep your secrets, human. But know this: your trial’s outcome is predetermined. This is all formality for the sake of our people and justice for our heirs. You will never put the people of Elyrdin at risk again.”
Before I could ask what he meant—though I suspected I knew—he turned away.
My body floated forward against my will until we reached the small backyard, where the others stood in a circle on the patio.
I opened my mouth, but magic seized my vocal cords again. I glared at Ranthus.
Rinlora pulled a large crystal from her robe and held it out in her palms, chanting in a language I didn’t understand.
When she finished, brilliant light erupted from the multicolored crystal.
The air compressed and expanded with violent force, pulsing like a heartbeat until I succumbed to the pressure and darkness consumed me.