Chapter 20
NYRA
I should have gone to sleep, but adrenaline coursed through my body.
I could still feel my power.
The city slumbered as I quickly moved through the quiet pathways and made my way to the training grounds.
I had my bow and quiver strapped to my back, and even though my fingers ached with the hours of practice we had been doing, I felt desperate to wrap my hand around the grip.
I hadn’t been good at it, but it gave me a sense of control that I hadn’t had before.
I quickened my pace as I crossed the old wooden bridge, avoiding looking down at the murky water below. The rickety boards creaked and swayed under my feet, making me feel unsteady as I moved toward the other side.
The streets were quiet, but I could hear the echoes of footsteps somewhere in the distance as I made my way to the training grounds. A constant blanket of darkness cast over the deserted grounds, and there was only a faint flicker of firelight lighting the path.
With the others gone for the night, a sense of eerie stillness settled in the air.
But I still continued forward and leaned my quiver against the far wall as I pulled my bow off my back and ran my fingers along the taut string.
The night air was cool against my still buzzing skin as I took an arrow from the quiver and moved several paces in front of a makeshift target on the wall. I held the bow in my hand at my side as I stared at it.
Traitor.
The word ran over and over in my head, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it no matter how hard I tried.
Dacre had barely spoken to me after we left that cove. He thought I was a liar, and I was, but not about this.
Not about my power.
My power.
Each syllable felt like a stranger in my mind, but the lingering warmth of magic still coursed through my veins. It was hard to accept the reality of what had happened.
A sharp, searing pain radiated in my chest as memories of my father’s relentless attempts to pull power from me flooded my mind.
Guilt slammed into me as I thought of my mother. Tears threatened to spill over as I thought about what could have been, if only I had been stronger.
She would still be queen.
She would still be alive.
My hands, once steady, now shook uncontrollably. I stared down at them, desperate to summon the power that Dacre had forced from me. But despite my efforts, my palms remained empty and powerless.
I didn’t know what was wrong with me.
“You do realize that staring at the target doesn’t actually do anything, right?”
I jumped at the sudden sound of Dacre’s voice, my eyes scanning the dimly lit training grounds.
My heart rate jumped as I saw him sitting against the wall, his form illuminated by a flickering flame nearby.
One leg was bent in front of him while he leaned his head against his arm, exhaustion evident in every line of his body.
“What are you doing here?” My fingers clenched around the smooth, polished wood of my bow, and I shoved both hands behind my back.
His eyes narrowed as he leaned in closer, his gaze fixated on me. “I should be the one asking you that,” he said, his voice low and predatory. “It’s late.”
“I couldn’t sleep.” I swallowed and looked back to the target for only a moment before looking back to him.
He ignored my words completely and squinted his eyes for a moment as he assessed me. “You should leave.”
I scoffed at the absurdity of him. “No. You should leave.” I pointed the tip of my arrow in his direction.
“Not tonight, Nyra.” His voice was cold and harsh as he spoke, each word laced with venom. My skin prickled in response to the malice radiating from him. “I’m not in the mood to deal with you tonight.”
“You’re never in the mood to deal with me.” My heart raced, sending waves of heat through my body. “You’re always in a bad mood.”
He was silent for a long moment, but his gaze didn’t waver from me for even a moment. “I am.” He nodded as he ran his hand slowly over his jaw. “But tonight, I might take it out on you.”
My heart hammered against my rib cage, echoing in my ears as I locked eyes with him, and the surge of power that had been fueling me earlier now felt like a raging storm inside me. An ache started low in my belly, and I struggled to keep my breathing steady.
“And what if that’s what I want?”
He swallowed hard, and I watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “You don’t.”
“You don’t know that.” My voice trembled, but all I could think about was the way he had touched me before and the way he had acted as if he regretted it ever since.
I couldn’t get his words from earlier out of my head. The memory of him standing before me with fire in his eyes as he accused me of betrayal played on repeat. Even the set of his jaw and the clenched fists at his sides conveyed his conviction.
He had called me a traitor before, but this time, every part of him believed it.
Dacre’s eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flickering in the dark depths. I could still see his anger in his gaze, but there was also an undeniable hunger that boiled just beneath the surface.
“Tell me what you want, little traitor,” he demanded, his voice low and menacing, and my stomach ached as the last word slipped from his lips.
I swallowed, trying to keep my nerves in check. This was a dangerous game, but I couldn’t stop myself from playing. I didn’t want to stop. “Don’t call me that. ”
“I’m not in the mood to take orders from you.” He leaned his head back against the wall as if he needed to get a better look at me. “Tell me what you want.”
“I don’t know,” I whispered, feeling the lie in my voice even as I said it. “But I can’t stop thinking about it.”
He let out a low laugh, the sound echoing through the empty training grounds. He turned away from me, letting the flickering firelight cast shadows over his face as he clenched and released his jaw.
“What do you want?” I asked, my voice barely audible.
He turned his head, a glint in his dark eyes as they raked over my features with a predatory intensity. His lip curled into a sly smirk, and I couldn’t help but feel a shiver run down my spine.
“Drop that bow and get on your knees.” He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, and I almost fell to them at that one movement. “Then I want you to crawl to me and beg.”
I didn’t know what I was doing, but I felt my hand instinctively tighten around the bow’s grip as if it were the only thing keeping me anchored to reality.
My other hand moved, and my fingers trembled as they wrapped around the string, the cold wood a stark contrast to the heat that was surging through me.
“You can’t just order me around like that.” My voice trembled, and he smirked at the sound.
“Yes. I can.” He ran his hand over his knee, and I felt mesmerized by watching him. “And you want to do it.”
The way he said the words made my spine snap straight and my core tighten.
“Don’t you? ”
He was right. I couldn’t deny the desire that was pooling in my core and threatening to consume me.
But I also hated that he knew it. With a simple look, he knew what he was doing to me.
I started to shake my head to deny the truth that we both knew, but he wouldn’t allow it.
“On your knees, Nyra. Don’t make me tell you again.”
“I…” I trailed off, unable to form the words. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I could feel the unfamiliar magic coursing through my veins. I wanted to do what he said, and there was something about the way he was commanding me to do so that made me want it even more.
Even though I knew I should have left and gone straight back to my room.
I should have been running from this place altogether.
But it wasn’t what I found myself doing as I gently laid my bow and arrow on the ground at my side and dropped to my knees before him.
The searing heat of the firelight flickered and danced in the darkness, its light casting eerie shadows across Dacre’s cold, hard features as he watched me without making a single move. I felt as though I were being devoured by his eyes, consumed by the darkness that threatened to swallow me whole.
“Good girl,” he purred, a sinister smile curling his lips as he watched me with anticipation.
I swallowed, the ache in my belly intensifying as I stared at him.
“Come here.” He lifted a hand, and he gave a subtle curl of his fingers, beckoning me forward.
My hands trembled as I leaned forward and pressed them into the cold, hard ground. I dropped my head as my chest heaved, trying to swallow breath after breath.
“Look at me.”
My head snapped up at his command.
“I want to see you as you crawl to me.” Dacre ran his hand down the front of his trousers, and my breath hitched at the bulge I saw there.
For a moment, I was frozen in place, my heart racing at his command. But then, against every ounce of willpower I had left, I pushed myself forward, crawling slowly toward him. The hard ground was rough against my knees, and I could feel the gritty dirt sticking to my palms.
As I reached the edge of his boot, I stopped, still on my hands and knees, but looking up at him with wide eyes.
“Closer,” he hissed. His eyes were dark, almost black, with a glint of hunger that made me feel alive. They seemed to devour me, like two deep pools of obsidian that held a hint of fire within.
I took a deep breath as he widened his legs, making room for me to come even closer. I began to crawl again, pulling myself toward him inch by excruciating inch.
The intense warmth emanating from his body enveloped me. It was intoxicating.
Dacre reached forward as I stopped, his finger lifting my chin higher until I had nowhere to look but at him. His thumb ran over my bottom lip roughly, and I felt powerless under his touch.
In spite of my magic surfacing, he still managed to make me feel weak.
“You look so fucking beautiful like this,” he groaned as he dropped his hand to run over the length of my neck. He toyed with my hair, his touch gentle, almost tender. And yet, there was a fierce intensity behind it, a promise of something more.