Chapter Fifteen
Annika
I woke to cold stone against my skin.
My body ached, every muscle stiff from whatever magic had dragged me here. I tried to move, but a sharp pull at my ankle stopped me. I looked down and saw that I was chained.
I forced myself to breathe, to push back the panic clawing up my throat. My fingers traced the shackle, cold iron clamped tight around my skin. It wasn’t just metal. There was something else woven into it, something that made my pulse drag and my limbs heavy.
Magic.
Of course.
I swallowed hard and forced my eyes to adjust to the dim light. The cell was small, carved into stone, with nothing but the chain and a rusted iron door. No windows. No way to tell where I was.
But I already knew. The Shadow Bride had taken me. And if she thought a locked door and a chain would keep me from fighting, she was dead wrong.
That was when the sound of oncoming footsteps echoed down the narrow corridor. The sound was sharp and slow, like a predator toying with its prey.
I stiffened at the sound, my every instinct telling me to stay still. My muscles tightened, with fear, with rage, but that damned chain kept my ankle tethered to the wall.
The door creaked open, and she appeared.
Her presence filled the small, suffocating cell with a chill, like death had walked into the room. Her appearance made my skin crawl. She didn’t have to speak. Her very being pressed down on me, suffocating me with the weight of her power, of the threat she carried with each movement.
She was truly beautiful. Unnaturally so. Her skin was pale as porcelain, dark hair falling in waves around her shoulders, but there was something wrong with her beauty. Something twisted. Still, I could see why anyone would be attracted to her.
“Annika.” Her voice was soft and melodic, like it could lull me into a false sense of security. But there was nothing kind about it. It was dark, dangerous, with an undertone of venom that made my insides twist. “You’re quite the resilient little thing, aren’t you?”
I gritted my teeth and pulled at the chain, the cold metal scraping against my skin. I refused to acknowledge the pain. “What do you want from me?” I tried to keep my voice steady, but it cracked. She made me feel small and weak, and I hated it.
She tilted her head, her smile slow and cruel, like she was savoring my fear. “I don’t want anything, Annika. I already have what I need.”
Her eyes gleamed in the dim light, and I realized just how much she enjoyed this, enjoyed watching me struggle, knowing she had the upper hand.
“Your mate will come for you, of course,” she continued, as though we were talking about the weather. “But it won’t be to save you.”
Her words sank into my chest like shards of ice. I refused to let her see the flicker of doubt in my eyes. I knew Lucas. I knew him better than anyone. He would come.
The Shadow Bride leaned in, her breath cold against my ear. “You’re his weakness. And I’ll tear that weakness from him until there’s nothing left but the monster I’ve always wanted.”
I jerked against the chain, pulling as hard as I could, but it was useless. “You don’t know him,” I spat through clenched teeth. “You’ll never break him.”
Her laugh was like a whisper of silk, cruel and dismissive. “You think I need to break him? No.” Her fingers brushed lightly against my cheek, her touch cold and unsettling. “I only need to bend him. And once I have him see things from my perspective, I’ll make him choose.”
I jerked away from her touch, the desperation rising in my chest. “You won’t win,” I said, my voice firmer this time. “Lucas will find me, and you’ll be sorry.”
She smiled again, the same slow, predatory smile that made my blood run cold. “We’ll see, Annika. We’ll see.”
She stepped back, and for a moment, I thought she was leaving. But then, her eyes glittered with something darker.
“You know, I really should thank you.”
I blinked as confusion clouded my mind. “Thank me?”
“For all your efforts,” she said with a tilt of her head. “You brought him to me. So easily. All you had to do was love him, and now…” She trailed off, as if she were getting lost in her own reverie. “Now, he’s mine for the taking.”
“Never!” I shouted. “Whatever crazy plan you have will never work!”
She took a step closer, her eyes dark as voids. “I suppose there’s no harm in telling you now. After all, there’s no one to stop me.. It’s simple, really. I will ascend. Become something... divine. A goddess, if you will. All I need are the right ingredients.”
My heart skipped a beat. “What ingredients?”
Her eyes glinted with twisted pleasure. “Your son’s blood. A perfect little sacrifice to unlock my full power.”
I froze. My breath caught in my throat. “What? You—you’ll kill him?”
She tilted her head as if considering it. “Kill him? No, that wasn’t the plan. But I’ll use him. That’s all that matters. He is the key to my ascension. His blood will be the final piece.”
I shook my head, horror clawing at my chest. “You’re insane. Lucas will never let you touch him. He won’t choose you. He’ll never betray me for you.”
The Shadow Bride’s smile stretched wider, her voice growing darker. “Oh, but he will. You see, I’ll offer him a deal. I’ll save your precious son. I’ll make sure he’s safe and whole. All Lucas has to do is give you up. He’ll choose me, Annika, because I’ll give him exactly what he needs. The one thing that matters more than anything else to him. I’ll offer him the life of his child, and all he has to do is choose to let you go.”
I felt a chill crawl through my bones as her words sank in. My blood ran cold, and I could almost hear the walls closing in around me.
“No,” I whispered, my voice barely a sound. “He won’t choose you. He loves me. He’ll never...”
The Shadow Bride laughed, a laugh that rattled me to my core. “You think so? You think he’ll choose you, the mortal who can do nothing but be chained to a wall? The weakling who can’t protect herself, let alone her child? No, Annika. When the time comes, Lucas will do what’s necessary to save his son. He will make the choice that will guarantee his survival. And it won’t be you. Not when I offer him the chance to keep him alive. You’re just a means to an end. Your blood... your connection to Aurelius... it’s all I need. And in the end, it doesn’t matter which of you I use. All that matters is the bloodline.”
Her eyes gleamed with savage glee, and I could feel the walls of my resolve shattering, piece by piece. But I refused to let her see it. I refused to let her break me.
I could almost hear Lucas’s voice in my mind, feel his presence like a flicker of warmth in the darkness. I wouldn’t let her win. I wouldn’t let her take what was ours.
I looked up at her with defiance. “You’re wrong,” I said, my voice trembling with anger. “Lucas will never let you have Aiden. He will never choose you. I will fight. And I will find a way out of this.”
The Shadow Bride’s expression faltered for a moment, her smile twitching at the edges. “Oh, Annika, how charming. But in the end, you’ll see. You’ll all see. I don’t need to break you. I only need to show you that I already have everything I need.”
And with that, she turned and left. The door slammed shut behind her with a finality that echoed in my chest.
I leaned my head back against the cold stone wall, the chain around my ankle digging deeper into my skin with every shift I made. Exhaustion clawed at me. My eyelids fluttered with the temptation to close, to let sleep take me, but I refused. I couldn’t give in. Not when the Shadow Bride had said those terrible words. Not when Lucas was out there somewhere, fighting to find me and Aiden, to save us. I couldn’t be weak. Not now.
I clenched my fists at my sides, willing myself to stay alert. But the darkness seemed to press in closer. The hours dragged on, slow and relentless, until the silence itself felt like a cruel joke. It felt like I was suffocating. It was too quiet.
I shook my head, trying to clear it, but it only made the headache worse, like the pressure in my skull was closing in tighter.
Suddenly, the softest sound broke through the stillness. A footstep. Then another. I shuddered at the thought that it was her again, but it wasn’t. She had sent her mindless beasts this time.
The door creaked open, and they poured inside, moving like shadows. I couldn’t do much, but at least I knew that I wouldn’t go down quietly.
With every ounce of strength I had left, I surged forward, trying to pull myself free of the chains, but my body was so weak. It was drained from the constant strain.
A heavy hand clamped down on my shoulder, pulling me back. Another grabbed my wrists, jerking me roughly to my feet. The chain grated against the stone floor.
I struggled, kicking and punching, thrashing as much as I could. But they were too strong. They overpowered me easily, dragging me toward the open door.
“You won’t get away with this,” I hissed between gasps.
One of them smirked, his fangs flashing in the dim light. “Don’t bother, little one. The Shadow Bride already has what she needs.” He reiterated it like a poem. It was almost funny.
They forced me forward, through the dim, winding halls. I wouldn’t show them fear. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. Eventually, the path twisted into a larger chamber. It was unlike anything I had seen so far. It was wide and open, with a great altar at its center, bathed in the eerie glow of blood-red flames. Symbols carved into the walls flickered with an ominous, malevolent light, pulsing in time with my heartbeat.
A ritual chamber.
“Mama!” Aiden’s cry pierced my heart.
“Aiden!” I gasped, my breath catching in my throat as his terrified eyes locked onto mine. He was in the corner, tied to a chair. He was struggling, trying to make himself heard, his face a mixture of fear and relief.
The shifters that surrounded me, those foul beasts, had no idea what they were dealing with. They didn’t know the power I held, the fire that had been born the moment I first laid eyes on my son.
Without thinking, I tapped into the strength I had buried so deep for so long. My body surged with a force beyond anything I had known. My muscles screamed in protest as I ripped free from the shifters’ grip, the chains rattling violently, the shackles digging into my skin as I pushed them away with raw power.
With a scream of desperation, I bolted forward, my every movement fueled by love and fear. I couldn’t let them take him. Not when I was so close.
“Mama!” Aiden’s voice, so full of hope, rang out again, his body jerking against the ropes that bound him to the chair. I could almost feel his outstretched hand, reaching for me.
But before I could even take two steps toward him, the shifters closed in on me. One caught my wrist, yanking me back with a force that nearly broke my arm. Another grabbed my ankle, pulling me to the floor with a sickening thud.
I screamed, struggling against them, but it was no use. The Shadow Bride’s chilling laughter echoed throughout the chamber, filling every inch of space around me.
“Did you think it would be that easy?” she purred, stepping closer, her gaze never leaving me. “You’re a mother, Annika. That’s your fatal flaw. You’ll always run toward him. Always.”
Being a mother was not my fatal flaw. It was the best part of me, and she was yet to see that.