Chapter 106 Zadyn #2
I nod, but my stomach feels leaden. “Ienar is dead. Furi made sure of that.”
“No, she didn’t. Because dragon fire doesn’t work on fire walkers.” Kylian sits up, his face grave. “Which is exactly what Ienar was.”
No. No fucking way.
“You mean he got away? He’s alive?” Serena croaks.
“I don’t know what state he’s in, love, but I do know that if he were dead, that star of ours wouldn’t be shining.”
Cold dread sinks into my bones.
Jace drifts closer, his brows knitting together. “If he’s alive, then why hasn’t he come for her? What is he waiting for?”
“I’m flattered you believe me to be omniscient, but as much as I hate to disappoint, I don’t have all the answers. Everything I know, you now know as well.”
“Why did you decide to give me Arden’s half of the star?” Serena asks, stepping out of my grasp. “If it was such a risk, why take it out of the vaults at all?”
“I did it so that I could always find you.”
“What?”
“The stars are drawn to each other like magnets. I’ve been tracking you from the moment you went through my mirror.”
“Are you kidding me?! You’ve been following me?”
“Well, technically I had Mal follow you. And you did a number on him in Aeix, you little minx.” He reaches for her, but she bats him away.
“Why didn’t you just take me as soon as I fled?”
He drums his fingers on the bed and shrugs, peering at her from beneath dark lashes. “I relish a challenge.”
“So the wanted signs and the cash reward on our heads were just for shits and giggles?”
“All part of the game, love.”
“You gave her half of that star knowing it would put a target on her back,” Jace confirms, his tone carefully measured.
“She did that herself when she ignored my pleas and joined the two halves. Apart, they are harmless.”
“Do not blame this on me. I thought I was closing the portal when I joined them!”
“Yes, well, that was unfortunate and could have easily been avoided had you listened to me. I think we’re going to need to work on our communication.”
“You took her,” Jace continues, hyper-fixated, a razor-sharp edge cutting into his voice, “knowing something was after her. That Ienar could be after her. That he might be fucking alive and here?!”
He seethes, his entire body now quaking with rage.
“The safest place for her was at my side. I was protecting her.”
I blink, and Jace has Kylian by the throat.
“You did this!” he explodes. “You fucking stole her from her home, tracked her with that star, threatened everyone she cares about—and you’re surprised she didn’t trust your word?
Your word is as good as shit!” His glare remains fixed on Kylian as he addresses us.
“He’s a liar and a manipulator. Don’t believe a gods-damned word that comes out of his mouth. ”
Kylian grins, having gotten the rise out of him he was gunning for. “I have no reason to lie.”
“You have every reason to lie now that you’re powerless.” Jace releases his throat with a shove.
“You can all sleep well at night knowing I would never harm my mate.” He flings an arm around Serena’s waist, tugging her onto the bed beside him. I bite back my fury as she scrambles out of his grasp.
“Funny that you don’t classify kidnapping, imprisoning, and extorting into marriage as harm,” I grit, clenching my jaw.
“As I’m sure she’ll tell you—I never touched her. Well, I did, but it was consensual.”
I glower at him, my fingers curling into fists at the thought of his gods-damned hands on my mate.
Jace turns bright red, all but convulsing. “Tell me how it was consensual when you had her chained up like a fucking whore in your bed!”
“Hey!” Serena shouts, demanding our attention. “It was consensual. You may never understand, and frankly I don’t need you to. And you.” She hits Kylian with a warning look. “Stop provoking them and tell us how to fix this.”
He splays a hand over his chest, his brows inching higher. “Are you…asking for my help?”
“Yes,” she answers begrudgingly.
“Then you should say please.”
Her lavender eyes roll. “Please.”
“I think you should say it on your knees, just there.” He points to the ground beneath his feet.
“You fucker.” A growl rips from my throat as I bound forward. Serena’s hand on my chest is the only thing that stops me.
“It’s fine,” she hisses.
I twist away, taking deep breaths.
Stay calm, I tell myself. The last thing we need is for you to shift and turn this into a bloodbath before we get the information we need.
Slowly, she turns and lowers to her knees before Kylian. It makes me sick watching her supplicate herself to this bastard.
Jace makes a disgusted sound from across the room.
“Kylian, I am asking you, begging you”—Serena peers up at him from the ground, hands wrung like she’s in prayer—“to please, please tell me how to fix this.”
Kylian’s gaze travels over her body, lazy and lingering. He waits a moment, and then, “It cannot be fixed.”
She tosses her hands in the air, shoving to her feet.
“I just wanted to see you on your knees again.”
“AGAIN?!” I whirl, lunging for him with bared teeth. Serena darts in front of me, attempting to shove me back.
“Why are you protecting him?!” I snarl, chest heaving. My claws threaten to poke right through the tips of my fingers, my spine seconds away from rearranging itself.
“Because he’s an idiot, clearly, and has no idea how to keep from running his mouth. I truly don’t think he can help it.”
“Well, he’d better learn fast.”
“Oh, relax, shifter,” he tuts, crossing his legs. “You and I are going to be great friends.”
The son of a bitch has the nerve to wink at me.
“Over my dead fucking body.” I yank on the hem of my jacket, snapping it smooth. Jace snickers from behind us.
“Kylian, how do you know there’s nothing we can do?” Serena keeps one hand on me, siphoning away my anger.
He sighs. “Unless you’ve been a secret starsmith this entire time, then what’s done is done. They are joined and cannot be un-joined by you or me or anyone else in this room.”
“So we’re just supposed to wait and do nothing while he could be out there?” Panic floods her sweet little voice. “I might have brought him back or let him in or I don’t even know what, but I can’t just do nothing after I caused all of this!”
“Hey, this is not your fault. Do you understand me?” I pull her face into my hands, smoothing her cheeks and earning her tearful gaze.
“Waiting is the best thing we can do. And you, darling, should lie as low as you possibly can. Limit using your power in showy displays, anything that might attract attention.” Kylian stands and walks toward her. “At least the star is in our possession.”
“Right. Which means he’ll be coming for it sooner or later,” Jace huffs.
“I hope that I am wrong about this. Truly,” Kylian says, all levity faded from his tone. “But I’m here. I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
I loathe him with every fiber of my being. But the way he’s looking at her, like he would leap in front of a bullet for her, is hard to deny.
“And what about your plans for world domination?” she murmurs, gazing up at him with a sliver of guarded hope.
He looks over Serena with hungry, faithful eyes.
“I’ve waited this long, haven’t I? What’s another minor delay at this point?”