Chapter 36
RAFFAELE
Vivian’s sobs were soft, choked, but every sound cut through me like a blade.
The bond between us thrummed with her pain and fear, an unbearable echo of the torment she’d just endured.
That I had allowed her to endure. My shadows coiled restlessly around us, feeding off my fury, but I forced them to settle.
She didn’t need to feel my anger. She needed calm and safety.
My father had crossed a line I could never forgive. This wasn’t just about power or dominance anymore—it was war.
As we passed the sitting area, I grabbed a throw blanket from the back of the worn leather couch and wrapped it around Vivian’s shivering frame.
Her tears soaked into my shirt as I cradled her closer, her fragile warmth a reminder of just how much she’d suffered.
A growl built in my throat, low and dangerous, but I swallowed it down.
Later. Right now, I needed to get her out of here.
I barked orders to the nearest guard. “Have a car pulled around and tell Eldora: Apricots.”
The guard rushed off without question. Eldora would know I was leaving for the safehouse. I’d devised this plan years ago for the day my father finally lost control. That day had come.
A black SUV was idling in the driveway by the time I got outside. I opened the back door and gently eased Vivian onto the seat, her body curling instinctively into herself.
“Raffaele…” she whispered, her voice hoarse and broken.
“I’m here,” I said softly, brushing damp strands of hair away from her face. “I’ve got you.”
Her tear-streaked eyes met mine, filled with confusion and despair, and through the bond I felt her fear, her shame, and an ache so deep it stole my breath. I wanted nothing more than to stay there, to hold her until those emotions faded. But I couldn’t. Not yet.
I slammed the door shut and rounded the vehicle, my shadows trailing behind me like smoke. The driver stepped out, and I waved him off. “I’ll drive.”
He hesitated for a fraction of a second before bowing slightly. “Yes, my lord.”
Sliding into the driver’s seat, I gripped the wheel tightly, my knuckles white against the leather. The SUV roared to life, and I guided it down the long, winding driveway that led away from the estate.
The road was dark, the dense forest on either side swallowing the moonlight. Vivian’s sobs had softened into uneven breaths, but the bond still pulsed with her pain. Every mile put more distance between us and my father’s wrath, but it wasn’t enough. Not until I knew she was truly safe.
“Where are we going?” she asked after a long silence.
“Somewhere he can’t reach you,” I said, my tone firm but not unkind. “A place I prepared years ago, just in case.”
I felt her confusion through the bond, a flicker of uncertainty mingling with her lingering fear.
“It’s a safehouse,” I explained, keeping my eyes on the road. “Hidden deep in the mountains, warded with every type of magic imaginable. It’s not tied to me. It’s independent. He can’t touch you there.”
“Lord Thorne can leave the estate?” she asked, fear lacing her every word.
“Unfortunately, yes. Even though his soul is tied to some godsforsaken object within the estate, he can still leave as he pleases. He’s just not as powerful the farther he travels from the object.
He doesn’t venture very far because he would be powerless.
” A bitter laugh escaped me. “I’ve always known what my father is capable of.
I hoped I’d never need the safehouse, but I wasn’t foolish enough to believe I wouldn’t. ”
Her gaze burned into the back of my neck, but I didn’t dare look back at her. Not yet.
“I won’t let him hurt you again,” I said. “You’re mine, Vivian. And no one—especially not him—gets to take you from me.”
I hadn’t meant to say that, but it was the truth. Somehow, without my realizing it, she had become everything. She wasn’t a pawn or tool for political gain any longer. She was herself—fierce, stubborn, maddeningly defiant—and she was mine.
Vivian shifted in the backseat, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. “You really mean that, don’t you?” she asked softly.
I clenched my jaw, my grip on the wheel tightening. “More than anything.”
Something other than fear came through the bond now. It was faint and fragile, but undoubtedly there. A tentative thread of trust.
The winding road gave way to a steep incline, the SUV’s tires crunching against gravel as we ascended into the mountains. The cabin wasn’t far now, tucked away in a secluded clearing that bordered the fae kingdom. It was remote, almost impossible to find unless you knew exactly where to look.
As the dense forest opened up to reveal the dark outline of the cabin, relief washed over me. The wards surrounding the property shimmered in the moonlight. I’d paid a fortune to secure the magic for them. They were strong enough to keep out even the most determined threats—including my father.
I pulled the SUV to a stop in front of the cabin and killed the engine. The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the sound of Vivian’s uneven breathing.
I got out of the SUV and opened the back door. I wrapped the blanket around her more securely before gingerly picking her up again.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get you inside.”
“You don’t have to carry me,” she murmured weakly.
“Yes, I do,” I said firmly.
The cabin’s wards shimmered in response to my magic as I approached the heavy oak door. The snarling wolf’s head knocker glared at us like a silent sentinel.
The door creaked open, and the shadows inside shifted subtly, welcoming us with a flicker of movement. The air inside was cool and still, but as I stepped over the threshold, the hearth roared to life. The scent of cedarwood and spices filled the space as the cabin warmed up.
Vivian shivered in my arms. “It’s warm,” she whispered, her voice tinged with wonder.
“It adjusts to whoever enters,” I explained as I carried her to the sofa near the fire. “The cabin’s magic is designed to respond to my needs—and yours, for as long as you’re here.”
I set her down gently, and she glanced around the room with wide eyes.
“It’s beautiful,” she said softly as she gazed around at the dark wood furnishings and bookshelves.
“It’s safe.” I brushed her hair out of her face. “That’s all that matters.”
Her gaze met mine, and through the bond, I felt her gratitude. It was enough to steady me, to remind me of what I had to do.
“Do you want to rest, or…” I hesitated, searching her face. “Would you like me to help you clean up first?”
Vivian looked down at herself, at the blood and dirt staining her skin and the blanket. Shame rippled through the bond. “A bath,” she whispered. “I can’t… I don’t want to be like this anymore.”
I nodded. “Come with me.”
The bathroom was small but functional, the dark stone walls imbued with subtle enchantments to keep the space warm and inviting. A deep, clawfoot tub rested beneath a small, enchanted window that overlooked the forest.
I turned on the water, and steam curled into the air, carrying the soft, calming scent of lavender from the enchanted herbs stored on the shelf.
Vivian stood in the doorway, barely more than a shadow of the defiant woman she had been. She had her arms wrapped tightly around her midsection, her gaze distant and unfocused. The bond trembled with her unease, pressing against my chest like a weight I couldn’t lift.
She shouldn’t be here like this. She shouldn’t have gone through this at all.
The rage I’d been suppressing since I found her surged to the surface, white-hot and blistering. It threatened to drown me, to consume me, but I shoved it down. I couldn’t afford to give in to it now. She needed me calm. Steady. In control.
“You don’t have to do this alone,” I said, keeping my voice low and gentle as I stepped closer. “Let me help you.”
Her gaze flicked briefly to me, before she looked down at the floor. “Okay,” she whispered.
I moved closer, reaching out to unwrap the blanket. I hesitated for just a moment, the protective instinct in me warring with the need to shield her from more vulnerability. But she had agreed, and I owed it to her to treat her with the care she deserved.
I gritted my teeth as I stole a close look at her battered body. Her skin was marred with shallow cuts and bruises. My hands trembled, and I had to clench my jaw to keep the rage at bay.
This was my fault.
I should have seen this coming. I should have been there. I should have been faster, stronger. I should have protected her more.
Vivian shivered despite the warmth in the room. Every bruise and cut felt like a personal failure, a testament to my inability to protect her.
“You’re safe now,” I murmured, though the words felt hollow in my mouth.
She took my hand and carefully got into the tub. The water enveloped her fragile frame, the lavender-scented steam curling around her like a protective shroud. Taking a washcloth from the ledge above the tub, I dipped it into the water and wrung it out.
The first touch of the cloth against her skin made her hiss, and she flinched away from me.
“Sorry. I’ll be as gentle as I can.”
“It’s not you. It’s… everything.”
Her words shattered me. Her pain seeped into my chest like an open wound. I could feel her fear, her exhaustion, her fractured strength. She was barely holding on, and it killed me that I couldn’t take it all away.
I worked in silence, moving carefully, almost reverently, as though each stroke of the cloth could erase what had been done to her. The angry redness of the cuts began to fade as the enchanted water worked its magic, but I knew the scars that would remain wouldn’t only be on her skin.
When I had taken care of every cut and bruise, I lifted her out of the water. She didn’t protest. In fact, she rested her head against my shoulder as I wrapped her in a thick towel. Her damp hair clung to her face, and I brushed it away gently, my fingers lingering longer than they needed to.