The Weight of Trust #2
I’ve spent my entire life knowing the kind of man I want to become, the kind of mate I want to be, the way I want to treat her, and she’s asking me to place chains on her.
The woman I love. The woman I’d give up everything for. The woman I yield to.
“Don’t look at it like that,” she whispers softly, sensing my emotions through the bond.
“And I know a way to make you submit,” Vincenzo hums; he’s a mere twenty yards away now.
The chains burn again, and pain flashes across her expression before she forces it away.
I hate that she’s hurting.
I hate that she’s still trying to convince me.
I hate that she’s right.
If Vincenzo finishes this ritual, he’ll own me entirely; I will be at his mercy, and he’ll use the drakath army to tear the world apart. Her words are urgent now.
I know that, I whisper, knowing I’m not being the logical man I should be.
No, you don’t, because if you did, you’d know there’s no other way.
I can’t do that to you.
If you don’t, then he will.
Her words are brutally honest.
And I know.
I fucking know.
Yet still I can’t force myself to say the words.
Because every instinct inside me keeps returning to the same thought.
What if, without realising, I command her? What if I cross a line I can never come back from?
You won’t, Jayce, she says softly through the mind-link.
She trusts me completely, without hesitation or fear. And the weight of that trust feels heavier than any responsibility I’ve ever carried.
You think you’re taking something from me, she says softly. But you’re not.
My chest tightens.
Then what the fuck am I doing?
A small smile touches her lips despite everything.
Despite the chains.
Despite the battle.
Despite Vincenzo standing only metres away from getting exactly what he wants.
“You’re protecting me.”
The words almost break me.
Because they’re so simple and yet…
Around us, the battle erupts further as Ahren and the others crash into Vincenzo’s forces, buying us precious seconds.
Explosions of magic light up the battlefield, drakaths hissing and snarling in response to the chaos, and for the first time since arriving, Vincenzo’s attention is dragged away from us when Royce blocks his path.
“Sienna...”
Her eyes lock onto mine. “We don’t have time, Jayce. I know I broke your trust once, but if you have it in you to trust me once more…”
I cup her face, lowering my head. Once again, she’s asking me to trust her, and I realise I’ll do it – no matter how much I hate it, no matter how hard it is, for her I’ll do it.
To protect her.
I close my eyes, remembering the words Vincenzo had spoken and slowly replay each one in my mind.
“Nyth’arael…” I begin before I start speaking the ancient words.
The moment the first leaves my lips, the effect is immediate.
The chains wrapped around Sienna shudder violently, turning from black to brilliant gold.
My chains.
Somewhere nearby, I hear Vincenzo, and for the first time since he showed up again, the calm amusement is gone from his voice.
“No. Stop!”
He knows exactly what I’m doing.
The second phrase leaves my lips, and the chains begin flickering.
Sienna lifts her head. “Destroy them,” she commands the drakaths. They snarl in response, and Vincenzo’s roar surges through the air; his power surges around him.
My heart thumps, but Sienna reaches for me through the bond, resting her forehead against mine, an expression of contentment on her face.
I hesitate as I reach the final words.
Say them, she encourages.
I close my eyes as I speak them, the weight settling heavily on my chest. I feel the link form, a connection I can’t explain.
Ancient.
Powerful.
Terrifying.
Sienna looks at me, and through the bond, I feel everything she isn’t saying.
Her fear.
Her trust.
Her love.
The certainty that has carried her through every impossible moment we’ve faced together.
Sienna smiles as our eyes meet. “I’m choosing you,” she whispers, and I feel it. Something tightens inside of me, and the chains begin to glow, but it’s the serenity I feel from Sienna that fades everything out.
Her words ripple through the air, echoing in my mind.
I’m choosing you.
The chains glow brighter before a surge of power explodes through us and spreads across the battlefield, forcing everyone backwards as golden light and shadows erupt around Sienna in a storm powerful enough to drown out even the fighting.
When the energy finally settles, the chains are gone; what remains is a single strand of power stretching between us, woven from lightning and shadow, existing somewhere between magic, soul and promise.
One freely chosen.
“Thank you,” she whispers, flinging her arms around my neck. I hold her close, my heart still racing as I stand, drawing her to her feet, my barrier now lowering slowly.
Then we turn to Vincenzo, who is cutting down drakaths, his eyes burning with an emotion I can’t name, not entirely rage…
I spare Sienna a look, and she smiles as if she hadn’t just bound herself to me.
“Power can be taken, control can be forced, but trust? Trust must be given. And I trust you, Jayce.” Her words hold no doubt, and I frown, not in anger but in reluctant understanding.
Yet there is no denying the truth of what Sienna has done.
She has bound herself to me.
Not because she was forced, not because she was broken, but because she chose to.
My chest rises and falls heavily as I stare at Sienna, still feeling the weight of what she’s entrusted to me settling into place.
I hear a shout, and then a barrier goes up, forcing the Dauntless back.
Then my attention shifts to Vincenzo, who is not smiling any longer, the barrier stopping the drakaths from getting any closer to them. Ares and the others fall back, still ready for any sudden attack.
Vincenzo simply stands there, his eyes burning into Sienna as if he can’t comprehend what just happened.
“You gave it away.”
“No, I entrusted it to the one man I trust above all.”
Disgust flashes across his face for a split second before settling into silent anger. The fact that the greatest source of power on this battlefield was willingly placed into someone else’s hands doesn’t sit right with him. His eyes snap to mine, and then he smiles.
“Ultimately, you will fail because you place foolish faith in those you shouldn’t. You entrusted the most dangerous power in existence to another person,” he says to Sienna. “And somehow you assume this is a victory.”
“It is,” Sienna says.
He scoffs. “You gave him something he can now use against you.”
“I won’t,” I cut in, my eyes flashing as I glare at him through the barrier.
He spares me a glance. “Of course you won’t, and that’s why you will ultimately lose. The fact that you won’t use that power is exactly what makes you weak.”
I clench my jaw as Sienna narrows her eyes.
“Bonds and unity are our greatest strength, and in the end, we will be victorious. Think what you want; you lost,” Sienna says quietly.
“The world doesn’t reward good people.” Something dark settles behind his eyes. “The world rewards those willing to take what others cannot.”
“I chose for myself.”
“Choice… You think you have choice, and yet every choice you made was expected of you.”
“I have chosen-”
He cuts Sienna off. “No. Even the powers you wield were chosen for you. The path you’re walking was chosen for you.
The mate you are bonded to was chosen for you.
Even now, there are forces far greater than either of us trying to shape the future into something they find acceptable, and you think you have a choice. ”
“You’re wrong,” I say sharply.
“Am I? How so? Tell me, what did you choose?”
“I chose to trust Jayce with myself, with my power, not you,” Sienna says before I can respond, the defiance in her eyes burning bright.
And I’m pretty fucking satisfied when I see irritation seep into those dark eyes.
“Then you’ve already made the same mistake as the gods before you.”