Chapter 35
Chapter
Thirty-Five
MAX
Sizzling pain extends over my body as I try to roll over, coughing against the pull of my sliced skin. Fresh agony dances over my spine as my lungs heave with the exertion. Blinking against the black spots, I fight to stay conscious.
He whipped me. Cold, cruel Zelos tortured me to tell him Kaden’s plan, my involvement, all of it. But I never broke. Even as my body bent, my mind scattered, I held my tongue.
My magic stirs in my body, rushing with the pain as if to soothe it, ebbing the sharpest points. Breathing, I let it happen enjoying the small reprieve. Pain flares along my limbs, white hot flashes of heat coursing over my skin.
A hand stops me from rolling again, my back exposed to the warm air.
“Easy,” he soothes. I peek open one eye to see Kaden’s hunched form hovering over me. But it’s not my Kaden, it’s a piece of him warped into a monster.
He looks stuck between the worlds—part beast, part Fae. His pointed ears are elongated, his fangs crooked and gnashing together into a crooked smile. A thin, fine fur covers his body.
And his eyes. The amber is gone, snuffed out by pure darkness. I fight off a chill.
“Kaden,” I whisper, words hitching on a sob. His clawed fingers brush back my hair as he nuzzles my cheek.
Snorting, my chest expands as tears flow down my face. His smokey campfire scent wraps around me and I surrender, allowing his shoulder to hold my head. A spot in my heart, that’s been permanently claimed by Kaden unlocks, filling with peace. He’s here, different and changed, but here.
Sighing, my fingers trace his jaw, enjoying the softness of his fur.
“Maybe you should grow a beard,” I rasp, “when this is all done.”
He chuckles, a wheezing noise, obstructed by the fangs.
“Maybe,” he replies, voice harsh and broken. “Hurt?”
“Very much so.” I push on my elbows, body protesting immediately. My head swims and everything goes sideways. Magic stirs in my limbs as if to heal the aches. “I guess he did more damage than I thought.”
There’s a flash of rage in those expressive, wide eyes, and I tap his pointed chin. “I didn’t tell him anything.”
He growls from deep in his chest, but doesn’t speak. It’s must be difficult for him to talk, and my heart aches for him.
“What happened?” I run the back of my hand along his cheek.
He points a claw at my chest. “You.”
Me? I didn’t—oh.
“On Cella’s crown,” I curse, pushing more only for pain to rip across my back. “You allowed the beast to take over. For me.”
“Yes.” He nods, unaffected.
My eyes waver, guilt consuming me. “Why?” Kaden spent years learning to keep the curse at bay, never allowing it freedom. Then he met me and everything—all that work—was lost.
“Help. You.”
My heart breaks. “How do we fix it?”
We share a tense look. I see the uncertainly, the pause in his features. He doesn’t know how to push the beast. This has never happened before—stuck in the in between. His ancestors were taken by the curse and driven into the forest when it succumbed. Oslo taught Kaden how to remain him.
Now? He’s at once Fae and beast—a hybrid.
What if this is permanent, him a Fae trapped inside a beast? I’ll be bound to a monster—a real one.
I rub his cheek. Regardless of what he looks like, he’s still my Kaden. My mate. I won’t abandon him. I’ll save him just like he saved me.
Choosing him means all of him—every part.
“Heal you.” He gestures to my back and I nod, slowly falling back to the makeshift cot. We’re in some room, a fire burning to our side that gives very little light. But the outside is dark, and I’ve lost a whole day, maybe more, since Zelos attacked me.
When he bites into his wrist, I shoot back up, ignoring the pain.
“Wait—”
“Heal.” He glares and it’s then I see my mate. A male who sacrificed everything he worked hard for—the coup, his control, his sanity—to rescue me.
Licking my lips, I lie back down. “You want to heal me with your blood?”
He nods, holding the wound over my back. Fee did tell me their blood could cure any aliment. I guess this beats trying to change dressings. When I sink into the mattress, he drips the blood over my back, strong lashes of pain lashing over me with each drop.
I shout into the pillow, holding the edges with as much strength as I can must. It’s excruciating, feeling the pressure of something against my wounds.
But then—the stitching. The skin is being pulled back together with such force, I feel the knitting, the fusing of muscle and skin at once.
A needle drives between my muscles, hot flames licking the edges to seal them shut.
Panting, I gasp into the pillow. “Is this what you feel every time you heal?”
He grunts. I’ll take that as a yes.
It’s a slow process and he needs to apply his blood two more times before he deems me able to move. He carefully wipes my back with a wet rag, but I’m still sore, wincing with every touch.
Only when he thinks I’ve had enough, he stands, helping me along with him. He’s massive, hunching so as not to brush the ceiling. Above us is a reed covered roof, held up by mud brick walls. A simple dirt floor is beneath us and it smells of incense and tulips. A pleasant but unusual smell.
“Where are we?”
“Home,” Fee answers, coming through the wooden door, light shining overhead and below. She’s dressed in leathers but her hair is mussed, cheeks dirty. The Hadeon sits beside her, one mouth holding my necklace. “Our mother used this as a safe place. She left it to me when she died.”
Kaden stalks out of the room, steps rattling the walls as he moves. I look to Fee and strangely, she rushes to me, holding me still to inspect my back.
Cool fingers drift over my flesh before she sighs, relieved. Stepping away, she turns me around, lips twisting with worry. “You were in rough shape when Kaden found you. You needed to be healed.”
“What happened?” I glance to my mate, seeing him in the main area, more bodies and voices floating up in conversation. I can barely concentrate, my ears humming with magic. But it’s not just mine, there’s another source floating along with it—something wholly Kaden’s. “How do we fix it?”
“In order to get through to you, Kaden did what he thought was best.” She glances back, eyes guarded. “He sacrificed a part of himself so you’d live.”
“But we can reverse it.”
“The only one to ask is Uncle, and he’s not to be found.” She frowns. The worry in her words makes me shudder. “And there wasn’t much time to look for him when the guards rushed us out. Zelos had us locked in the dungeon after he took you.”
“And I was close to busting us out,” Reid interjects, rushing to hug me. He touches my back and I yelp, Kaden growling from the other room in warning. “Sorry! Sorry. I’m just glad you’re alive. We fought like hell to get to you.”
I pat his shoulder. “I know. I didn’t tell him anything.”
“We know.” He winks teasingly, though there are shadows under his eyes. He’s as unkempt as Fee. “If you had, we’d be dead, not simply sitting in a cell, collecting dust.”
Silently, the Hadeon deposits my crown on to the bed and I pet his head. I’m glad he’s here—safe.
“There’s someone you need to meet.” Fee grabs my elbow, escorting my hobbling frame into the main room. My dress hangs around my form, and Reid hands me a cloak to drape over my shoulders.
In the sitting room, there are various guards, some standing, others sitting, with more outside. Kaden stands in the corner, as if he needs to be far away from the chaos of the room. He probably does. His beast is temperamental, seeking blood and destruction whenever he can get it.
He must have some control, but not enough to chain the beast fully. But what is he enduring to just do this? My heart weeps for my mate.
“Your Majesty.” Zeke bows, dark hair sliding to cover his face. “We’re glad that you’ve awoken.”
Looking to Kaden, then Zeke, I smile tiredly, body stiff. Majesty is going to take some getting used to. “So am I.”
Glancing past him, there’s a man sitting at the table that pulls my attention.
He’s nothing special to look at. He’s thin, with long fingers, pointed elbows and long purple-black locks.
Black eyes look up at me and I still, something niggling at the back of my mind.
A memory, a flash of something before it disappears into the abyss.
A rich laugh, then kind hands soothing a fever.
I know him. I just don’t remember where.
He stands slowly, as if he’s not used to the movement, gliding around the table and chairs. His clothes are ratty, dirty, and there’s a smudge on his cheek.
Stopping short of me, his hands clench and unclench as if he wants to hold something. I blink, brows furrowed as the silence pulls on us all.
Finally, he sighs. “You look just like your mother.”
Startled, I step away, mouth dropping. “You knew my mother?”
The entire room holds it breath, the atmosphere stilling. Something is coming, a wave of reckoning and I’m not sure what.
My fingers darken, my magic rising as I clasp the cloak at my neck. His eyes fall to them and he smiles sadly.
“Her fingers used to do that too when she was feeling a big emotion. Usually anger. Usually at me.” He swallows, gathering courage. “You probably don’t remember me, Maximillia, but I remember you.” There’s a pause and I wait, feet shifting, as he seems to find the words.
“I’m Baris. Your father.”
My knees buckle, a sharp memory striking me at the name. The smell of sandalwood and soap. A gentle hug. Sure hands holding mine in a foggy forest. But the face is still blank.
Kaden moves so quickly, his hands catching me as I go, Baris grabbing my palms.
“My father?” My words crack. “That’s impossible. You’re dead.”
But as I say it, I see the resemblance. The same nose, the same hair, the same pointed chin.
On Cella and Ger’s brow, my father is alive.
“I want to explain everything to you,” he whispers, eyes pleading. “Everything, Max. But your mate is fighting a battle for his soul and if we don’t do something, he’ll be lost. And he can’t be. Not yet.”
I look up at Kaden, and it breaks my heart to see him changed. Because of me.
Everything else can wait. Kaden matters more than the past. “What do we need to do?”
“Solidify the bond.” He waves his hand at the space between us. “Being claimed by a Dark Fae combines two souls into one. Not too different than a Heartbond, though the effects are much more extreme.”
I snort. “You mean how if he dies, I do, and vice versa?”
“Among other things. Have you experienced the soul connection?” At my confused look, he nods.
“It’s there. The merging of your essences.
A way to tap into the other—feel them, assess them, draw on their strengths.
In your case, maybe use their magic. If we can solidify the bond, complete it, Kaden might be able to access your strength.
Use it to fight back the curse. Cage it again. ”
“For how long?” I bite my lip, running my hand over Kaden’s fuzzy cheek. “Will it last forever?”
“No.” He sighs. “It’s only a temporary hold. At least until we find the general and work with Kaden for control again. Until then, he’ll have to rely on you. You will have to help him keep his beast in check.”
There’s a pause, heavy, as the implication hangs around us. It’s still my choice. Still my responsibility.
It’s an easy choice. Kaden chose me. So, I’ll choose him.
“What do we do?”
Baris shrugs limply. “We marry you.”