Epilogue
Kaden
Three weeks later
Stalking through the halls, my shadows flutter behind me like angry cat tails.
They’ve been like this since we returned to the Black Palace. Since Max has been caged in the dungeons—the same ones I lived in until my monster was under control—alone and frightened.
She’s to be my future queen and yet, she’s locked up like some fucking animal.
Because the King has decreed it, we must obey. I must obey.
Bel, I can’t wait until I don’t have to anymore.
Unfortunately for my mate, I’ve been keeping her food drugged. For safety reasons. Can’t have her killing everyone and risking Zelos’ wrath.
Stopping in front of the dungeon’s entrance, the guards don’t bother to halt me. In fact, they scurry away like the servants.
It’s been weeks. Weeks that I’ve spent unable to sleep, eat or think, without my thoughts being consumed with worry for her. It took six days just to bring her out of the paralyzing potion Griffin stabbed into her. Six days of not knowing if she’d ever waken again.
I wasn’t permitted to be there there when her blue eyes opened. I wasn’t able to explain the bond or what it meant, or the rules. How important this claiming was to my kind. How consuming it can be when not fully realized.
I can only imagine what she’s thinking after weeks without seeing me. That I abandoned her. That I only wanted to use her.
That had been the original plan, but not any longer.
Did she still hate me? Loathe me? Did she remember the good before the bad?
My heart twists, possessiveness so deep, it nearly knocks me over. I need to see her—now.
Ripping open the door, hinges squealing against my magic, I toss it down the hall as servants avoid it. No one stops me—it’d be pointless.
Inside the doorway, Fee stands, arms and ankles crossed, waiting.
She knew I was going to do this.
“Get out of my way.”
Fee whistles. “You’re in even more of a rare mood today than you’ve ever been.” Amber eyes crinkle at the corners as she tries to fight off a smile. “Feeling territorial, beasty?”
“I swear to the gods, Fee, if you don’t move—”
She holds up a gloved hand. Gone are her riding leathers, she’s now in her usual princess attire of black dresses and pointed heels.
“You know you were forbidden from seeing her. At least until Father decided what to do with her.”
“Try to stop me,” I snarl, teeth bared. “She’s going to be my wife. My mate. I’ve already told Father.” It’s his rule that keeps me chained, away from her because to him, she’s his weapon. She’s in the dungeon as a precaution.
I should be smart, plan this out, figure out a way to see her without upsetting my father. But this bond isn’t allowing for logical thought. I just want my mate.
Her eyes widen, because of all the people, she didn’t expect her oldest brother to consider marriage.
No one knows what this agony is like. To be separated from your other half. To feel as if a part of you is missing. It’s agony.
I need her back. I want the air back in my lungs and the calm of mind that she brings me. I want her.
“I’m not stopping you,” she says slowly, carefully.
“I just think you need to think this through. Marriage is not easy.” She claps her hands behind her back.
“A mating bond even less so. Last she saw you, you had not only claimed her—which I’m sure as a Human, Witch, whatever she is, doesn’t know what that means—but she had also figured out you only got close to her because of her magic.
Not because you love her. How do you think a marriage proposal will go? ”
It doesn’t matter how it’ll go. That’s the only way this works out.
“Point?”
Fee sighs as if I’m not listening. She’s right. But I hate being reminded of the betrayals I’ve laid on her. How much I’ve hurt her.
“Don’t go rushing in there, thinking she’s going to fall back into your arms. Not with this bond in place,” she sneers, disgusted by the turn of events. “Things are going to get more complicated. Bonds always make things complicated for our kind.”
“The only complication is that you’re standing between a mated Fae and his intended.” I step close, narrowing my eyes. “And that’s dangerous even for you, little sister.”
I would never hurt my sister, but even now, I can feel the urge to manhandle her out the door just to be one step closer to Max.
Fae are notoriously territorial. Mates, more so.
Dark Fae are worse. Especially when a bond is only half formed.
She steps to the side, allowing me to pass. I make it one step before she continues.
“We are an inherited selfish bunch, Kaden.” She pauses at the doorway, looking out to the hall.
“We are taught all our lives to never lay claim to another for it twines our lives together. To claim someone is to lay down your life for them. You taught me that.” She touches the chain around her neck.
An amulet that all Dark Fae children are given so, as to never be claimed. It’s a small protection, but it keeps our souls our own.
Reid had one too. I’m the only one who arrogantly thought no one would ever lay claim to me. Not with a cursed soul.
Only I laid a claim onto someone else. I did this to myself.
“Are you prepared to lay down your life for hers?” Fee asks, voice soft.
I don’t think as I respond, stepping down into the dank dungeon.
“Absolutely.”
Max
Kaden leans against the wall, staring at me.
The last I saw of him, he had all but confessed to using me, wanting me only for my magic.
Now, he’s bonded to me.
He explained the situation well enough. Claimed. Bound. Mates.
Gods above, this cannot be my life. I thought I only had to worry about the Heartbond. Now, I have a magical chain connecting me to this terrible man by way of our souls.
“I will never marry you,” I whisper, hands holding the iron bars into tight fists.
Iron to hurt Fae that might end up here. As a Human, now a Blut Coven Witch, they do nothing more than freeze my fingers.
I awoke in this chamber weeks ago with the large metal bars barring me from accessing the palace. No one came to visit me other than guards to feed me. The only light I have is a small window that shines red; there is no sun in the Shadowlands.
I’ve never wished so fully to be outside in the sun as I do right now.
“You don’t have a choice.” His arms hang limply along his sides. “The claim will only grow more unbearable, more punishing, the longer it’s ignored.”
“Then break it,” I demand, kicking against the cage. “Break the damned bond and let me go. You’ll be free to marry whoever you wish.” And I’ll be free.
The bond yanks on my middle and unbearable agony slices into my heart at the idea of Kaden marrying another.
I hate this bond. I hate what it’s doing to me.
And I especially hate how I don’t hate the heir. Not entirely. I still crave him deep in my soul.
Rage simmers in my gut at his betrayal and I’m repulsed by the idea of ever allowing him near my body again, but my body—the traitorous thing— yearns for him to hold me.
The conflicting feelings are too much. My mind whirls and I bite my lip to stop from shouting at the unfairness of this all.
His eyes darken, black swallowing the amber and he smirks, as if he can taste how upset I am. There’s a slip of fang, of something else, and then, he pulls back. Whatever beast that lurks within, isn’t coming out to play right now; his control is firmly in place.
I’d be impressed if I didn’t wish to break it.
I don’t want to be the only one hurting, mad and spitting. I want him just as torn up, just as pissed. I want chaos and bloodshed; I want to fight fire with fire. Instead, he’s cool and detached and that makes me crazy.
He has all the power right now and I loathe it.
“Easy, kitten,” he purrs, mouth curving. “This is best for all of us.”
“Or just the best for you,” I spit.
He gets a wife out of this. I get chains and a prison in the dungeons.
Walking to the pitcher on a small wooden beside him, he pours a glass of water.
“If you don’t marry me, that pain you’re feeling,” he taps his chest, right above his heart, “will grow rabid. You will grow rabid. It’s not a fun feeling.
You’ll wither under the feeling, succumb to your baser feelings.
And with your rage and magic?” He snorts, holding the glass into his hand.
“Well, the whole palace will crumble under your power.”
A spark of pride wells in my chest, but I shove it away. No, I’m not going to feel proud of his praise. He doesn’t get that after everything he’s done.
“They say you’re not eating,” he goes on, coming closer to the cage. “That you’re refusing even water.”
“It’s laced,” I mutter, chin raised high. “I can’t hear my magic in this place. You’re keeping me drugged so I can’t get out.”
After not having water for two days, my magic is still muted, and my power doesn’t rise within me. I’m shackled, a prisoner without a weapon.
Smiling, Kaden’s fangs glint in the shadows. “Clever blood summoner.” He nods. “It’s the only way to keep my people safe while you…adjust.”
He says it like I’m rearranging furniture in a new home.
This is my life he’s changed. He’s taken away my freedom. My choice. I will not adjust.
He holds the water to me. “Drink.”
The bars are just wide enough for the cool glass to touch my lips. Gently, he presses it to my dry lips and I let him tip the glass into my mouth.
The water is cool, sweet, but even now, I can taste the herbs in it.
The Blackwoods Coven was good for something. It taught me to detect subtle changes in taste, to pick out herbs and flowers that could be poisoned by chewing on them. It was a small gift from Nessa even after all her betrayals.
Not now. I can’t let that grief consume me when I have to escape.
Spitting the water into his face, I make sure not to swallow a single drop. Let him see that although I am chained, I am not weak.
He smiles, water dripping from his chin, but his eyes strike a note of fear in my gut.
Kaden is reaching his breaking point with me. Good.
Quick as a viper, his hand grabs my throat, and hauls me close to the iron. It touches his bare skin, burning him, but he doesn’t recoil, doesn’t drop me. In fact, he squeezes painfully hard. Head squashed between the bars, pain radiates from my temples and he smiles, a fang dropping into my sight.
Taking a long sip from the glass, he tilts my head back, his thumb prying my mouth open. It digs into my lip, pulling it wide as I hiss against the pain. My nails claw into his wrist but he doesn’t stop.
Spitting the water directly into my mouth, he tosses whatever is left to the side as glass shatters, and he holds my mouth, my nose, closed.
Thrashing, I scratch at his arms to get away but he doesn’t release me.
I can’t swallow this drug—I need my magic. I have to fight it.
The overwhelming urge to breathe causes black dots to swim into my vision. My throat tries to swallow, but I just choke, air trapped there, held by his hand.
“Do you feel that, kitten?” he purrs, leaning until his nose brushes mine.
His flesh melts against the iron, but he doesn’t flinch.
“The way your heart rate increases when it’s near me.
How your thighs clench with anticipation.
I’ll bet you’re fucking wet, even right now, as you fight to stay conscious.
“That’s the bond. You might not want it or me, but you’ll have it.
Because you fucking need to be safe, and only I can keep you that way in this palace.
Now, you’ll drink your water like a good little girl and behave,” he growls, pulling away to stare into my eyes.
Now they’re black and I know my insolence has pushed him.
“You will be married to me, and you will be fully mine. I’ve laid a claim onto your soul.
That means we’re tied together. Where one goes, the other follows. ”
I can’t keep my eyes open any longer. Desperately, I swallow the water, spurting and coughing when he shoves me away, as though I disgust him. Falling to my knees, the cold ground smacks against my inflamed flesh and I wince.
I hate how my body instinctively responds to him. How even now, it wants to reach for him and beg him to touch me.
What is happening to me?
“You’ll be mine by the end of the week, Max. And you’ll even beg me for it. You’ll crave it. Again.”
“Fuck you,” I wheeze, rubbing my throat. I won’t beg—I won’t be his. I’ll never be his.
Kaden kneels down to the ground, smirking like a demon in the red light.
“Soon enough, wife, you will. And you’ll enjoy every moment of it.”
THE END