Chapter 28
MAX
Dressed in a suit of black silk, Kaden leans against the open doorway, arms crossed. His loose hair hangs over his chest, a few strands falling into his gaze. I shift under it. As much as I want his gaze on me, I don’t. Because what I see isn’t my Kaden—it’s what Aoife has done to him.
His eyes are dead balls of cool coals, his face is impassive, but arrogant. As he enters, his walk is relaxed, edge with something dangerous. A predator stalking his cornered prey.
Stopping by Aoife’s side, she huffs, fixing her skirt. “No. Just getting rid of the trash.”
“Ouch,” I mutter. “Don’t forget, we share blood.”
“Where is Fenrir?” she asks, glaring at me. Kaden tilts his head, eyes looking me over from my boots to the top of my head. It’d feel sensual if I didn’t get the urge to stab him in the throat.
“Dead.”
Her jaw clenches. If I expected tears, I’d be disappointed. Aoife is cold as ice.
“And my book?”
“Gone.”
There’s a brief pause before she steps close again. The Hadeon’s chest turns fiery, ready to ignite the room in Hellfire and smoke.
“What did you do?”
This is a trap and I remain quiet. She might not mourn Fenrir, but Mal does—I do. Because he didn’t deserve to die for her actions.
“I’ll take care of her,” Kaden says, smirking.
“Good.” She caresses his cheek and there’s the faintest tremor in his jaw. “Don’t be long,” she purrs and I have to gulp down my vomit.
As she leaves, Kaden undoes his suit jacket, rolling up his sleeves. I don’t relax—I don’t trust him. And I’m still wholly confused as to how I’m going to save him.
Love and magic are all well and good, but Kaden is a powerful Fae with his own magic. How can I hope things so easy, so natural as breathing can work?
He grins, his fangs pillowing into his bottom lip. “Well? No declarations of love for your mate, pet?”
“I would say them if I thought you would listen,” I counter, tripping over my boots to stay away. He encroaches slowly, the smirk never leaving his place. “I can see that would be a mistake.”
“To tell me you love me?” He tsks. “Aren’t mates supposed to be horribly in love?”
“We are,” I remind him. “But right now, it’s not my mate I’m speaking to.”
Kaden stops short, nodding. “Ah. You are very clever,” he admits. “You figured out Aoife has done something.” He gestures to his head. “Something to me.”
“I know it’s a binding spell. Not quite a love spell. Not quite a mind spell. But a bit of both.” I watch his eyes—his hands. I won’t be unprepared for an attack. “I just haven’t figured out how it’s effecting you.”
I stumble back, the Hadeon staying in the middle. Kaden doesn’t move past him.
“It’s a bit of an ingenious recipe, actually.” He shoves his hands into his pockets, his dead amber eyes regarding me causally. “It took a while to bind us. To fight against our bond. Nasty thing, it was. And once it did, I fell under her command.”
“But you’ve not your own thoughts?”
“I have my own thoughts.” He sighs dramatically. “But they are tempered with her wants.”
“You’re compelled, then.” I take one step. “Forced to listen to her.”
His jaw clenches and a tremor jumps by his ear. It looked like disgust when Aoife touched him—maybe it was. But perhaps it’s something else. It seems more like resistance under a tight band of control.
He’s fighting it.
“You’re still in there,” I breathe. “Inside. You don’t want Aoife. You never have. This magic… it’s forcing you to submit. But you’re in there, fighting it, aren’t you?”
My mate scoffs, looking away. The same flash from Fenrir, from Aoife shines in his eyes. The mark of something shifting behind the lens, inside his mind, a force that isn’t him—not entirely. It’s the magic controlling him.
It’s so engrained into his being, that it has fused with him. Down to the tiny beats of his heart that echo in my mind.
It’s there and then not. A heartbeat or two, then nothing.
Looking back to me, his eyes submerge black, his shadows crawling along the walls. Everything darkens, the candles smothered away. The only light is the Hadeon’s chest that has yet to dissipate.
“I can’t kill you,” he murmurs, a menacing statue staring me down. “But I can subdue you.”
“You don’t want to do that. You want to be free of her control.”
“I’m exactly where I want to be.”
“Liar.” My fingers crack and bend, tips staining red. The magic pools higher, almost to my palm, the red blending to a deep black. It rolls in my gut, twisting, looking for a release.
“Don’t make this difficult,” he whispers. “I can make sure you have adequate accommodations. No more dungeons.”
“And what?” I exhale, listening to his heart sadly. “Let Aoife have you? Let her destroy the world? What of our people—your people?”
There is another tremor. He winces slightly, shaking the feeling away.
“What of your siblings?” I press. “What about them? You don’t honestly think Aoife will let them live?” Another shake, his face twitching. “And Mal? She’ll never let him take the throne—he’ll die for her greed.” His jaw snaps and cracks as he fights whatever is in his mind.
“And what of my family?” I tap my chest. “Baris is her brother—she will kill him. She has already ordered the death of my mother, of Sose, allowed Fenrir to die for her plans. You would let me see my only parent die after just getting him back? You would condemn me to such pain, I’d never rise again. ”
He growls, body slamming into the wall. His hands claw at his temples, fangs sharp over his lip.
“If you stay bonded to her, you will die,” I remind him. “It’s not natural. It’s draining you. She might survive if you die, but you won’t. Fight it, Kaden.”
The Kaden I know, who I love, moans, head shaking back and forth. Just as Fenrir did in his bedroom, Kaden is fighting to take back his body.
I keep going. “And what of me, Kaden? She won’t let me live. She’ll find a way to separate us, she’ll find a way to kill me. You would risk my death for this? You will kill yourself if so.”
He drops to the ground, snarling into the carpet. His eyes are shut in pain, his face contorted into fury. His shadows rise and fall, waves of anger that can’t decide what to do.
I fall before him, holding his hands, my fingers curving over his. Comfort, security, I push all my love into my words.
“Come back to me, Kaden. Please. Remember why you’re fighting. You fight for your people, your family. For me. Don’t let her win.”
His hand shoots out, wrapping around my neck. Calloused hands that were things I used to need, cut off my air. Pulling me close, he breathes into my face, eyes flaring with boiling rage.
“Stop talking,” he snarls, shaking me. “The Fae you knew is gone.”
His fingers press into the side of my neck and my breathing halts. I dig at him, nails cutting into his flesh, but he doesn’t release me. Everything starts to ache, heat building in my chest.
I try to speak, but he doesn’t stop. He crushes my throat.
His heart thumps in my mind.
Snapping his head away, he growls, eyes closed. He wrestles within himself and his eyes open. The amber I love, with flecks of black and love, shine back on me, but his hold doesn’t drop. It’s stuck and blackness edges my vision.
“Kill me,” he whispers, broken and forlorn.
A sob sits in my chest but won’t release. I shake my head. I can’t.
The fingers hold tighter. He can’t let go—everything is working against us. Fate, love, magic—everything is telling us what to do. I have to kill him to release him from Aoife’s control.
My blood will not save him. But my love will.
Tears leak from my eyes as my face reddens. I can barely see, my lungs screaming for precious air. I mouth ‘I love you’ on silent words and hold up a shaking hand. Kaden exhales, closing his eyes.
My beautiful fingers sway and move, practiced techniques that used to scare me. Not any longer. This is me—what I am. A blood witch who loved a cursed Dark Fae, an enemy for so long. And now, I’m choosing him over the world.
If I kill him, I die with him.
“Where one goes,” he says, voice cracking.
The other follows.
It’s effortless to find his heart, to see it in my mind. Aoife never gave him the potion—either she was too confident I wouldn’t be able to kill him, thought the bond prevented it, or she needed a way to kill him, I don’t know. But her mistake is my way in.
With a flip of my fingers, the heart combusts and Kaden’s eyes wide. No pain escapes his lips, but his hand drops from my neck.
I cough and cry, falling to my side as an unimaginable pain sweeps through my chest. Sharp, invading, it’s a dagger that saws deep. My heart. It’s dying without him—because I killed his, and this is the pain of a broken bond.
Kaden drops next to me, eyes cold. Fresh sobs leave from my lips, my chest heaving. Air is pointless, life is bland. Nothing matters without him.
I taste copper on my tongue and everything starts to shake. Shock. I’m going into shock.
I’m dying along with him.
The Hadeon appears over me, three faces, all sad looking down at me. One licks my cheek, the other nuzzles me, while the third sighs. I try to smile, to reassure him. I chose this. I would rather die with my mate than to live on. I saved him—I chose him over the world.
I only hope the world will survive without us.
There’s a bright glow as my vision blurs, fading away. A searing heat spreads over my body. I assume death would be cold, but this is a soothing heat. One of calm and love and I slowly drift away, knowing that where I go, Kaden will be waiting for me.
“Love, open your eyes.”
Inhaling, I cough, neck sore and mouth dry. Blinking, I glance up into the warm eyes of my husband, his rough palm, full of scars caressing my cheek. Behind him, the golden walls of Aoife’s room shine in the darkness.
We’re still here. Still night. How?
“What happened?”
He helps me into a sitting position, and my head spins. My throat is on fire and everything tilts, but I concentrate on Kaden’s lips. On the feel of him. His heat warming my side. My Kaden. He’s here—alive.
Gently, he inspects my neck, eyes darkening. I don’t know what he sees, but it’s murderous.
“How are we alive?”
He lifts my chin, turning my head to the side. There lies the body of the Hadeon. All eyes are closed, faces serene. No breath stirs his chest.
“No.”
Crawling to his side, I touch his stiff bristle fur, praying for a heartbeat. Nothing is there. He doesn’t move, just lies as if asleep.
A cry falls from my lips and I drop my head to his chest. “I don’t understand.”
“Hadeon are gifts from Seti,” Kaden explains quietly. His hands rub my arms, chest at my back to provide comfort, a hand on the protector’s neck. “They’re sent to protect those who are worthy. Seti must have sent him for this purpose.”
“He gave his life for us.”
“For you,” he agrees. “And when you were brought back, so was I.”
The beast who protected, who always stayed on the edges, who never interfered unless it would kill me, sacrificed himself for me.
That was Seti’s ultimate goal—and the task given to the Hadeon when he met me at the shifter village.
He knew what would happen—he knew the choice I’d make. And gave me a second chance.
The Hadeon was my second chance. I saved his life in the hollow all those months ago, and now, he gave me his.
Fresh tears drip from my chin, but I turn, holding Kaden’s face. The scar over his brow, the high cheekbones, the pure, pale skin, I drink down every detail, committing it to memory. Everything about him I check and double check.
“Is it you?”
His forehead drops to mine, crushing me to his body. An ache I’ve been feeling for days melts away at his closeness.
“You saved me,” he breathes. “Again. I’ll never be able to repay you for what you sacrificed.”
Shaking my head, I rub my nose against his. “I was ready to follow you anywhere. I didn’t want to save a world that didn’t have you in it.”
He steals a kiss, rough and demanding. I sink into it, curling close. This is my mate—his fire, his passion, his ruthlessness. His tongue plunges into my mouth, stealing every essence I have. This isn’t just a simple kiss but a reaffirmation of who we are—of our love.
He holds my neck softly, pulling back. “We still have one more thing to handle.”
I bite my lip, breaths coming out in short pants. Losing the Hadeon, dying and being brought back hasn’t dimmed what still needs to happen. Who is the reason behind all of this.
“Aoife.”