Beyond him loomed the Dreadwood, its gnarled trees rising like jagged teeth against the grey sky. Wooden spikes encircled the small tent—more a deterrent than a true barrier—but enough to contain me. The air was heavy, damp with moss and decay, as though the forest itself was watching.
Two large Vangar warriors blocked the exit to the enclosure, their hands resting on their weapons.
“You can’t leave.”
I should have known.
I spun toward Seren, my temper flaring. “What the fuck is this? I thought you said I wasn’t imprisoned.”
“Calm down?—”
I planted myself between her and the exit, arms crossed, every muscle taut. “No more lies.”
Seren didn’t flinch, her voice cutting through my rage like a blade. “I haven’t lied to you. I told you—you can’t leave. Even if you escaped this encampment, what then? Take on hundreds of Vangar scouts unarmed?” She leaned closer, her composure maddening. “You’ll get yourself killed, and then my life will be for nothing. Think, Lirien.”
Helplessness clawed at me, a loss of control I couldn’t stand.
“No.” I snatched the dagger from her side, testing its weight in my palm. Seren’s lips pursed like I was being inconvenient. “You’re just going to stand there? Don’t think I won’t use this if you push me far enough. Tell the men at the gates to stand down.”
Ciaran strode toward us. “Get that fucking dagger away from her.”
“You stay out of it,” I snapped. Ciaran’s eyes bulged, as though stunned by my audacity.
Seren rolled her eyes. “Go ahead and leave if you want.” The corners of her eyes squinted. “But those guards will kill you. And, like I said, the bond between us is more complicated than marriage. If one of us dies, so will the other. I was counting on all that honor you showed when you saved my life.”
I froze. No wonder she’d been so calm this whole time.
Clever little bitch.
Something inside me felt different. I’d been Sealed. I knew what blood magic felt like.
I didn’t care that I was supposed to be grateful.
If her fucking people weren’t savages, she wouldn’t have had to “spare me” in the first place.
“Fuck you,” I spat, then backed away.
I dropped the dagger, lifting my hands in surrender.
The guards approached with irons.
My gaze stayed locked with Seren’s and unrelenting, raging fury spiraled like fire in my veins.
I’d take my chances in escaping. Fight against the best of their warriors. But a fatal life bound to a woman I couldn’t trust?
This place isn’t my prison.
She is.
Chapter 7
Seren
Amahle looked up expectantly as I sank down beside her in the gathering space for the council meeting. I wouldn’t have long, as soon I’d have to stand before the platform for judgment. Fortunately, my best friend had been waiting for me in the front row.
I released a slow breath, filling my lungs with the sweet pine-scented air. After days confined to my tent, claustrophobia had set in, and the light filtering through the high treetops, the rich aromas of meats roasting over open flames, and the hum of trade at the center of the encampment were a welcome reprieve.
So was Amahle. Ciaran had been my only visitor these past few days, but he’d at least brought messages from her and my family. One of the advantages of being literate in our tribe.
