“Father…” I croaked, and he broke down by my bedside. I hadn’t seen him cry since my mother had died, and judging from the look on his face, he thought he had lost me as well. I felt guilty for putting him through hell, but something about the situation felt like it was supposed to happen. Not only had I found my mate, but I had found the traitors in Helia’s ranks. That had to be worth something, but getting him to listen would be the tricky part. Orion and Damien were two of his most trusted council members. Hearing of their treachery, especially Orion’s hand in everything, would break his heart, but I had to try.
My father whipped to Damien; his face thunderous. “What the hell happened?” he boomed.
Damien took a deep breath. “Sir, I believe she was being held under dark coercion by Lachlan’s son. The man from the night of the ball, Matthew, is Lachlan’s heir. His first-born son. I don’t know how he could infiltrate our borders, but clearly, no one truly knew who he was at first. I had a bad feeling about him though, and my suspicions, unfortunately, turned out to be correct.” He hung his head as if he was ashamed of himself. If I wasn’t so damn angry at him, I’d applaud the performance he was putting on.
Inside, I was fucking screaming, though. Damien was lying to turn my father against me. He wouldn’t be able to trust a word that came out of my mouth if he thought I was under dark coercion. Anything I said would be considered a figment of a well-concocted story.
“He tricked Eva into believing that they were mates. I fear he forced himself on her as well, against her will, obviously. I’m sick to my stomach thinking of what she went through,” he said as he grabbed ahold of my hand again. My eyes grew wide with panic, and I grunted, trying to pull away from him. I couldn’t even shake my head in disagreement. “You see how terrified she is? We’ve had to keep her sedated since we found her. I just wish I had gotten to her sooner. The damage seems to be extremely severe. I’m so sorry, my king. I was sworn to protect her, and I failed.” He wiped a tear from his eye.A fucking tear.
My father looked at me, and I could see that he believed every word that was coming out of Damien’s lying mouth. Tears streaked down my cheeks, and I choked out sobs the best I could. I couldn’t breathe. The world seemed to spin, and I thought I might explode.
“Sir, we need to sedate her again. Clearly, hearing everything is too much for her. She’s losing control of herself,” Damien said, reaching for a vial of liquid on the tray next to the bed.
I opened my mouth and let out a scream that shook the windows, sending everyone in the room to their knees. The power coursing through my veins, breaking the dark hold that was placed on my body. I stood up and the windows suddenly burst over the magic that was surging through the air, scattering glass in every direction. Outside, the wind was howling. It quickly flooded into the room, picking up debris and slamming it against the wall.
“Get the king out of here!” Damien bellowed as Orion rushed into the room, fighting against the torrent. My father met my eyes and looked truly fearful, but he was scared for the wrong damn reasons. His council was filled with traitors that had tried to kill me and had orchestrated the death of my mother, and he had no damn idea.
Damien stood up and shielded his eyes with his arm against the wind. “Eva, stop this madness. I don’t want to hurt you,” he yelled, but I held my ground. My hands shot out in front of me, begging the air to bend to my will, but it wouldn’t come. I screamed in agony as he ran toward me, pushing me back and forcing me down onto the bed. I fought against him, but he quickly overpowered me. There was nothing I could do, but I was determined to go down swinging. He clasped both of my wrists in his hand and forced them down into the mattress. I kicked my legs out, trying to get underneath him and push him away, but he planted himself firmly between them and I couldn’t get out of his hold. Multiple healers rushed in to help him restrain me.
“I’ll fucking kill you for this!” I screamed at him as hands pushed my shoulders back, so I was lying completely flat on the bed. Damien grabbed my chin and forced my mouth open, tipping the vial down my throat. I tried to spit the liquid out, but he quickly clamped my mouth shut. I held it in, refusing to swallow it. Tears stained my cheeks as I realized I was running out of options. I didn’t know what the fuck to do anymore, or how my life had gotten so damn chaotic.
He leaned down, his mouth brushing my ear. “You’re mine, Eva. You always have been, and now you always will be. I’m going to erase Matthew from your memory, and you will forget every moment that you spent together. The feeling of his touch on your skin will be long gone. And when I find him? Oh, I’ll make you watch as he dies slowly. I’ll force you to slit his throat yourself. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll fucking enjoy it. Soon, it will only beme. Just like it should have been from the fucking beginning.”
I had no choice but to swallow the liquid as he slammed his fist into my stomach, causing me to choke and scream out. I begged for anyone to help me, but everyone looked at me like I was crazy. The effects of the drug were taking hold of my body, my vision blurring, and my limbs growing numb. I would hold up the end of my promise if it was the last fucking thing I did.
* * *
I didn’t knowhow long I was out, but I woke up in complete and total darkness. The smell of mildew and dust all around me. My hands were restrained above my head and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t move them… A glance down at my legs confirmed my suspicion that my legs were also tied down as well. Fuck. This didn’t seem good. I tried to wriggle my hands, but there was no slack in the chains that allowed me to do so. I could feel the dark magic circling around the room, and if I had to guess… I imagine these chains contained a power-draining spell since I couldn’t feel my magic rising to greet me like it normally would when I was feeling threatened.
A door opened from somewhere above me and footsteps were drawing near. I was at the mercy of someone else, and the thought made my skin crawl. I was not someone who relied on others to save me. No, I was a fucking queen. I pulled at the chains harder than before, willing them to cooperate with me. “Come on, you stupid piece of shit,” I muttered, earning a laugh from whoever was approaching.
“Oh, Eva… Do you really believe that we would be foolish enough not to reinforce the restraints after the stunt you pulled in the medical wing?” Orion drawled, coming into view from around the corner. Damien followed in behind him, with Luka trailing both of them.
“Get away from me you fucking bastards!” I screamed. My voice echoing back in the surrounding chamber.
“Surely this isn’t necessary?” Luka stammered out. The chains were cutting into my wrists and ankles, creating red marks where they met my skin. Sweat was beading against my forehead as I continued to struggle. The three of them just stared at me, not moving a single muscle, like fucking lunatics. I don’t know what the fuck they were waiting for. A sign from above?
“You didn’t see the way she destroyed her previous room with her display, did you, son?” Orion said, circling me as he spoke. I watched Luka flinch at his choice of words. Luka had come from a prominent family, but both of his parents were killed when he was so young, and Damien’s family had taken him in. Orion really had been like a father to him, but now that Luka had seen how fucked up he was… It was obvious he didn’t feel inclined to consider him a father figure anymore. “Thegirlcan’t be trusted in any other way at the moment. Especially since she’s been brainwashed by our enemy.”
“Yourenemy?!” I spat. “You’rethe fucking enemy, you traitor!You’vebetrayed your kingdom, my parents.You’rethe fucking reason my mother was murdered!” I thrashed around, the bindings finally cutting through my skin and causing blood to run down my arms and legs. Orion stepped up and leaned in, his breath hot on my cheek.
“Your mother deserved what she got, and so will you if you don’t learn to mind your fucking manners, girl,” he whispered. I met his eyes, rage burning in my blood. I spat in his face, causing him to jump back. He wiped it off with the back of his hand, and I could have sworn that Luka smirked. Orion reeled his hand back and struck me across the face. I could taste the faint coppery tang of blood on my tongue. Luka lurched forward, but I shook my head. What was he going to do? He’d just end up getting himself killed if he pushed back too much.
I looked over at Damien, but I didn’t see the person I recognized underneath his icy demeanor. The darkness had completely consumed every inch of him. His face carefully schooled not to give anything away. “Fuck you,” I cursed. “Fuck all of you. I swear on all the gods and stars in the sky… By the time I’m done killing you, there will be nothing that remains. I will destroy you to the point where death will feel like mercy!”
Orion had stepped behind my body, where he plunged a dagger into my side. I lurched forward as the blind pain seared through me. It was the same fucking blade as before. Dark magic. Which meant there was only a matter of time before the presence of it caused my body a ridiculous amount of pain. I laughed, my head falling back. “You can’t fucking kill me… So go ahead, do your fucking worst.”
Orion smiled as he walked around to face me, and I was struck by how much hatred lingered in his expression. “That’s the point, Princess. We will torture you until you’re an inch away from death. We are going to make you fucking hurt, beg, and bleed… Then we’ll heal you, make sure you’re brand new, and then we’ll start all over again,” he laughed. Fucking laughed. “We’ll see how you feel about your threats once we’re done with you. We’ll be your heroes, your legends. And the best part? Not a fucking soul will believe you over us. After all… Matthew had you under quite the spell of compulsion.”
I bared my teeth at the sound of my mate’s name on his filthy tongue. “I won’t ever stop fighting, Orion. You might think that you’re winning, but I’ll be smiling down at you while you’re on your deathbed, eventually. And I will delight in the day that comes, you disgusting rat.”
Damien stormed past his father and threw his arm over my shoulder, gripping my hair. I screamed as he tugged my head back, baring my throat to him. His nose brushed along my skin, followed by his lips. I tried to shy away, but he held me firm in his embrace. “I’m going to fix you, Eva. Don’t worry. It’ll all be okay,” he said. His fingers trailed down my body, caressing my skin as if he wasn’t holding me hostage and torturing me. I didn’t want to cry, couldn’t let them see the effect they were having on me. But those slippery bastards came free, cascading down my face.
“Please don’t do this, Damien,” I begged. “I’ll do anything, but please don’t do this to me. I’m not broken, but what you’re doing right now just might have that effect. Please…” It was the last shot I had. Maybe I could appeal to the person he was before. The man I could have loved. If he thought we would have that chance now? He was sorely fucking mistaken. I didn’t care that he was under dark coercion, there was no way to come back from this.
“I have to, my love. I have to rid you of him, make you mine like you should have always been. Together… We’ll rule Helia, and then the continent. There isn’t anything we couldn’t do.” He pressed a kiss to my lips, ignoring my pleas and my tears completely, as he plunged another dagger into my stomach. I screamed from the pure agony that was coursing through my body, and I’d give anything for it to stop. He pulled it free and looked down at the blood that was flowing freely from my wound. I could feel his hard length pressed up against me as he continued to hold me.Sick fuck. He was actually getting off on this shit.
I leaned back, and he looked into my eyes. He didn’t see anything wrong with what they were doing to me and there was nothing I could do to change their mind about the situation either. I could see that now.
