“Everythingalright here,YourEminence?”Hadeon’seyes snapped toAbraxas’ hand, but only for a moment.
“ThePrincessandIwere just discussing her future,Abraxas.Infact,LordPlagishas blessed me with some very interesting information.Iwonder what it might take to prove my theories.”IfeltAbraxas’ hand squeeze down on me, ever so slightly.Icursed my lies toPlagis.Ishould have known that was too dangerous a tactic, butIdidn’t know it would have been intriguing enough to pass to the emperor himself.
“Perhapsin his old age,Plagis’ mind is slipping.Idon’t remember discussing anything with him that was all that interesting.Perhapshe misspoke in the hopes of garnering your favor.”Nota very good lie, but my mind was racing too much for anything better.Theemperor’s eyes sparkled with greed.
“But,Princess,Ihave already seen the proofIneed.”Hewaved his hand, andJunemerge from the crowd.Heslowly shuffled over to us, and again it appeared as if he were drunk.
“Jun!”Iwrenched myself fromAbraxas’ grasp and flung myself at my brother.Iwrapped my arms around his neck.Normallywe could say so much to each other without even speaking, but it was like he was mute.
Hedidn’t even raise his arms to me, and simply said, “Whatdo you need,YourEminence?”
“Perhapsa small performance for us?”Junpulled from my grasp likeIwasn’t even there.Itried to keep a hold of him, and it pulled open the high neck of his jacket, revealing a small glimmer of gold underneath.
Imoved to follow him, butAbraxasgrabbed my wrist, “Letgo of me!”Butwith more force than he had ever used on me, he pulled me to him and pressed his lips to my ear.
“Thecollar.”Itwas so softIalmost didn’t hear it, but he turned his gaze toJun.
Hewalked to the dais where the throne stood.Amoment later, the music from the band died down, and the dancers halted.Isaw it then, his jacket was still pulled open, and he hadn’t bothered to correct it.Thegold underneath was a flat collar that lay againstJun'sthroat.Inthe center was a purple gem thatIcould see laced with the faintest hint of lightning.
ThenJunstarted to sing, and the room was transformed.Ihad heard numerous performances fromJunall my life, and they were always beautiful, but this was something else.Itmade me think of when the forest stopped moving to listen.Justas it had then, the room seemed frozen, each person mesmerized by the sound of his voice.Thesong had obviously been chosen for its impact, full of powerful choruses followed by soft verses that displayed the beautiful tonesJunbrought to the music.Thelyrics were about the final battle against theWorldBreakeroutsideXyr,Hadeon’ssurprise.
Itried to pull away fromAbraxasagain, but he held me fast, his hand immobile.Ilooked into his eyes and was shocked to find tears dancing there.Hewas trapped in the same spell as everyone else.Ilooked atHadeon, and it seemed we were the only two awake.
Hislips curled, and his body shook as lightning circled around him.Helooked at me with those shocking violet eyes, andIfelt his power thrum.Somehow,Iknew that power came fromJun,Icould feel it being sucked across the room.
Thesong reached a dazzling crescendo, and my eyes locked with my brother.Hiseyes, suddenly clear, focused directly on me.Inthat moment, we connected again, and with just the smallest twitch of his brow,Iknew.Iknew he was fighting whatever it was that held him.Hewas pleading with me to help him.
Itried to move to him, but even thoughIwas awake, it seemed my legs were not.Ifought, freeing my hand fromAbraxas’ grasp, and willed my foot the tiniest step forward, and then another.Butlightning laced fingers gripped me around my neck asHadeonleaned over my shoulder.
“Youcan’t hide from me,Princess.Yourbrother’s magic is delicious.Iwonder, what will yours taste like?”
“Getthe fuck off of me.Idon’t have any magic!”Itried to shove him away and failed, every muscle of my body seized up.
“Hmmm, we will see about that,Princess.MaybeI’llletAbraxasplay with you a little bit longer, but you will be mine.”Iwas fucking tired of these men thinking they owned me.Tohell with control.Ilocked eyes withJunand passed him one last message.Iwill come for you.
Withevery ounce of my muscles gained from weeks of training,Ifought the hold on my body.Ithrew one arm up to free me fromHadeon’sgrasp, then swung my other back, shoving my elbow into his stomach.Helet out a groan, andIsmashed my fist into his face.Itwas like we moved through thick syrup, butIfelt myself surging through, even as my skin felt like it was burning off.ButthenJun’ssong ended as his knees hit the floor and he slumped down.
Thespell that had held the room broke, andIlunged for the emperor.Buta strong arm barred across my chest, holding me back.Isnarled asHadeonmoved his hand up to wipe the speck of blood at the corner of his mouth.Hiseyes filled with unadulterated rage.Itried to pry myself free, butAbraxasheld me fast.
Ibarely heard him whisper, “Tori,Jun’snot safe yet.”Ithit me like a bucket of ice water, andIsaw my brother escorted byHadeon’sguards off the stage.Hiseyes had dulled again, and his steps lilted.
ButHadeonrounded on me, andIfelt the immense pressure of his magic engulf me, pain shooting through my chest.
“Iwant her submissive at the party tonight,Abraxas.”Ifelt him flinch around me.
“No.”Hisarm tightened over my chest.Therage that had been directed at me suddenly turned on theDragonKing, andIfelt the pressure in my body release the smallest amount.
“No?Iknow you don’t like to share your toys,Abraxas, but this one—”
“Ihaven’t broken her yet.”Hadeonpaused at that, andIseethed.ButbeforeIcould snap anything,Abraxasbrought his hand over my mouth.
Hadeonraised an eyebrow, “Takingyour sweet time with this one,Isee.ButIsee the appeal.Iwon’t deny you that pleasure, old friend.”Hesighed dramatically, “Isuppose it’s for the best.Herbrother will join me, and evenIhave limits on my depravity.”Thepressure in my body fully released then, andIstruggled against the hands that bound me with new ferocity, but it was to no avail.Hadeonturned, and in that bored tone said, “Gether out of my sight.”
Abraxaswasted no time dragging me from the hall, many of the nobility staring as my feet flailed uselessly.Hetook me all the way back to my room before kicking open the door and tossing me inside.
“Thatwas the stupidest fucking thingIha—” he yelled, butIlunged at him.Islammed my arms around his waist, and he must have been off balance because he fell backward to the floor.Thebreath left him, andIwas able to smash my fist into the side of his face once before he caught my hands.Herolled himself on top of me and pinned my hands over my head.
Butstill,Istruggled. “Ineed to get toJun!Letme go, he needs me!”ButIwas completely trapped, andIcouldn’t fight him.Itried to resist but the sobs flew out of me, tears streaming down my cheeks, my breath catching. “Heneeds me, he needs me…”
