Vale would not come, find her sick, and order Tharen to heal her. She wouldn’t be carried to a soft room with fluttering drapes.
She would be left here to rot until her skin peeled away from her flesh and her bones turned to dust.
But that wasn’t true, was it?
Because Caliban wouldn’t let her die. He wanted to use her—to wed her.
She had to be alive for that. But the state of her body was not guaranteed.
Spiraling, Luella shrank against the curved lower half of the wall. The blue glimmering light stretched the shadows around her until she felt suffocated by them.
66
THE GREATEST ADMISSION OF GUILT
VALE
When Vale awoke, he roared in fury.
Nothing mattered to him. He saw nothing, felt nothing—only the sheet slipping from his waist, the floor under his feet as he stood, his arms striking out and hitting anything in his path.
Fire scorched his lungs.
Mate, mate, mate,chanted the dragon inside him.
The image that rattled in his head haunted him; it made him and his dragon fucking furious.
Smoke. Rain on his scales. A ship in the distance. A tiny figure amid a mass of angry, large males. An arrow nicking his side, then falling into the water. Ash in the air and the scent of charred flesh. His draconic eyes honed in on the ship—and the female vanishing into shadow.
After that, only rage.
It consumed him, even now.
That female was his. His, his,his.
Mine, mine?—
Ours,the dragon roared inside him.
Vale stumbled, falling into a wall and something hard. There was a crash, a rattle, and he fell to the ground, sheets twisted around his legs.
Smoke still choked him. Fury still engulfed him.
When a hand touched his shoulder, he knocked it away and roared, the dragon inside him burning, clawing.
"Vale! Stop—" Hands grabbed him.
Vale lashed out, fists flying.
They wanted to hurt him—hurt his mate. He had to get away, get safe, get to her.
"Bastian, can you?—"
"I can try. It may not be as powerful. My magic’s still weak."
A sense of peace replaced the fury. He’d found his way to his feet, but now he could barely stand upright.
"Lead him to the bed. Gentle. Godsdammit, Vale! We’re trying to help you."
