Chapter One
Ethan
I’d believed I’d die many times, but in this particular circumstance, I’d never been so convinced my fate was sealed.
I shivered on the cold stone floor and laid my back against the wall, trying to gain a bit of warmth from the dirty straw they’d supplied as my bed. The puddle in the corner that had formed from the water dripping from the ceiling had frozen over to ice. Even the rats, numerous as they were in this dungeon, had remained curled in their nests on this particularly cold day.
I’d never felt more chilled in my life than I did in that winter cell below the royal palace. The noxite cuffs around my ankles and wrists prevented me from using any magic, from changing into my wolven form, or from using my shifter heat to warm my body.
I was alone now. All the other prisoners had been moved to different buildings, so I’d have no one to talk to. As Elijah put it,no one to help me escape.
After spending a lonely Christmas and the last two weeks in this damp prison cell, I was at my wit’s end. I hadn’t spoken to anyone since I’d been tossed down here. Elijah had declared my betrayal to the crown to all of Malovia, then thrown me in a prison cell without any more word of my fate except that there would be a public trial, and justice would be delivered.
I wasn’t sure when I’d be called in to court. Elijah was keeping my trial date a secret, no doubt to torment me, as I was certain.
I didn’t even know what day it was. I’d lost track when they began withholding food in an attempt to get me to confess.
I wouldn’t admit to anything I’d done, whether it was true or not. A confession would only make it that much easier for my cousin to execute me, and although I knew there wasn’t much hope in avoiding my fate, I wanted to make the process as difficult as possible for him.
The guards had stopped torturing me a few days into my imprisonment. It was clear to them I wasn’t going to crack, and their efforts were a waste of time. I’d been abandoned, left to languish with only the interruptions of my one daily meal to provide any break in the lull.
The solitude and the silence was far worse than the beatings. I’d prefer for the guards to start wailing on me again rather than continue to be alone, with nothing but my own haunted musings to entertain me. Even if I bled, at least it’d be some sort of company.
There was a sizzling sound in the hallway in front of my cell, like embers hitting the ground. Blue sparks appeared before my cell door and began spinning outward. I watched, barely processing as a portal bloomed in front of me. I blinked, mind dumb as the portal expanded, and a woman stepped out.
Her mane of red hair instantly caused me to feel a sense of relief. Her scent washed over me, and it made my form tremble. I desired to break down and weep at the sight of her. She was my mate, my goddess, my temple, and I longed to bow before her and worship her very presence. I had been cast into hell, but she was my savior, and just her presence gave me a bit of reprieve from the heavy doom that’d settled inside. I was all right now, so long as my mate was here.
As the portal vanished behind her, Emma stared at my face, tilting her head in unsure observation.
She didn’t recognize me. I’d been beaten so badly the bruises had massed around my face and made everything dark and swollen.
When her eyes connected with mine, her face twisted, and she fell to her knees in front of the bars. “Oh, Ethan, you lookhorrible.”
“I’ve been better.” It was the most optimistic thing I could say about the situation. I reached my arms through the bars and grabbed her, bringing her as close as my cell would permit. The bars separated us, but at least I could touch her— feel her skin, run my fingers through her hair. If the gods had permitted me one last blessing, it was to see her face and be in her presence.
I hadn’t seen Emma since we’d parted the night of the Winter Hunt. Each hour apart from her was equal to an eternity. Now I didn’t care that I was imprisoned. Emma was here, and that was the only thing that my soul craved.
Emma’s green eyes roved over me, and tears began to drip from her lashes. She was carrying a small canvas bag, which she placed aside as she reached out to me. Emma wiped some of the dried blood away from underneath my eyes and wept. “How could they do this to you?”
“Don’t mind that. It’s all right.” She took away my pain. I could barely feel it.
“It’s not.” Emma sniffed. She ran a hand through my hair, and I almost died with delight. How had I not noticed before how exquisite her every movement was? Each trail of her fingertips over my skin seemed precious.
“How did you get in here?” There were wards all around the palace, preventing the use of portals on royal grounds.
“Kiara found a way to put a hole in the ward, but it won’t last long. I only have ten minutes before it closes up again,” Emma flustered.
“You shouldn’t be here. If Eli finds out you’ve damaged the ward—”
She put a finger to my lips. “Don’t worry about him. I’m here to save you.”
“Save me?”
“Yes. I’m getting you out of here.” Emma pulled out of my arms, and I felt my heart break. She backed away to the wall, gathering a battle orb in her hands. “Stand back.”
I didn’t bother to move. Emma flung her orbs at the bars. When they connected, they immediately fizzled out. Emma’s eyes grew wide with fear. She flung orb after orb at the bars, to no avail. When they refused to break, she rotated her arsenal, casting every spell she knew on the lock, the door.
Nothing had any effect on the noxite. Emma began crying harder, and her hands shook in a panic.
