And Annika.
I shift back before entering, grabbing one of the fallen men’s knives as I step into the darkness. The sight that greets me inside the cave nearly stops my heart.
Annika is chained to the far wall.
Her head hangs forward weakly, dark hair falling over her face, bruises staining her skin, and the metal cuffs around her wrists glow faintly with some kind of technological seal.
For a moment, rage nearly blinds me. Then she stirs.
“Heinrich…” Her voice is barely a whisper.
I cross the cave in seconds and tear the chain from the wall with a violent pull, the stone cracking under the force. The suppressor cuffs resist at first until I locate the small control device clipped to one of the fallen captors nearby.
One strike from the knife destroys it, and the cuffs release immediately. Annika collapses forward into my arms, her body trembling violently as I catch her against my chest.
“They…stripped my magic from me,” she murmurs weakly.
I pull her closer, one hand cradling the back of her head. “You’re safe now,” I say quietly.
Her fingers grip my shirt weakly as if she’s anchoring herself to me. “I knew you’d come.”
The words cut deeper than any blade. “I will always come for you.”
Carefully, I lift her into my arms, and she murmurs again. “The demon…”
“It isn’t here now. You’re safe,” I assure her, holding her tightly to my chest.
She’s far too light, far too fragile, and whoever did this will regret it for the rest of their very short lives.
Annika remains unconscious most of the journey back to the cabin, and I don’t seek to wake her. I don’t wish to let her out of my sight again.
***
When Annika finally wakes, it’s long after dawn, her breathing shallow and uneven as the effects of the suppressor cuffs continue to drain the last of her strength. Her magic should have healed most of her injuries already, but without it, she’s forced to recover as slowly as any human would.
So I stay.
For two days, I barely leave the cabin. How could I leave when I almost lost my mate and had the biggest scare of my life? I haven’t been able to keep her out of my sight, and my heart hurts to see her in the condition she’s in. She’s never been this quiet and is like a shell of her former self.
I hate what they did to her, but all I can do now is be there for her through her recovery. She briefly told me about what happened, how she was captured by the humans, and that there was a demon in the cave with them. I didn’t encounter that demon, but I would have ripped it to shreds if I did.
As Annika looks at me as if she’s searching for strength only I can give her, I clean the cuts along her wrists where the cuffs bit into her skin. I replace the bandages across her shoulders and arms where the humans burned her with their devices. When she’s too weak to stand, I carry her.
Sometimes she wakes during the night from nightmares, her breathing frantic until she realizes where she is.
Each time I’m there, holding her, quietly reminding her that she’s safe.
Those moments change something between us.
The mate bond deepens with every passing hour, no longer just an instinctive pull but something quieter and more deliberate.
Something chosen.
We barely speak much, just remaining in each other’s presence until the mate bond makes it possible for her to fully heal. When she’s finally strong enough to remain out of bed on her own, I leave the cabin for the first time since bringing her home.
***
The council chamber is already full when I arrive.
