“You will release me.”
“I will do nothing of the sort. He has lied to you—left you delusional. Every promise he made is fleeting.”
“You’re lying.”
“Tell me…how did you get to be so naïve?” He released his grip on me. Pyrran pulled the arrows from my quiver and flung them into the thicket. “Don’t try me again. You’ll regret it.”
I darted. The minute I did, he tackled me to the ground.
“I can’t let you go just yet.” Pyrran hissed. “Your bond must be reversed.”
Lioran said it was irreversible, only death dissolved a bond. A bitter bile burned in my stomach.
He meant to kill me. I would die. Lioran wasn’t here to save me.
“This is not real,” I said, hoping there was truth to my words. The Grove wanted me confident so it could break me.
What if this was real and I played along like it wasn’t?
“You can keep telling yourself that.” Pyrran shook his head as he stood, his hands released from me. “Run again, and I will kill you myself.” A dagger hung at his waist.
I couldn’t outrun him, couldn’t fight him.
“Why haven’t you already?” I bit my lip.
If he wanted me dead, he could have taken my life in an instant.
“If you’re dead, you don’t get to watch it all unfold,” he scoffed.
I swallowed hard. My stomach clenched tighter. Footsteps sounded behind me.
“Aelira.” Lioran’s voice cracked. My gaze set on his—panic gripped him.
“Don’t,” King Thalorys warned, his hands held the hilt of Lioran’s sword. “This mess will be discretely handled. And you will not defy me again.”
“If you harm her, I will never do what you want,” Lioran pleaded. “We are bonded. If you wish for me to rule, she rules beside me.”
“You will sit on the throne, Lioran, but not with her. The bond will be reversed.”
“No, I will not allow it,” Lioran protested reaching for me, but he froze in his spot, gripping at his chest. King Thalorys held his hand on his son, compelling him. Lioran’s chest heaved under the strain.
As I stepped toward him, Pyrran’s hand pressed firmly against my chest. The leather armor chafed my skin under his grip. I had made the bargain. Told them where we would be.Lioran shared the news of our marriage and now they would do anything to stop us.
The visions of our future were fading faster than I could grip them. I closed my eyes, trying to recall everything I once saw, but it was lost.
Pyrran pulled the dagger out his sheath. The blade scraped at my flesh—it pricked my skin, until drops of blood ran down with it. “Would you rather we kill her, brother? It can be arranged.”
“Release her, Pyrran. Now!” Lioran screamed.
“Enough! You will bond with another, or I will kill her myself,” Thalorys warned. Beads of sweat collected at my brow. Tears streamed down my face.
“I will—if you let her go. Take her back to the divide if you must.”
My death. Cora, saw it.
No matter what he agreed to, I wouldn’t walk free.
My body trembled as my knees sank further into ash. Shades of black and grey spun around me.
