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I was about to beg him—Just let me go and I won’t say a word—when the words died on my lips. Hyto was beyond reason. He wouldn’t listen to me. He hated me. And I didn’t beg. My sisters in danger? My friends’ lives on the line? I’d be groveling on the floor. But I would never grovel for my own life.
“Nothing to say? No protestations? No begging for your life?” He looked at me quizzically, then let out a snort. “Well, no matter. But I can’t go without leaving a calling card. Asheré—prepare the girl.” He threw me to the ground and I stumbled.
Asheré grabbed me by my arms and I opened my mouth to scream again, but with a single word from the monk, my voice fell into silence and I could no longer speak. I struggled but another word from him and I couldn’t move, standing still as night.
We stood there, watching Hyto as he moved to the side. I felt like I was in a dream—as frozen as one of the icicles on the house. Images of my sisters flashed through my mind—they would carry on, but I would miss them so much.
And Smoky, Trillian . . . Morio . . . who would find my remains? I prayed it wouldn’t be one of them—or my sisters. Let it be someone who wouldn’t hurt as bad. My cousin . . . Chase . . . anybody but my family.
Would they mourn for me? I thought of Maggie and tears began to roll down my cheeks. And Iris—at least I knew she would be happy now. Even in the midst of this war, she would have a glimmer of hope.
My thoughts leaped to my father. Would he regret cutting me off? Would he see my soul statue shatter? Would he hold the remains in his hands, wondering what had happened to his little girl? Or would he sweep them away, his heart still as hardened as it had become?
Moon Mother, I thought, please, let my end be easy. Let me go quickly. Let me wander the night with your Hunt, let me find my way to the Land of the Silver Falls and reunite with my mother.
And then Hyto caught my attention. He focused on one tree near the beginning of the trail and, with a loud roar that echoed from deep within his throat, he let forth a stream of flame from his mouth, setting one side of the fir on fire. As it lit up the night, he ripped my cape off my shoulders and tossed it on the ground near the tree.
What the hell? He could just leave my charred body here as a message to Smoky. That would do more than the cape.
Hyto caught the question in my eyes. A deep rumble echoed from his gut. His laugh was like a sledgehammer.
“A calling card, my dear. Simply a calling card. Because you are only half of the equation. I want my son to know I own you. I want to crush him with the knowledge that you belong to me now.”
No . . . no . . . As I realized what Hyto was saying, I frantically tried to move, tried to break the spell, but I couldn’t budge.
He leaned down to stare me in the eyes. “Remember? I promised you when we first met, Anything my son owns is mine, to use or abuse as I see fit. When Iampaatar comes to my dreyerie to rescue you, I will have shattered you so far, so hard, that there will be only little shards of your life left for him to pick up. And then, and only then, will I destroy him.”
I began to shut my mind down as I realized that Hyto really didn’t mean to kill me. Not yet. No, he meant to take me and break me and tear me to shreds. As the panic started to build, he gathered me in his arms and we began to turn, slowly at first, then faster and faster until the world became a blur and I lost consciousness.
>Smoky let out a harsh cry. “I cannot stand that he touched you! That he violated not only your body but your mind!”
“He didn’t rape me! I offered myself to him—”
“To get him out of your mind. Both attacks were violations—and in no way do I believe that he couldn’t stop himself. He’s probably been sniffing after your skirts since the beginning.”
Smoky circled me, glaring.
“You’re my wife—Trillian’s wife. Morio’s wife. I share you with them because it is what it is. But I refuse to share you with anyone else. I won’t share you with some filthy stinking demon who worms his way into your magic and your mind. You are a priestess! He should have had respect for you. How can you defend him?”
Before I thought of what I was doing, I reached out to slap him across the face. A strand of his hair caught my wrist and held it taut. Smoky pulled me to him.
“You’re my wife. No one gets away with harming you. No one. Do you understand?” His voice was thick, and he reeked of musk and anger. “You belong to me. We are paired. Mated. I should carry you off to a dreyerie. I should keep you as a queen.”
I could feel the energy of his dragon self rising around him. The thought that he might actually go through with it this time—he might carry me off along with Trillian and Morio—terrified me. Reasoning with men was bad enough, with all the testosterone, but Smoky was, beneath the gorgeous exterior, all dragon. And a thousand times more stubborn.
“Smoky. I love you. Please, believe me, I love you. But Vanzir . . . he got the short end of the stick. I’m okay. He’s not. He has already been punished by my goddess. She did something far worse to him than kill him. She stripped him of his very nature.”
Smoky trembled, nuzzling my neck. He pressed his lips to mine, savagely kissing me. And then he slowly put me down. When he spoke again, his voice was barely contained. “Go. Give me time. I can’t think straight. If you stay here, I will find him and kill him. Once you are out of the way, I’ll go to my barrow for the night. I can’t look at you right now or all I want to do is hunt down the demon dog and destroy him.”
I stumbled away from him, still afraid but clinging to the ray of hope he offered. Trillian didn’t touch me as I walked by, but he whispered, “I’ll try to talk to him. Best if you clear out for an hour or so.”
“Morio—?”
“He’ll be okay. Just go, my sweet.” And as I hurried down the stairs, angry and afraid and in tears, Trillian turned to Smoky.
The minute I got downstairs, I hurried into the kitchen. “Did Vanzir get out of here?”
Delilah nodded, her eyes wide. Shade looked like he was ready to tackle something. I glanced at my sister, then her lover, shaking my head.
