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His voice muted, he whispered, “Can you ever forgive me, my love? Can you ever, ever forgive me?”
Chapter 15
“Smoky, oh my Smoky!” And like that, I slid down to the floor, pressing against him, covering his face with kisses as his hair gently wound around me. For a moment, I flinched, memories of Hyto’s cruel strands surging forth. But then I forced myself to relax as Smoky gently embraced me, pulling me to him. He covered my forehead with kisses, pressed his lips against the welts running across my cheeks, whispered my name against my mouth. Tears streamed down his face out of those glacial eyes, as he gathered me by the shoulders and held me back, drinking me in.
“Camille, my love, my only love. What did my father do to you? I wasn’t there to protect you—how can you ever forgive me? How can I even ask you to forgive me?” And then he slowly stopped, his gaze fixating on the collar. “No . . . no . . . he did not . . .”
Jumping up, he stumbled back. “I will destroy him. I will carve him to shreds. I will wingstrap him until he screams for mercy, and then I’ll tighten the screws! Hyto will die, painfully, in agony.” He stood there, panting, and a musky, possessive odor rose off him like an aura made of ice. He was trembling, and I could sense the energy he was using to repress his rage.
The pain of his retreat was worse than anything Hyto had inflicted on me. I slowly forced my way to my feet and stood, staring at him. “Love, would you turn away from me because of what your father did to me?”
Smoky stopped, frowned, and then understanding crossed his face. “Oh my sweet. Oh, my love. I am not turning away from you—no, never think that.” And he opened his arms. “I’m just so angry.”
Painfully, I went to him, bit my lip as he enfolded me in his embrace, pressing against the bruises. I didn’t have a clue how dragon society felt about abused women, but I was about to find out.
“You have to know . . . I have to tell you . . . and Trillian . . . what he did to me. And I have to get this collar off.” I tugged on it. “I hate it—I hate the feel of it. I hate knowing he’s still got hold of me.”
Smoky examined it. “Damn him. He’s used a cunning spell. I can’t break this, but . . . maybe . . . I know someone who might be able to.” And then he glanced down as my robe slipped off my shoulders. “Camille, what did he do to you?”
I stepped back and shrugged the sleeves up. “I’ll tell you, but I need you to promise me you’ll remain calm. I can’t handle any more stress right now. I really can’t. I feel like I’m walking a tightrope as it is. I can handle what happened to me, but only with your support.”
Trillian motioned to Smoky, patting the seat next to him. “Dude, sit down.”
Trillian would get it—during the civil war in my home city-state, he’d had been captured and raped by soldiers from the other side. He’d managed to both escape and eviscerate them. But his attackers had been Fae—mine, a dragon.
As Smoky headed for the sofa, the door to the bedroom opened and Hanna peeked out. She took one look at him and screamed, dropping to the ground and covering her head.
I rushed forward, cursing every painful step of the way. “It’s okay—it’s okay—it’s not Hyto.” Falling to my knees at her side, I gathered her in my arms. “Smoky . . . it’s Smoky—Hyto’s son. My husband. He won’t hurt you.”
As we rocked together on the ground, Smoky let out an impassioned groan, his expression racked in guilt.
“My father . . . that my father has caused such terror.”
“Hyto captured Hanna and her son. He killed her husband and locked her boy up in a box for five years.” I glanced up at him. “Over that time, Hyto killed at least two dozen women. Hanna had to clean up afterward . . . he forced her to bathe them for him and then take them to their deaths on the threat of torturing her son.”
Smoky motioned for me to stand. “Tell us now. Tell me what he did to you. Show me what my father did to you.” His gaze was deadly serious.
Delilah moved to help Hanna over to a chair as I slowly stood. Swallowing my shame, I dropped the robe in the middle of the floor, then slid the nightgown off my shoulders.
As it fell to the floor, Smoky and Trillian stared at me. I knew they were seeing the marks on my stomach, between my thighs—brilliant purples and black, deeply bruised, the skin raw and abraded. Slowly, I turned around, moving my hair to expose the long weals embedded deeply across my skin and the boot prints that had slammed into my side when he kicked me.
While my back was turned, while I was staring at the wall, I said, “Hyto raped me . . . as painfully as he could, wherever he could find an opening. He meant for it to hurt. He beat me, used me for furniture, forced me to blow him . . . had me on the floor like a worm, groveling, calling him Master. And he collared me like a dog.”
I rattled his sins off like a grocery list. Keeping myself aloof from what had happened helped me cope with the memories that flashed through my mind like a revolving door. As I turned back to face them, I added, “Hyto taught me what it means to fear. I want him dead.”
Meeting their gazes, I forced myself to stand strong, even as a flood of emotions rushed through me. Delilah stared at me, tears streaking down her face, but I realized I couldn’t cry anymore. I’d cried myself out. Now I just felt a core of white-hot rage beginning to build.
“I want him dead. And I want it to hurt. I want him to hurt as much as he hurt me. As he hurt Hanna. As he hurt his other victims.”
Trillian slipped over to my left side, Smoky to my right. They did not touch me, but knelt at my side, each taking one of my hands.
“Oh, love, we will see to it,” Trillian whispered. “I vow to you, I will not rest until your attacker is dead.”
Smoky simply nodded. “Trillian’s correct,” he said abruptly. “I give you my word, my love. My father will pay for his sins with his life, and it will not be an easy out for him.”
“We’d better get to planning then, because we also have to rescue Chase. I will not allow him wander alone on the astral while I can help. I refuse to let Hyto stop me from doing what I need to do. And if what you say is true, Hyto will be tracking me by this collar. I want it off. If it takes ripping his still-beating heart out in my hands to do so, then that’s what I will do.”
And my husbands—bless them—leaned in and kissed the palms of my hands gently. And I knew they would do everything in their power to see our enemy destroyed.
