Page 200 of Sienna Rossi: Beyond Shattered Trust

I close my eyes, remembering the words Vincenzo had spoken and slowly replay each one in my mind. “Nyth’arael…” I begin before I start speaking the ancient words. The moment the first leaves my lips, the effect is immediate. The chains wrapped around Sienna shudder violently, turning from black to brilliant gold.

My chains.

Somewhere nearby, I hear Vincenzo, and for the first time since he showed up again, the calm amusement is gone from his voice.

“No. Stop!”

He knows exactly what I’m doing.

The second phrase leaves my lips, and the chains begin flickering.

Sienna lifts her head. “Destroy them,” she commands the drakaths. They snarl in response, and Vincenzo’s roar surges through the air; his power surges around him.

My heart thumps, but Sienna reaches for me through the bond, resting her forehead against mine, an expression of contentment on her face.

I hesitate as I reach the final words.

Say them, she encourages.

I close my eyes as I speak them, the weight settling heavily on my chest. I feel the link form, a connection I can’t explain.

Ancient.

Powerful.

Terrifying.

Sienna looks at me, and through the bond, I feel everything she isn’t saying.

Her fear.

Her trust.

Her love.

The certainty that has carried her through every impossible moment we’ve faced together.

Sienna smiles as our eyes meet. “I’m choosing you,” she whispers, and I feel it. Something tightens inside of me, and the chains begin to glow, but it’s the serenity I feel from Sienna that fades everything out.

Her words ripple through the air, echoing in my mind.

I’m choosing you.

The chains glow brighter before a surge of power explodes through us and spreads across the battlefield, forcing everyone backwards as golden light and shadows erupt around Sienna in a storm powerful enough to drown out even the fighting.

When the energy finally settles, the chains are gone; what remains is a single strand of power stretching between us, woven from lightning and shadow, existing somewhere between magic, soul and promise.

One freely chosen.

“Thank you,” she whispers, flinging her arms around my neck. I hold her close, my heart still racing as I stand, drawing her to her feet, my barrier now lowering slowly.

Then we turn to Vincenzo, who is cutting down drakaths, his eyes burning with an emotion I can’t name, not entirely rage…

I spare Sienna a look, and she smiles as if she hadn’t just bound herself to me.

“Power can be taken, control can be forced, but trust? Trust must be given. And I trust you, Jayce.” Her words hold no doubt, and I frown, not in anger but in reluctant understanding.

Yet there is no denying the truth of what Sienna has done.