Page 72 of Glutton for Punishment

His hand closes around mine, firm enough to pull me back and anchor me before I can say something worse. Or do something worse.

I don’t fight him.

“Have a safe drive…” Kael calls after us, almost sing-song.

Chapter 21

Arwen

The drive back to Plethora is silent. I can barely contain my rage, and I know Maddox can feel it through the bond.

Kael. What a piece of shit.

The city blurs past again, ruin bleeding back into something polished. We pull up in front of a building that looks like it belongs in a different world. Ornate. Jewel-toned glass catches the light, throwing colors across the pavement in fractured patterns. Music pulses from somewhere inside.

A group spills down the sidewalk in front of us—laughing, dressed in sequins and tailored suits, arms slung around each other as they shout-sing lyrics I don’t recognize.

I watch them… Do they know? What their “king” does?

Do they care?

Inside, the lobby is just as excessive as the outside—marble floors, gold accents, chandeliers dripping light from above.

All I can picture is that old man’s face. By the time we step into the hotel hallway, the noise dulls.

Maddox grabs my hand, and I go to pull away. I failed him. I lost my control, showed my cards. All the things we aren’t supposed to do.

He doesn’t let me go. Just pulls me into his warmth, and my body settles, enveloped by his distinct smell of leather and sandalwood.

“I hate I couldn’t be the hero you needed me to be back there, Arwen.”

I look up at him questioningly. He’s not mad at me?

“Things are dangerous in my siblings’ territories. And I don’t have the control right now to change that,” he continues.

“Maddox, I don’t expect you to be a knight in shining armor everywhere we go. There are things neither of us can control. But I let my temper get the best of me. I ruined our chances of an alliance…”

“He wasn’t going to ally with us, Arwen,” he interrupts.

I blink, looking up at him. “What?”

“I could tell the moment we walked in,” he says with certainty in his voice. “Kael can act like he doesn’t care—like it’s all just entertainment and liquor and blood—but when it comes to his territory, his power always comes first.”

His expression hardens.

“His attitude tonight? That wasn’t indifference. It was confidence. If there were actual conversations to be had, he would have put that first.”

Something sinks in my chest. It was all for nothing. A waste of time. An ally off the table.

“He’s already made his choice,” Maddox finishes. “Amaya and Riven already got to him.”

I let out a sharp breath. “Then why did we stay?”

“Because we couldn’t show our hand. Couldn’t show we recognized his decision or that it bothered us. He needs to think we believe we have a chance at winning him over.”

Of course. And I just left everything on the table for show.

“I’m sorry, Arwen.”