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Mia flinches, but that's the only reaction she shows as it scars her for life. Internally, I scream in pain for her, knowing that her fate has just been sealed.
That's it.
It’s done.
She's his.
30
Mia
Applause rings out around us as Cade slides his hand to the small of my back and presents me to the Electi and Quinctus elders.
The fresh brand over my heart is nothing more than a faint sting. But I know its effects will live on long after tonight.
“And now for the binding,” Phillip Cargill says, coming around to us. He lays my hand on top of Cade’s and wraps them together with a length of fine silk emblazoned with the Quinctus crest.
“Tonight marks the start of your new life together. A toast to new beginnings.” He hands us each a champagne flute. I hesitate, and Cade smirks.
“Trust me, you’ll want to drink it.” There’s a threat laced in his words that shoots fear down my spine.
I pretend to take a sip and swallow. I’ll probably regret it later, when I’m lucid for everything Cade has planned, but I want to be of clear mind.
I want to remember every single thing that happens.
“To Cade and Mia. Ubi concordia, ibi victoria.”
The small crowd repeats Phillip’s words, and I fight the urge to laugh bitterly at their twisted words. Where there is unity, there is victory. What the hell is wrong with them?
I catch Bexley’s eye, and the look of devastation is like a knife to my heart. But we both knew it might come to this.
“The car is waiting,” Phillip confirms, unbinding our hands as if it’s the most normal thing to send a young, innocent girl off with a monster.
Cade shakes hands with each member of Quinctus, a smug expression plastered on his face. My father approaches me and pulls me into a hug. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, and I frown. “I had hoped… just know that I never wanted this for you, Mia. But this place… these people…”
“Mia, it is time,” Phillip says, and my father releases me and glances away, as if he can’t bear to watch me leave with Cade.
I want to demand answers, to demand he tell me what he means, but Cade loops his arm around my waist and gently guides me away, perhaps more gently than he has ever touched me before.
But I know it’s all part of his plan to make me lower my defenses before he strikes.
“It’s almost time,” he whispers, making me shudder with repulsion.
I feel the weight of Bexley’s stare, the desperation in his eyes as they follow me and Cade out of the chamber.
“Tonight, you’re mine,” Cade snarls against my hair. “Tonight, Mia, I finally get to take what’s owed.”
The ride back to the Electi house drags on. Cade’s leg is pressed against mine, his hand gripping my knee.
A shiver runs through me, and Cade chuckles. “Nervous, love?”
Nervous doesn’t even begin to cover it, but I peer up at him, steeling my expression. It only makes him laugh harder.
“You should be,” he says around a dark smile, loving every minute of this. “I have waited a long time for this. For a second there, I thought they might step in and ruin everything.”
“What do you mean?”
He regards me for a second, dragging a finger over my lips and down the valley of my breasts. “So much to learn about this world, Mia. They think they can control me. They think they can rein me in and do their bidding.” He lowers his mouth to the corner of mine and smirks. “They’re wrong.”
