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I went back to the fire while Oberon fed the other piece of meat to his wife. She whispered a few words to him, but she didn’t rouse from her sleep. Her mind and body were failing her now. The years were eating at her, and it wouldn’t be long until she slipped away completely. I wondered what he’d do now, with Tessa gone. Would he say goodbye to his queen after all these years? I doubted it. He never gave up.
He was her scar too.
Oberon groaned as he climbed to his feet. I watched him through the flames as he padded over to the cave’s entrance and stared out into the mists. A smile tugged at my lips. His worst nightmare had finally come true. King Kalen Denare was inside what was left of his kingdom. And I knew Kalen well, even if he no longer trusted me—I wouldn’t trust me, either. He would rip Oberon’s head off before he’d ever let him near Tessa again.
“He’s going to come for you, you know,” I called out to him.
Oberon stiffened, but he kept his back facing me. “Good. I hope he does.”
I scoffed. “He will murder the fuck out of you.”
“I’ll be ready for him.”
“I think the smoke has gotten to your head. You’re not in fighting shape, to say the least.”
He twisted back toward me and smiled. A chill went through me. It was an expression I knew all too well. Already, he was planning something. The gears in his mind moved fast, and he had an idea. Judging by the gleam of his eye, I knew I wouldn’t like it.
If only I could reach out to Kalen and warn him.No.I wiped away that thought before Oberon could read it on my face. It might give him another idea. If he wanted Kalen to come for him, what better way than to use me to call out to him? Kal wouldn’t trust it, of course. He’d expect a trap of some sort. But still, he would come.
Oberon’s wife—QueenHannah—moaned and thrashed in her sleep. He was beside her at once, the aches and pains of his many wounds apparently forgotten. I frowned as I watched him. With a soft touch, he brushed her bright blonde hair from her sweat-stained face and whispered sweet words in her ears. This was a side of the king that very few saw. He seemed to think his people would disrespect him if he showed anything other than cruelty and vicious strength. I thought he was wrong about that, but he never listened to me.
“It’s all right, my sweet. I’m here.”
Thatwas a bit too much, though. I wrinkled my nose.
“I will sort all this out. You’ll be fine soon. I will find somewhere for you to go.” He lifted his gaze to me. I sucked in a breath. Oberon’s eyes sliced through me, his gaze as sharp as the points of his horns, and then he turned back to his catatonic wife. “Just a little bit longer.”
I shook my head and stood. The look on his face chilled me. He’d spirited me away to a hidden cave, far from everyone else, and I’d thought he’d only done it because he had nowhere else to go. But now I saw that wasn’t it at all. He’d done it to trap me here. For what, I didn’t yet know.
While he was distracted by his wife, I grabbed my pack and made for the door, but his voice cut through me before I even got halfway there.
“Stop.” The word echoed down the cavernous tunnel. “I command you to stop.”
“No.” The word ripped from my throat as my boots rooted to the ground, even while my mind screamed against it. Gritting my teeth, I tried to kick out, but my legs wouldn’t move. Tears filled my eyes. I tried again and again. Over and over and over, even knowing I was doomed.
I had to try. I would never stop trying.
My entire face burned. The hatred and fear flamed through me like a conflagration. I would get out of here. I would run away from him.
One day, I would be free from his eternal torment.
Oberon stepped up beside me and hissed into my ear. His lavender-scented breath made me gag. “What do you think you’re doing, Morgan?”
“Leaving,” I moaned. “I got you out of that burning city. You and your wife. And now it’s time for me to go.”
He chuckled, and it rumbled in his broad chest. “No. You are mine.”
Deep, aching tears spilled from my eyes. It had been a long time since he’d made me cry, butdamn him. He had a desperate look on his face, and he’d do anything to save his wife. If I did not get out of here, I did not know what he would make me do.
Fisting my hands, I tried taking another step. My boot pulled free of the invisible roots, and my breath caught. I took off at a run.
My vision blurred as I raced for the safety of the mists. If I could just put some distance between us, get far enough away that I couldn’t hear his commands. He wouldn’t be able to control me anymore. He couldn’t stop me then.
The moon speared the darkness, so bright and brilliant that it even cut through the dense fog. Just a few more steps. I hated the mists just as much as anyone else, but at least out there I’d be free.
“I command you to stay.” Oberon called out after me, almost lazily.
My body shuddered to a stop so violently that I slammed into the rocky ground. Pain lanced through me. I looked back over my shoulder and hissed.
