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Even though I have to act like the villain, it still makes me want to curl into myself for letting my mate see this part of me in the flesh. It’s one thing for him to see how far gone I was in my dreams, but this is…different. Making those brief glimpses he witnessed real.
My thoughts drift to the others, hoping they portal safely here. Crossing my fingers that maybe we are drawing the crowd away so they can sneak in unnoticed. I flare my shadows high above me, making a swirling vortex to call Whiro to me. To signal my father.
“Father,” my voice grating demonically to my own ears, “I have returned.” I speak directly up to the whirling power of his call as my throat burns with a raging need for revenge.
Every muscle is tense as I wait, my lungs seizing as I hold my breath.
More ghouls line up as the air begins to pulse, his power leaking into the room. Whiro’s own shadows snake around the air, revealing his body a heartbeat later. The obsidian skin that has been creeping up his arms has now reached his shoulders. Black veins webbing over his otherwise grey skin swell in a rhythmic pulse.
Those dark eyes narrow, digging past skin and bone to search deep into my soul. I don’t react, staying perfectly still, with measured breaths and unblinking eyes that never sway from him. His eyes dip to Draven on his knees behind me, cocking his head slowly to the side.
“Seems you’ve done well, my daughter.” The compliment feels like acid being poured into my ears. “And in a timely manner.”
He steps closer and stares down at me, causing my head to tilt back. A way for him to assert dominance and show me my place. A glint of mischief creases his eyes, and if I wasn’t so trained on him, I would have missed it. “But you must understand my reluctance of you delivering me your prince without a piece of hair on his head harmed.”
Crushing my molars together to stop myself from widening my eyes and showing fear. “That wasn’t part of the order.” I force my voice low, trying my best to keep it sounding strong and steady.
He shrugs. “Now, it is.”
Blood rushes to my head from my heaving breaths. But then, a sudden flutter brushes in my shadows, the ones I left behind for the others. Alerting me that Cora, Fynn, and Kye have arrived, and a silent sigh of relief has me inhaling deeply.
Whiro’s footfalls tap tauntingly around me as he circles us, his power scraping over my skin and snaking around my neck in a threat before falling away. When he’s before me again, he snaps his fingers, summoning a ghoul to scurry up to him and deliver a dagger.
He takes hold of it, twisting it up in the air to let the light glimmer off the blade before offering it out to me. “Stab him.”
Two words.
That’s all it takes for my worst nightmare to come alive. For my heart to stop and sink.
Staring at my reflection through the blade, it twists my features into someone I don’t recognize. The hands that hang down at my waist tremble, so I fist them to hide it. To demand them to stop. I let my nails dig into the palm of my glove, wishing for the sting that will give me some reprieve.
Every ounce of fear comes surging forward, my eyes burning with unshed tears as I force them back. Whiro notices, never taking his eyes off me. But it’s the way his gaze hardens, becoming colder, that has me questioning everything. My lungs refuse to inflate, feeling myself suffocating from within. I want to scream, yell, slam my fists into the ground until the mountain is nothing but dust. Anything to fight back against this.
Draven’s silent behind me, but he must sense my panic because there’s a gentle nudge in the bond. It has me taking the glove off my right hand to reach up to take the dagger. My fingers curl around the hilt until my entire arm shakes. The weapon weighs heavily as if it holds a million deaths.
I take a shaky breath in, slowly turning to face the one I love who sits proudly on his knees. His back is straight and his crystal eyes are already on me, full of so much peace. I don’t see a glimpse of fear, only a hint of sadness that shows from the small crease in his brows and the subtle shift in the bond. It’s almost as if he’s known and prepared for this.
I try to convey everything I feel for him in my eyes. Letting every ounce of emotion pour through the bond. Of how I love him desperately, and that it should be me in front of the blade, not at the hilt. My knuckles turn white as my grip tightens and I–I can’t.
This is too much.
I won’t survive this.
My spiraling thoughts freeze when a cluster of movement disrupts my shadows where Cora, Kye, and Fynn were following. I strain my energy, hoping to sense what’s happening.
The clicking of Whiro’s tongue makes my blood freeze. “Something wrong?”
My eyes dart to his, but I bite my tongue.
His displeasure is obvious, but then he rumbles a low, vexing chuckle. “Seems like you are hesitant, but I’m feeling…generous. I suppose I can give you a choice.”
His words are like nails digging beneath my skin. I go to respond, but the words get caught in my throat when a scream pierces the air.
“Let me go!”
No.
This time, I can’t hide the pure terror widening my eyes, or the racing pulse jumping in my neck. Not when Cora’s grunts echo down the steps, until they become muffled. Only a heartbeat later does a group of ghouls drag Kye, Fynn, and Cora roughly down the stairs before throwing them on their knees.
