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“Why will you not let me go?” I asked, meeting his eyes. “What else can you possibly hope to achieve by keeping me prisoner here? Do you enjoy seeing me like this?”

“Certainly not, Elara.”

Fuck I hated it when he said my name. I squeezed my eyes shut, sucking in another breath. “Then why?”

Theron’s mouth twitched, and he crossed his arms over his chest. His golden wings looked silver in this light, shimmering behind him as they rustled in the night air. “The powers of the Sun throne were never explained to you, were they?”

“The what?” I asked, shaking my head. “The powers of the Sun throne? There are no powers, Sire. It is merely a title.”

Theron shook his head, chuckling. “Your father really is the most egregious monster.”

“My father?”

“Did you ever wonder why your father was so angry about not having a male heir?” Theron asked, turning to shift his gaze onto the gardens sprawling beneath us. “You were the first female heir to be born in generations, and he lamented your birth to every other ruler in this land, for years.”

I tried not to acknowledge the sting of his words. My father had raged at my mother plenty of times when I was growing up, berating her for her failure to provide him with a son.

“Lots of kings want a son,” I replied, “that’s nothing unusual.”

“Certainly not,” Theron said, “but in your case the disappointment stretches even further. Because once you marry, your powers will be bestowed upon you, and your betrothed, of course. And your father was very adamant who he did not want this power to be passed on to.”

My head was spinning. I opened my mouth to speak, to seek more explanation, but then the night erupted into flame as a dragon flew overhead. Flames licked into the inky sky, roaring above us.

Theron laughed out loud. “And there goes Caedmon,” he said, “back to his barren wastelands to lick his wounds after being bested by a Fae Princess.”

I had never seen a dragon before, and I watched with grim fascination as the enormous scaled creature disappeared into the night.

Suddenly, Theron had taken me into his arms, and I gasped as he brought his mouth down on mine. I was so shocked for a moment that I did not even fight, merely froze as he kissed me. With a jolt, I pushed my hands against his chest, and his release of me was just as sudden, sending me stumbling backwards.

“You continue to fight me then?” He asked. It was a challenge. His eyes were narrowed as he stepped closer to me, those shimmering silver-black wings spread wide behind him,

“I will never stop fighting you,” I replied. “I was promised my freedom in exchange for these fucking trials, and now you seem determined to go back on your word.”

“You know, Elara, I thought you would have been smarter than this,” he said, his voice dropping low. “I think you underestimate my feelings for you.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Your feelings? You continue to tell me you’re not a monster, and yet you seem determined to prove otherwise. This is your courtship, is it? Nearly killing me at your pleasure?”

He seized my arms, his fingers clawing painfully into my skin. “Listen to me now,” he said, his teeth glinting in the moonlight, “this can all end at your word. You can save anyone else from suffering, from dying, if you agree to be mine now. If you continue to refuse, I will not be responsible for what happens next.”

“You’re never going to let me go, are you?” I spat back at him. “You never intended to. This was always your plan. Well then hear this - nothing you do could ever motivate me to marry you. I would rather crawl across broken glass into the gates of Nav than share your bed.”

“Then that can be arranged.” He grasped my chin roughly, his face almost right up against mine. “If it is further anguish you seek, then that can be provided. But do not say I did not warn you.”

He released me abruptly and stalked back into the ballroom, and I struggled to breathe as his words sank in. I looked up at the sky, and begged someone, anyone, to help me.

But even as I sent my prayers up into the sky that still smoked with the remains of Caedmon’s flames, I knew no one was listening.

Chapter30

Rook

Ilay naked on the bed, unmoving as the lady that had paid Theron for my time hurriedly pulled on her clothes. I wanted to tear my skin off. I was covered in her scent and I felt positively filthy. She ran a hand through her hair, arranging it back into place as she cast a lecherous glance over me.

“Well, that was quite an experience. Worth every piece of gold.” She purred.

I stared at the ceiling. “Thank you.”

My response seemed to throw her off, and she scoffed as she pushed through the door, slamming it behind her. I clenched my eyes shut, shutting out the ornate room that had been made into nothing more than a fucking brothel. The room where I was expected to take ladies of foreign courts and fuck them. Indulge their curiosity about my body, about my abilities.