Page 31

Instantly, the magic of their bargain burned in Elias’ chest.

The sorcerer’s eyes glowed a bright scarlet as his erox powers alighted.

As the creator of erox, Magnus could feed on anyone he pleased. No one, not even erox, could deny him once he chose to use his magic. And as Magnus’ erox magic swirled to the surface, demanding Elias’ remaining drops of essence, it was all he could do to obey him. To let him summon it.

To spill his seed for him again.

Desire pooled in Elias’ core, and his body grew pliant as he awaited what came next.

His cock hardened instantly. The pleasure was so sharp, so sudden, it was painful. Tears streamed down his cheeks even as he moaned against his wishes.

He filled his mind’s eye with the picture of Arabella as he felt Magnus’ lips press to his.

Although Elias lifted his chin in defiance, his lips slipped open as Magnus’ tongue pressed into his mouth.

Then Elias was coming.

Magnus didn’t bother to touch Elias as stinging desire bolted through his veins, loosening the essence in his core. It was the last of what he’d taken from Arabella before he’d left the castle.

His mate’s essence slipped up Elias’ throat and pooled between their lips before Magnus pulled it into his mouth.

A sharp pang twisted Elias’ gut, and he stifled a groan as hunger burned through him.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Magnus’ scent held a woody note with lingering amber. “Give your loyalty to me, and I can give you the world.”

Seed still dripping onto the ground, Elias kept his mouth firmly shut, not bothering to pull against his restraints. This song and dance had happened too many times, and he knew fighting it was pointless.

Reaching up, Magnus swiped the tears from Elias’ cheeks away with a thumb. The gesture made Elias’ stomach turn. And he watched in disgust as the sorcerer licked his tears from his finger. As he did, his eyes skirted down to Elias’ still-hard cock and then further down to the floor where he’d spilled his seed.

The sorcerer turned from him, walking around the tent as though deep in thought.

“Perhaps I’ll share your enchantress when I find her,” Magnus said.

A sudden fire filled Elias’ veins, and he pulled at the restraints, but his ankles and wrists were secured in place.

“Because Iwillfind her,” Magnus continued, ignoring as Elias’ nostrils flared and a growl bubbled up his throat. With a flick of deft fingers, Magnus removed a blade from his robes. The knife was plain and unremarkable with a simple handle and steel blade.

Fear squeezed Elias’ throat at the sight of his syphen.

“Can you explain the presence of fae at your castle?” Magnus asked, still not using the syphen’s power on Elias.

But why?

Could Elias wait until Magnus forced the truth out of him? To get Arabella’s memories back, he’d entered into a magical bargain with the sorcerer. Would the bargain’s magic permit him to withhold information? Thus far, it appeared it was limited to compliance with a direct command—not an unspoken one.

“I can’t be certain without seeing them, but…” Elias began. “There are many winged fae in the Twilight Court.”

It was true.

While several of the fae courts had winged fae, the court with the most winged fae was the Twilight Court.

“We attended the queen’s ball not long ago,” Elias continued, careful to avoid mention of Hadeon and his bargain with Arabella. “It’s possible someone from court came to seek an audience.”

Everything inside of Elias screamed to rip Hadeon apart for daring to leverage a favor over his mate. But if the prince had helped Arabella escape the forest, then Elias wasn’t about to reveal Hadeon’s ties to his mate. Not if doing so could potentially lead Magnus to Hadeon—and wherever he’d taken Arabella.

At least, not until Elias was forced to reveal the truth.

Nodding, Magnus turned from Elias, taking several steps away from him. “How very interesting.” Seeming to come to a decision, Magnus started toward the tent’s exit.