Page 98 of Her Orc Protector

We were alone now, enclosed in this small, elegant prison. His eyes gleamed in the dimness, watching me.

"You're very quiet," he observed. "Not like you at all. The old Isolde would have a thousand questions."

I kept my face blank, hoping he'd think it was the Seal's influence. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"Riverbend, to start," he replied easily. "Then perhaps Elarion, once things settle down. Once people forget this... unfortunate episode."

I nodded slowly. "What about the Council? They had you in custody."

His smile turned sharp, predatory. "They never meant to keep me. Not really. Even the Council is vulnerable to truth when spoken with power." He tapped the silver bracer on his wrist. "The Seal helps them see reason."

So the Council had released him. Or rather, he'd used the Seal to compel them. How many others had he manipulated on his way out of Everwood? How many minds had he twisted?

"The Seal," I echoed, allowing a hint of curiosity into my voice. Perhaps he'd reveal more if he thought I was still under its influence. "They took it from you."

"They tried." His smile widened. "But it was always mine. It just needed reminding."

Gavriel settled back against the velvet seat, crossing one leg over the other. The picture of relaxation, of control.

"It's a remarkable artifact," he continued. "Ancient. Powerful. Few truly understand its capabilities."

"Did you use it on me?" I asked even though I knew the answer. "Before, when we were married?"

His expression softened in a way that might have seemed kind to anyone who didn't know him. "Only when necessary. Only when you were being... difficult. Toward the end, when you began having those hysterical episodes about me controlling you." He sighed, regretful. "I had no choice. You were becoming a liability."

I stared at him, struggling to keep my rage hidden. He'd gaslighted me for years, making me question my own perceptions, my own sanity. And all along, he'd been using the Seal to reinforce those doubts.

"And now?" I asked, gesturing vaguely to indicate my current compliance.

"Now you're seeing clearly again," he said, satisfaction evident in his voice. "Though I admit, it was challenging. That ritual you performed with the orc." His lip curled. "It created an interference. A magical barrier of sorts."

My heart kicked once, hard.

"But I found a way through," he continued, his tone triumphant. "During the Council hearing. You were both there, standing side by side like fools in love." He chuckled. "That's all the Seal needed. Proximity. Emotion. A single crack—and I slipped between you."

A single crack.

I thought back to that day in the chamber—the weight of the words I'd spoken, the pressure of so many eyes watching, the way Uldrek had held himself tense beside me. We’d been close. Vulnerable. Open.

And in that opening, Gavriel had struck. Not with force, but with poison. A whisper. A doubt. Just enough to cloud what had been clear.

He didn’t break the bond.

He corrupted it. Twisted it until it dimmed under the weight of what he made us believe.

My fingers drifted to my collarbone, to the mark that had felt so silent these past days. Just skin, I had thought. Just memory.

But now—beneath the numbness and doubt—I felt it.

A pulse. Faint, but real.

It had never left me. Uldrek had never left me. We’d just been drowned under everything Gavriel had made us fear.

It wasn’t broken.

It was waiting.

And maybe it was protecting me even now.