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Arianna looked at him, for the first time, as if he really was a monster.

And he was. Gods he was the worst creature to ever walk the land. He was an abomination that should have been eradicated long ago. He was foul and horrid and—

“Run.”

The word was hardly a whisper. He thought he’d misheard her, but Talon’s sharp eyes had shifted to her, a question there.

Ellie entered the room next followed by several guards. She surveyed the scene in what felt like both a second and forever.

Rion still hadn’t looked away from Arianna. Her brow had furrowed and tears still fell as she clutched her injured arm, trying to hold it still.

People were shouting. More had stormed in from behind. He could hear their voices, but not their words, as if the world had been turned off to everything around him.

Another thread snapped and Rion clutched his chest, his own eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“Arianna . . .” His voice was frail. Weak as if he hadn’t used it in months. His heart was heavy. His stomach tight.

“Seize him,” Niall’s voice thundered through the room, echoing off the walls as if projected by some form of magic.

He smelled it as the guards’ magic sprung to life. It was angry. Vengeful.

And Rion did nothing to stop it. He just kept staring at Arianna, his heart so broken he wasn’t even sure how to pick up the splintered pieces. Their bond was breaking. His soul with it.

“Run,” she whispered again and Rion felt the desperate pull in his heart. But he still couldn’t move, even as hands rushed toward him.

He was stone welded into the floor, his limbs and body useless to obey her commands.

Fear flew through her and into him, coating his tongue with its acrid taste. Then the ballroom exploded in translucent walls of blue and white.

Rion blinked, trying to process the scene. Everything was too slow and fast all at once.

Ice had spread from Arianna’s feet and he followed it with his eyes.

It stretched between her body and the doorway behind him with no one else in its path. The tall, jagged walls reached all the way to the ceiling and his breath clouded in the now frigid air.

Guards were already pounding against the glass, their blurry figures full of rage.

He locked eyes with Arianna again and somehow, through the pain, she’d steeled herself.

“I command you to run.”

Rion didn’t know how he did it. He wasn’t sure where the strength in his legs came from or how his lungs had figured out how to draw in air again, but as if in slow motion, he rose from the floor, took one last look at his mate’s beautiful, tormented face, and ran as fast as his body could carry him.

Chapter Fifty-four

Arianna

Tears stung her eyes and Arianna gritted her teeth as she watched Rion run for the door. But his steps were unsteady and his movements sluggish. She wasn’t sure what might happen if the guards caught him and she could only buy him so much time. They’d already almost broken through her ice.

Pain shot through her arm forcing Arianna to release her hold on the magic. Now more than ever she needed the strange force that had been making itself known to come forth, but the ancient creature buried in her bones was silent.

Arianna couldn’t get the words out of her head. Rion’s frantic voice from just hours ago claiming his innocence. The low growl from just moments ago when he had demanded to know her location.

He hadn’t been looking at her. It wasn’t her arm he’d broken. It wasn’t her throat he’d tried to rip out, but even knowing those things, Arianna couldn’t stop the overwhelming fear that coursed through her now.

Her heart pounded. She had never feared him, but maybe it was just the adrenaline. They could talk later, fix everything, find whoever had orchestrated this entire mess.

She’d never considered executing someone before, but right now, the idea didn’t sound unpleasant.