Page 163

“She’ll never trust you.”

“No?” He leaned forward. “Funny you should suggest such a thing, considering I was the only one who could pull her out of her room. She’s been in there for two months and the poor thing was withering away. I couldn’t have that, of course.”

Rion froze. His stomach turned upside down and panic flew through his core.

Two month? Not weeks, months.

Niall turned to him. “Something I say shock you? The poor thing even confided in me the other night. After a careful talk and some well-placed feelings on my part, she even volunteered to do the coronation. She really is quite brilliant, thank the gods. I don’t know if I could have dealt with being married to a child for the rest of my years.”

“She will never marry you.”

Niall smiled again. “Oh, she will. You see, unlike you, I’ve been alive for a very, very long time and in my position I’ve come to learn exactly how others think, especially young females. You don’t think she’ll grow lonely while she searches for you? You don’t think she’ll look for someone to lean on? And who better than the male who goes out of his way to please her at every turn? Eventually, she’ll also want to please me. Of course, a little persuasion goes a long way, too.”

“You keep your hands off her.”

Niall stood so close now that Rion could see the sharp glint in his eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you up to date on everything I do with your mate,” he spit the word. Rion’s eyes flew wide. “Oh, were you starting to believe the pseudo bond façade, too? I’m honestly a bit disappointed.”

Rion snapped his teeth and yanked at the chains overhead. Niall stepped back, eyeing the male before him as if he were a toy. “Now, let’s get on to the fun part.” He moved faster than the wind itself, then a blade sank deep into Rion’s gut.

***

Visions swam through Rion’s mind. Visions of his past, his future, things that were and things that had never been. But they were getting harder to discern, harder to predict, and he struggled to ground himself.

Images of Arianna happy with another male. Images of her angry, standing over his body with a weapon in her grasp. More images of his mother and her screaming that he was worthless and should have died at his father’s hand.

They came again and again and again along with physical pain. So much searing pain that Rion was sure he should have died by now.

Darkness floated around and through him, then he heard the familiar drip, drip, drip of something hitting stone.

He’d lost track of days and time. Of minutes or seconds or hours. Rion didn’t know up from down for a while, nor how long he’d suffered through Niall’s gruesome torture. All he knew was that he needed to stay alive for Arianna’s sake. He needed her. He needed—

“Gods, you’re stubborn.”

Rion didn’t react to the voice. He didn’t possess enough strength to even lift his head.

More images assaulted him. He felt the slap of her hand. The words that pierced his soul as she called him a monster. She didn’t want him anymore. She couldn’t rule with someone who’d committed so much destruction. The people hated him and after she discovered what he’d done a town over, she did, too.

No, that wasn’t right. He could still feel her down the bond. Her caress. The way she begged for him.

It went silent, like a light had been flipped off.

Rion struggled then and blindly grasped for it in the dark. He was frantic, ungrounded, desperate as his hands fumbled for the threads of light and the small room that guarded them. He couldn’t find it. He couldn’t see.

His heart beat wildly even as more blows slammed through him.

Drip, drip, drip. All over the stone.

The bond. Arianna. Please.

Then something snapped and it went through him like a whip cracking against his spine. Rion broke through the veil of Niall’s magic and gasped for air, yanking on his chains in anguished fury as he screamed against the severing of yet another thread.

Tears mixed with his blood and he wanted so desperately for this to end. He just wanted to see her again. To have her chase away all the horrible thoughts and dreams like she’d done for months.

He just needed her.

“You know, this would go over a lot easier if you would just let the bond go.” Niall snapped his fingers. “Let it break and everything will go back to darkness. Sure, you’ll still feel her—such is the curse on the male’s side of things—but the rejection won’t hurt as much.”

No. He didn’t want to let go. He didn’t want her to let go. Please. Please, please, please. He wanted to make her understand, but everything was so hazy. Her emotions. His. He couldn’t weed through them.