Page 62

Cadence

“You want me to betray him?” I whispered, aware that everyone around us was hanging on to our every word.

“I need you to do what is necessary,” my father corrected. “He is not your ally, Cadence. Nor is he your protector, your lover, or your friend. He’s the enemy.”

“He is my mate, and if you kill him, you will be condemning me to a fate worse than death.”

My father was already living the fate I described, and yet, he’d condemn me to suffer the same agony.

Anger flared in my father’s brown eyes, and I fought the urge to flee. There was something dangerous lurking behind his calm demeanor and I was in no hurry to discover what it was.

“He is the reason my mate, your mother, is dead.”

I reeled back from the impact of his words. My father’s shoulders trembled violently. It was taking considerable effort for him to contain his raging emotions, and the entire camp seemed to notice. Silence enveloped the clearing as though everyone was too afraid to even breathe.

“What are you saying?” I asked, fearing I already knew the answer.

“The prince didn’t just lead the charge against us when we attacked the palace.”

I inhaled sharply, preparing myself for the devastating blow he was about to deliver.

“He killed your mother with his own hands.”

My breath caught in my throat, and my world darkened. The sounds of the camp became muted, giving way to my thundering heart. I had always blamed Ryker for my parents’ deaths, hated him for it even. I knew he led the charge against the Wraith Borne. But knowing he took the life of the one who loved me most was a torment all its own.

Disbelief turned to rage in the blink of an eye, and I watched as an eerie grin spread across my father’s face.

“Now you understand, Daughter.”

My father rose to his feet, towering above me, but I couldn’t meet his gaze. The weight of Ryker’s betrayal was slowly suffocating me, and I didn’t know if I wanted to survive it.

“What is it you expect me to do? I am only one person.”

“You’re not just one person, you are my daughter. And you’re powerful. More so than you realize. You are Wraith Borne, Cadence. You’re a weapon he can’t control, and he likely fears you more than he lets on. Use that against him.”

I didn’t feel powerful.

I felt trapped.

There were very few things that frightened Ryker, and I doubted I was one of them. I couldn’t voice those concerns, however. The wild look in my father’s eyes told me I had to tread carefully or risk his ire.

“It’s not that simple,” I murmured as I gnawed on my bottom lip.

My father crouched before me, his hand reaching out as he tugged my lip from between my teeth.

“Revolutions never are,” he whispered, reminding me of the man who once read me bedtime stories.

The shift in his demeanor was startling, standing in sharp contrast to the man he’d been moments ago.

“She’s carrying his heir,” Eleanor interjected as she watched us from across the fire.

The camp fell silent, then erupted in a flurry of voices.

“If that’s true, then she can’t be trusted,” one man called. “I say we kill her now and take our chances against the prince.”

“She’s already chosen a side,” another man added.

“If we kill his mate and his heir, we will either cripple him or give him the strength he needs to end us once and for all,” an older woman reasoned.

“Enough!” my father bellowed, and all conversation fell away.

His eyes darkened with anger, and I could see his thoughts churning as he tried to decide how best to use this new information. Then he returned his gaze to mine, and something akin to insatiable greed stared back at me.

“Is that true?” he asked, his voice a low rumble.

I nodded, unable to form words past the dread clogging my throat.

A slow grin spread across my father’s face, and the sight had every instinct inside me screaming at me to run.

“Then the timing is perfect.”

My nose crinkled with confusion, not understanding where his thoughts had traveled.

“Why?” I asked, suspicion lacing my tone.

“Once we remove the royal family, you will have a claim to the Unseelie throne.”

His eyes lowered to my flat stomach, and unfettered ambition simmered in his chocolate depths as he stared at me. My hand darted forward protectively as if it could shield my unborn child from his hungry gaze.

“You will rule as Regent until your child comes of age.”

My father stood, extending his hand to me. “And I will stand at your side,” he said as he pulled me to my feet.

“Return to the Prince,” my father ordered, his voice hard and unwavering. “Earn his trust, dig deeper into his world, and when the time is right, you will launch our strike from the inside.”

The way he commanded me, as though I were merely a puppet, left me seething. Despite my better judgment, I straightened my spine as I glared at him in defiance.

“And if I refuse?” I whispered so that no one else could hear.

My father stiffened, a dangerous edge creeping into his expression.

“Then I’ll be forced to consider you a liability,” he whispered back, glancing around the camp pointedly.

That look told me everything I needed to know. I was balancing on a tightrope, and one wrong move would seal my fate.

My father leaned in closer, “And Cadence, liabilities do not survive long in my world.”

A whole body shiver tore through me as the threat hung heavy in the air between us.

Sorrow washed over me anew as I realized my father really was dead. The man before me was a stranger, a mere shadow of the one I had lost.

I gave a curt nod, and my father’s grin returned.

“Excellent,” he said as he rubbed his hands together. “Now sleep, Daughter. You will need it for what comes tomorrow.”

I lifted my chin and followed after him. Whatever came next, the only person I could rely on was myself.

Ryker wanted to own me, and my father intended to use me.

I would do as my father asked. I’d find out Ryker’s secrets, but I wouldn’t hand them over to him blindly.

I’d do whatever needed to be done to protect myself and the life of my child.