Page 63

Cadence

The weight of inevitability pressed down on me, and I struggled to stay upright. I wasn’t sure how Ryker would react when he found me, but I knew our reunion would be emotionally charged.

Whether that emotion was anger or relief, I couldn’t predict.

I took a steadying breath and let the sounds of nature soothe me. The crunch of dead leaves beneath my boots mixed with the shuffling and scraping of the creatures that called the forest home.

The wind twisted through the trees, making the woods seem as though they were alive — as if the whispers of all those who had traveled the same path now sang out to me.

Crisp, clean air filled my lungs, going some way to ease my mind, which raced with a thousand fractured thoughts. But it did little to uncoil the tight knot of tension that wrapped around my throat, suffocating me.

I could feel the concealment spell fade as the bond surged to life inside me.

And if I had felt it, so had Ryker.

He was close, and it wouldn’t take him long to find me.

A shudder wracked my frame, and I knew my time was up.

His presence cut through the air like lightning, sharp and impossible to ignore, electrifying my body in his wake.

My magic rose to the surface, dangerous and alert.

“Cadence.”

His voice was a low growl that sent an icy shiver racing down my spine.

The single word was a warning.

I froze, every muscle locking into place, before I willed myself to calm down and turned to face him. He narrowed his steel-grey eyes, and his nostrils flared wide. The corner of his mouth was lifted as though he were forcing himself to contain a snarl. His jaw was clenched, and I could hear his teeth grinding together.

His face was a mask of barely concealed fury.

“You’ve been busy, wife.”

Ryker’s tone was deceptively calm, and I tensed as he stepped toward me. My heart thudded in my chest, but I forced myself to straighten my spine.

I would not cower before him.

Ryker stopped a few paces in front of me, his towering frame looming over me, forcing me to crane my neck to look up at him.

“You left,” he hissed. “You ran, Cadence. After all we’ve been through, you ran.”

Defiance stirred in my gut, and I scowled at him.

“After everything you’ve done to me, you mean. Did you expect me to stay put like a good little pet?” I taunted.

“Yes,” he snapped, his voice rising. “That’s exactly what I expected you to do. You’re my mate. My wife . You don’t get to just walk away.”

“You left me with no choice,” I shouted back, shoving him.

Ryker gripped my wrists in a tight hold as he pulled me flush against his body.

“No choice? You had a choice, Cadence, and you chose to betray me.”

“Do you hear yourself, Ryker? You discovered my truth, and then you locked me in your chambers. You told me I could trust you, and then the minute you had a chance to prove yourself, you showed me with your actions that I couldn’t.”

My chest was heaving as the sense of betrayal washed over me anew. There had been a fleeting moment where I’d chosen to put my faith in Ryker. I trusted him, despite everything he’d done, and I thought for the first time since we’d met, we were finally moving in the same direction.

But he shattered that illusion the instant he slid the metal lock into place, trapping me as his prisoner.

We both glared at each other, the silence stretching between us as the air grew thick with the weight of old wounds and unspoken words.

Ryker was the one to break the silence.

“Fuck Cadence,” he whispered, and then his lips were crashing against mine.

Ryker kissed me like a man possessed. One hand slid down my arm, his rough touch leaving a burning flame of desire in its wake as he settled his palm on my hip. His other hand snaked into my hair, pulling me close as he devoured me.

Mind, body, and soul.

When our need for oxygen overwhelmed us, Ryker broke the kiss, his forehead pressing against mine as we caught our breath.

“I thought I’d lost you, Cadence. I thought you were dead.”

His voice cracked on the last word, and a small part of me felt guilty for what I had done. Then my father’s words rose in my mind, unbidden.

He killed your mother with his own hands.

My guilt morphed into something else entirely.

I pushed against Ryker with all my strength, and he stumbled back, not expecting it. My gaze shifted to the three men I’d overlooked standing behind him, and I gasped.

Riordan, Malesh, and Eamon stood watching our interaction, their faces a mix of relief, amusement, and concern.

“Hi there, sweetheart,” Riordan said as he rubbed the nape of his neck. “You gave us quite the fright.”

A fresh wave of guilt assaulted me, but this time, I knew I deserved it.

“I’m sorry.”

Something cold brushed against my wrists, and I glanced down to see Ryker securing twin bracelets in place. Lifting my hands in the air, I studied the silver bands as they shimmered in the moonlight. A strange sensation coursed through me, and trepidation gripped me tight.

“What is this?” I demanded, shaking my hands in front of Ryker’s face.

“They are magic nullifying cuffs.”

“Ryker,” Riordan hissed, but I ignored him.

My blood pounded in my ears, and I desperately tried to call upon my power, to no avail. Fear clogged my throat, and I fought the sting of tears that threatened to break free.

“So, you intend to bring me to trial,” I said, ashamed of the way my bottom lip trembled.

Ryker chuckled without mirth. The sound made me recoil, and I felt an overwhelming urge to flee, to hide where he could never find me.

“Oh, sweet Cadence,” he murmured, his voice a dark caress. “I couldn’t care less if you slaughtered every fucking being in the Unseelie Palace and then bathed in their blood.”

The coldness of his stare sent my heart racing, and I retreated a step before I could stop myself.

“I’m not angry that you’re one of the Wraith Borne, Cadence. I am fucking enraged that you thought you could leave me.”

His calm demeanor was even more terrifying than any act of violence I’d ever witnessed.

“Not only that, but you conspired to have me believe you were dead.”

Ryker reclaimed the step between us as he leaned into my space. His lips brushed against the shell of my ear, and his warm breath tickled my neck.

“How. Fucking. Dare. You.”

Ryker pushed his hand into my hair and gripped my nape with a bruising force.

“You are never going to be free of me, Cadence, and your new accessories will ensure you can’t use your magic to escape me,” he said as his free hand slid over the cuffs. “You will sit beside me when I take the throne, or so help me, Cadence, I’ll hunt down every single person you love and remove them from this world.”

“Brother,” Riordan murmured, the shock audible in his tone.

“Stay the fuck out of this, Riordan,” Ryker snarled, never taking his eyes off me.

Inhaling deeply, I allowed all the pain and sorrow I had experienced in my life to flow through me. I drowned in it. Rejoiced in the suffering because once it had subsided, I would be reborn.

Then I exhaled a measured breath and narrowed my gaze at Ryker.

“With the gods as my witness, Ryker, you will rue the day you walked into my life. I am going to destroy you. I will take back everything you’ve stolen from me, and then I’m going to burn your world down around you.”

A ghost of a smirk curved Ryker’s mouth as he extinguished the remaining space between us.

“Anything for you, Temptress. If you want to burn my world down, I’ll hand you the fucking match.”

Ryker pressed his lips against mine, sealing his vow with a kiss. His tongue invaded my mouth, and I bit down, tasting blood. That didn’t stop him, though. He kissed me as if I was the very air he needed to breathe.

His hands gripped my waist with a possessiveness that was both infuriating and intoxicating. I wanted to pull away, to resist, but once again, my body betrayed me.

His kiss softened, his aggression giving way to something deeper, something that felt like desperation.

When he broke the kiss, he reached between us and clasped my hand in his. His free hand drifted up to swipe at the blood staining his lips, and when he peered down at the crimson substance smeared across his thumb, he rumbled in approval.

Without another word, he turned in the direction of the Unseelie Kingdom.

“Come, Cadence, we’re going home.”

His kingdom would never be my home, and he’d realize that soon enough.