Page 9

Ryker

The sound of my boots pounding against the hard stone floor echoed around me, intensifying my blackening mood.

Cadence’s refusal to acknowledge, let alone accept, our bond, had my blood boiling.

I wanted to claim her as mine, to own her body and ravish her in ways that would have my name falling from her lips like a prayer.

But more than that, accepting the bond promised greater power.

I hadn’t lied to Cadence when I told her I was disappointed that the only magic she had to offer was healing. However, I had brushed my disappointment aside when I thought of how much my own power would grow.

If she wouldn’t submit to me, I’d have to force her to accept my claim.

I let out a frustrated growl as I pulled my hair away from my face and tied it at my nape.

Gods, the woman was infuriating.

She looked upon me with a level of disdain that suggested I had slaughtered her nearest and dearest, which I knew was not the case, as Malesh had confirmed her parents and older brother were very much alive.

As if conjured by mere thought alone, Malesh fell into step beside me.

“Your father summoned you?” he asked, not one for small talk or idle pleasantries.

I made an affirmative sound, and Malesh nodded.

“Where’s Eamon?”

Malesh and Eamon, my most trusted guards, were rarely apart.

“Preparing the men. There’s been another attack.”

The Crimson Enclave had returned with a vengeance. Despite their near eradication during the Cleansing, a small group had somehow survived. And they’d been biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Now they were out for blood.

Specifically, the blood that ran through my veins.

We continued in silence as we made our way toward the throne room. The guards stationed outside the door bowed their heads and moved aside to let us pass.

As expected, my father sat on the dais, his arm slung over the side as he waited for me to approach.

Malesh dropped back as I went to stand beside my brother.

“Brother, you look positively joyous,” Riordan murmured from the corner of his mouth. “Who pissed in your milk this morning?”

I cast a glance in his direction, and whatever he saw in my expression silenced him.

“Ryker,” my father called out in a sing-song tone. “How gracious of you to join us.”

The men on my father’s council snickered, but they quickly averted their eyes when I turned my lethal glare on them.

I wasn’t late by any stretch of the imagination, but that didn’t matter to my father. He took any opportunity he could to undermine me in the presence of those he deemed important.

“What is the urgency, Father?” I asked, not giving him the reaction he desired.

My father straightened on his throne. “There’s been another attack on a village outskirt, less than half a day’s ride away,” he said.

“The Crimson Enclave?” I asked, the challenge clear in my tone.

My father scoffed. “Don’t tell me you have fallen for this nonsense too, My Son.”

If my father thought belittling me in front of his sycophants would deter me, he had grossly overestimated the weight I attributed to their perception of me.

“It’s not nonsense if it’s true,” I said with a knowing smirk. “You may not know how a body looks after a Wraith Borne drains it, Father, since you took no active role in the Cleansing.”

Red stained my father’s cheeks. Had he possessed the power, I was certain he would have incinerated me on the spot.

“As you sent me to disperse the uprising,” I continued, “I am very much acquainted with the signs, so believe me when I tell you that the Crimson Enclave is no fantasy. They are as real as you and me.”

Uncomfortable murmurs broke out among the council, and my father raised his hand to silence the room.

“Then I trust you to do what is necessary to ensure the safety of our kingdom, Ryker.”

“Always,” I grinned, but it wasn’t friendly.

Spinning on my heel, I marched from the throne room with Riordan and Malesh on my trail.

“This could be a trap,” Malesh muttered as soon as we rounded the corner.

“Brother,” Riordan said, his usual teasing tone noticeably absent. “Malesh has a point. Didn’t that Seelie Fae tell you the Crimson Enclave had set their sights on you?”

“I’m still going.”

Riordan made an irritated sound before he puffed out a breath. “I’m all for a dalliance with death, Ryker —”

“Actually,” I said, cutting him off. “I have another assignment for you.”

That piqued his interest.

“Oh,” Riordan said, his teasing tone returning with full force. “Please tell me it involves the little mate you have locked up in your quarters.”

I will not murder my brother , I chanted as I took a calming breath.

Malesh spluttered beside me, and he coughed as he choked on his surprise. “You don’t have her locked in your chamber, do you, Ryker?”

“He does,” Riordan said way too gleefully.

Malesh groaned. “She’s your mate. You can’t treat her like some kind of plaything. You have a lifetime together. Trust me when I tell you it’s best to start things off on the right foot.”

When Malesh had found his mate, he was nursing a bruised heart from the loss of a woman he thought he’d spend his life with. Then Melania crossed his path, and he was none too pleased to realize she was his mate. He made some poor decisions in the beginning, and Melania never let him forget it.

“I’m still uncertain how this will work, considering Celeste —” Riordan murmured.

I rounded on my brother, and he had to dig his boots into the ground to stop himself from colliding with my chest.

“I told you that was none of your concern,” I bit out.

Riordan stepped back and rubbed his hand over the nape of his neck.

“I won’t mention it again,” he promised before casting a pointed look in Malesh’s direction.

My friend knew better than to weigh in on the discussion, however.

I gestured toward Riordan. “I want you to stay with Cadence while I am away. You are not to let her out of my chambers or feed her tidbits that may aid her in her defiance of me.”

Riordan grinned, and I growled.

“I’m serious, Brother. This is important. Cadence and I must settle a few things before she may leave my quarters.”

Like her willing submission.

“Now promise me you will obey my command.”

“You can be so boring when you put your mind to it. Has anyone ever told you that, Ryker?”

“Riordan,” I snarled.

“Fine. I’ll be as dull as you are while I entertain your mate.”

I gave him a curt nod and strode away from him.

“Ryker, where are you going?” he called after me.

“There’s something I have to do before I leave,” I called back.

The thought brought a smirk to my lips.

This would be entertaining, if nothing else.