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He filled his mind’s eye with the picture of Arabella as he felt Magnus’ lips press to his.

Although Elias lifted his chin in defiance, his lips slipped open as Magnus’ tongue pressed into his mouth.

Then Elias was coming.

Magnus didn’t bother to touch Elias as stinging desire bolted through his veins, loosening the essence in his core. It was the last of what he’d taken from Arabella before he’d left the castle.

His mate’s essence slipped up Elias’ throat and pooled between their lips before Magnus pulled it into his mouth.

A sharp pang twisted Elias’ gut, and he stifled a groan as hunger burned through him.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Magnus’ scent held a woody note with lingering amber. “Give your loyalty to me, and I can give you the world.”

Seed still dripping onto the ground, Elias kept his mouth firmly shut, not bothering to pull against his restraints. This song and dance had happened too many times, and he knew fighting it was pointless.

Reaching up, Magnus swiped the tears from Elias’ cheeks away with a thumb.

The gesture made Elias’ stomach turn. And he watched in disgust as the sorcerer licked his tears from his finger.

As he did, his eyes skirted down to Elias’ still-hard cock and then further down to the floor where he’d spilled his seed.

The sorcerer turned from him, walking around the tent as though deep in thought.

“Perhaps I’ll share your enchantress when I find her,” Magnus said.

A sudden fire filled Elias’ veins, and he pulled at the restraints, but his ankles and wrists were secured in place.

“Because I will find her,” Magnus continued, ignoring as Elias’ nostrils flared and a growl bubbled up his throat. With a flick of deft fingers, Magnus removed a blade from his robes. The knife was plain and unremarkable with a simple handle and steel blade.

Fear squeezed Elias’ throat at the sight of his syphen.

“Can you explain the presence of fae at your castle?” Magnus asked, still not using the syphen’s power on Elias.

But why?

Could Elias wait until Magnus forced the truth out of him?

To get Arabella’s memories back, he’d entered into a magical bargain with the sorcerer.

Would the bargain’s magic permit him to withhold information?

Thus far, it appeared it was limited to compliance with a direct command—not an unspoken one.

“I can’t be certain without seeing them, but…” Elias began. “There are many winged fae in the Twilight Court.”

It was true.

While several of the fae courts had winged fae, the court with the most winged fae was the Twilight Court.

“We attended the queen’s ball not long ago,” Elias continued, careful to avoid mention of Hadeon and his bargain with Arabella. “It’s possible someone from court came to seek an audience.”

Everything inside of Elias screamed to rip Hadeon apart for daring to leverage a favor over his mate.

But if the prince had helped Arabella escape the forest, then Elias wasn’t about to reveal Hadeon’s ties to his mate.

Not if doing so could potentially lead Magnus to Hadeon—and wherever he’d taken Arabella.

At least, not until Elias was forced to reveal the truth.

Nodding, Magnus turned from Elias, taking several steps away from him. “How very interesting.” Seeming to come to a decision, Magnus started toward the tent’s exit.

“You don’t need her,” Elias found himself saying, the word slipping free of his lips. He knew trying to reason with Magnus was pointless, but he couldn’t help himself or his desire to keep Arabella safe. “You already have a syphen. You can create new erox. Please just?—”

Magnus turned to him, and something dark glittered in his scarlet gaze. “Even if the enchantress was no more than a mere mortal, I would take her.”

When Elias had given himself to Magnus, the sorcerer had revealed that Arabella was shadow fae and that he intended to take her so she’d make more syphens for him. But now… It seemed that there was another reason Magnus wanted to have her under his control.

“Why?” Elias asked, feeling his heart sink.

“Because she’s yours,” Magnus said as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. “She’s the perfect motivation to get what I want.”

Elias frowned, not understanding.

What he wanted? He thought Magnus just had some strange obsession with him. Was there some other reason why he’d entrapped Elias and took special interest in him all those years ago?

“Flynn,” Magnus called, and the tent flap opened. The erox strode through. “I have something to see to. Drain Elias of his essence. I want him to be on the precipice when I return.”

“Yes, sir,” Flynn said, his eyes fixing on where Elias was strapped to the X.

Elias swallowed thickly.

Like all demons, the erox’s magic required them to feed on mortals.

It was what differentiated their magic from non-demonkind.

But rather than feasting on flesh or souls, erox fed on desires.

Consuming essence kept the true inner demon at bay.

If an erox waited too long to feed, the creature within came forth—demanding blood.

And if it wasn’t sated, if the erox was too far gone to hunger, there was no coming back.

Everything that erox was would cease to exist as they lost their memories and humanity.

They’d become a mindless creature who knew nothing but hunger for the rest of eternity.

This fate was perhaps the one thing he feared more than Magnus, himself.

“You have me,” Elias called after Magnus as he grabbed the tent flap, about to exit. “What more could you possibly want?”

Magnus lingered for a moment, not bothering to look back. With a chuckle, he disappeared out of sight.

Over the pounding of his heart, Elias heard Flynn’s booted footsteps as he neared.

There was the hiss of a blade being pulled free of its sheath.

I’m so sorry, Arabella, Elias thought. This is all my fault.

She was in danger because of him. Because Magnus had set his eyes on her. He never would have known of her existence if Elias hadn’t taken her as an offering.

“I’d bet Magnus captures her within the week,” Flynn purred as he ran the tip of his knife down the center of Elias’ chest. Immediately, blood pooled, leaving a stinging trail in its wake. “You’ll be serving the sorcerer willingly before long. Mark my words. You’ll give in to him soon enough.”

Flynn was right.

It was an inevitability. Elias could only last so long, even without the use of the syphen. Soon enough, Magnus would break Elias down.

And there’d be nothing left of who he’d been.