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CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

SYLUS

T he human has been here a week and a half already. A single lantern flickers overhead. The stale air clings to my skin. My pulse hammers.

I grip the doorframe, hesitating before stepping into this hidden chamber at the back of the estate. The corridor outside is silent, but the soft dripping of water, echoing from somewhere above, gnaws at my nerves. My heartbeat surges.

In the far corner, Callum lies on a simple cot with raggedy blankets. His breathing is steady, and I allow myself a moment of conflicted relief. My eyes sweep the cramped room. The uneven stone walls have gathered ice, and a thin layer of dust clings to my boots. I taste copper on my tongue.

One step, that’s all it will take for me to approach him. My hand clenches around a key, the cold metal biting into my palm. I exhale softly.

A shape, cloaked in enchantment, stands behind me, murmuring commands I barely understand. They speak in a low hiss, their voice braided with a magic older than I’ve ever known. My ears buzz with it, my mind fogs, and my eyes glaze.

“Remember what you owe me,” they whisper. “He’s vital to our plan. Break him, or at least threaten to, until she breaks first.”

I swallow hard. Pain throbs behind my temples, and the corners of my vision blur. An insistent humming wraps around my skull, a presence that coils tighter every moment I try to resist, and gods, do I try. Each time, the pressure grows.

Kill them, my wolf snarls, I don’t like them in here.

I can’t.

Break the enchantment.

I’ve tried.

Try harder!

A bead of sweat slides down my neck. “He’s done nothing,” I snarl, doing everything I can to fight back, to gain control. “He’s harmless.”

They shift closer, or maybe it’s my imagination. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve pulled my strings from afar. I detect a whiff of burnt incense, laced with something acrid that makes my eyes water. Their next words pierce me like barbs.

“You forget the promise you made,” they murmur. “Never again, you said, but you can’t run from your past if you don’t act. You need to prove your loyalty. Do it.”

I lean against the wall, my back scraping the rough stone. Every inch of me recoils, but a relentless thrum burrows into my mind, compelling me forward. My breath hitches.

I can’t stop it. I can’t stop it. I can’t stop it!

Try harder!

Callum stirs. I can almost hear his soft inhale, even his human ears picking up on my presence, or perhaps it’s the otherness in the room. His eyelids flutter, but he keeps them shut. Maybe he’s feigning sleep. My chest tightens at the thought of how I wish I could leave him alone, yet I feel the spell tugging harder.

The figure’s magic burrows deeper, pressing a sickly warmth along my spine. I hate them. I hate myself. My hands clench, nails digging half-moon grooves into my palms, and I know I won’t be able to hold out forever.

A thunderous rush of blood fills my ears, and my world narrows to that single beating pulse. I wipe a shaky hand across my mouth, tasting salt on my lips, tasting regret.

I wish I could unravel the web they’ve spun around me, but I’m trapped. My jaw clenches once, then twice, and I give a slow nod they must see from the corner of my vision. I can’t let them know my true thoughts yet, not while they can still invade my mind with a single word.

Stepping forward, I tower over Callum’s prone form. My boots scuff the floor. He shifts, blinking groggily, trying to orient himself in this cramped, lamplit space.

“You,” he mutters, eyes clouded with confusion.

The enchantment bites deeper. My limbs tremble, my vision swims. My voice comes out colder than ice. “Shut up. You’ll speak when I say you can.”

Callum doesn’t respond. His hard stare locks on mine, and for a fleeting second, he sees more than I want him to. I break eye contact, swallowing another wave of guilt. The chant in my ears rises, demanding cruelty I can’t quite deliver, compliance I fight with everything in me.

The cloaked figure hums, a silent expectation that crawls under my skin. My shoulders stiffen. I dig a heel into the ground, steadying myself before I lash out in some half-hearted attempt to appease them. This is all for show, but I know it’ll get worse if I don’t comply.

A faint, musty odor tickles my nose, and the smell of Callum’s fear tightens my chest. A flicker of pity churns my stomach, but the vow I made to this manipulative fae binds me like chains of steel. I can’t break free.

Not yet.

Soon, I promise myself, soon I’ll find a way out of this. Just not tonight.