Page 225 of The Chains You Defy

Yes, he was this nightmare entity.

How?

Why?

Next to me, Antas slowly lifted his hands, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously likeyou were rightbefore he stepped aside. My gaze caught his for a moment, but if his expression was anything to go by, he had as little knowledge about what was happening to his nephew as I had.

Swaying on my feet from fatigue, I stumbled as I lost my footing.

Dion reacted fast. Dropping what he carried, he launched at me like an angry storm cloud propelled by a tornado, and dozens of tendrils curled around me, stabilizing my form so I didn’t fall.

Then, the dark creature was upon me and hauled me closer. His energy felt so different, yet oddly familiar.Like he’d fused with his magic, warm and purring, soft yet firm, and his scent was alike but altered—the dark component was dominating the petrichor and evergreen parts by a lot.

My mind screamed at me to be careful and stay away, but I didn’t listen. No matter how he looked, this was Dion, and he wouldn’t harm me. Never.

“You’re back.”

“I am.How are you feeling?”

“Tired. But I’m fine.”

“Did someone hurt you?”

“No. No one assaulted me. Stop worrying.”

“But that one touched you. I saw his hand on you.”

“Antas, your uncle—he tried to help me, Dion. We like him, you and me.”

Just as his form was altered, his voice was sometimes deeper, darker, a menace in itself, but all the change caused was a warm feeling spreading from my chest into my body, and much to my astonishment, the exhaustion improved marginally.

A scream pulled me out of my reverie, and I craned my neck. The thing my prince had dropped was a figure that had sat up, clawing at the darkness covering them and holding them in place.

“She survived. What a pleasant surprise.”

“This is—Danartha?”

“Yes.Give me a moment.”

He lowered his featureless head and placed the front in the crook of my neck, and I’d swear I felt him inhale, exhale, then breathe me in once more.

When he was done, he slowly morphed. The inky substance receded and, after a few heartbeats, disappeared,leaving a very bare Dion behind—and Harc, who had wrapped itself around my arm like a snake.

Finding my voice faster than I thought possible, I stared at the naked fae. “What was that?”

“I don’t—” He frowned. “No idea.”

Lines of worry marred my forehead as I scrutinized Dion. Even though he seemed unharmed, that he’d appeared as an angry dark puddle and couldn’t even explain why was more than worrisome. Had he fully lost control over his powers, after all?

“Stop looking like that. Sometimes, strange things happen. Besides, there’s something else to deal with.”

“You’re naked.”

“Do you mind?”

Blushing furiously, I attempted to disentangle myself from his possessive hold. Not a chance.

“Everyone is watching. And there’s someone sobbing in that black pond you left behind that sounds suspiciously like your ex. So yes, I do.”