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Chapter Thirty Eight

Clayton

I sat in the dungeons of my own palace, slumped against the cold stone wall, my head pounding from the mortal blood pumping through the air. The metallic tang of it clung to everything, a suffocating reminder of how far I’d fallen.

I hadn’t spoken since the guards dumped me here after the wedding.

Thea’s wedding.

From the moment I found that damned drawing of Caldrius, I’d known my ancestor wanted her. How could he not? She was beautiful, powerful, impossibly intelligent—a Goddess among Mortals.

Of course, he wanted her.

And now he had her.

Forever.

The untouched meal the guard had brought hours ago sat at my feet, its smell turning my stomach. I’d recognized the man who delivered it—a soldier who had once sworn loyalty to me, now serving under Hyrax like a coward.

How could we have been so deluded as to think we could win a war against Gods? We’d been reckless to believe this could end any other way .

“Kent’s not doing well,” Iris whispered. The quiet barely carried her soft voice, and I noticed she had wrapped her arms in makeshift bandages torn from her clothes.

I didn’t respond. What could I say? Thea’s words had already ripped my heart out and left it bleeding on the ballroom floor. There was no saving Kent now. No saving any of us. By morning, we’d all be dead.

Maybe that was a small mercy.

Death would be easier than knowing she was trapped here with him, that I had no way to save her.

I had failed her.

She was my Goddess, my heart, my very soul placed into another being—and I had absolutely failed her. I had left her alone in a den of vipers.

“Clay,” Iris pressed, her voice trembling. “We have to do something.”

“There’s nothing to be done,” I croaked, my voice raw and hollow.

The door at the end of the hall slammed open, the clash of swords and the sharp stomp of boots echoing through the dungeon. Iris and Rankor leapt to their feet, moving protectively in front of where Kent lay, his hands clutching the wound in his gut.

Then Caldrius stepped into view.

He still wore his wedding regalia, the black and gold gleaming mockingly in the torchlight. He looked comfortable in it. Like he’d been wearing a crown his whole life, just waiting to reclaim it.

His calculating gaze swept over me, lingering with the satisfaction of someone who had already won.

“Get up,” he barked.

“Fuck off,” I replied, arching an eyebrow.

The bastard didn’t have any magic—I’d realized it during the ceremony. He’d relied on Hyrax’s shadows to lock the clasps around Thea’s wrists rather than using his own Dragonfire. Death had taken his power.

So if he wanted me to stand, he’d have to come in here and make me .

He laughed, low and full of superiority. “She’ll be so disappointed when I return to our bed this evening and tell her how you behaved.”

I was on my feet in an instant, rushing toward the glass panel separating us, venom surging through my veins. “Stay away from her.”

He smirked, unbothered. “I couldn’t possibly stay away from my wife.”

The word twisted like a knife in my chest. My fingers curled into fists, fiery rage poisoning what little rationality I had left.

If these damned cells weren’t so secure, I’d have thrown myself at him, hands wrapped around his throat.

“Why are you here?” Iris demanded, her voice sharp and unwavering.

Caldrius barely spared her a glance before turning back to me.

“I’m here to help you escape.”

I stilled, every nerve in my body coiling.

“Why?” The question came out low and dangerous.

“A wedding present for my wife.”

Each word was another blow to my battered soul, twisting deeper with every syllable.

From the look in his eyes, he knew exactly what it was doing to me to hear her referenced as his wife.

“You’re aware of the tunnels?” he asked, ignoring my glare.

Of course, I knew about the tunnels. It was my castle. Ennoss, Caldrius’ brother and the first King of Athenia, had designed those escape routes centuries ago in case Caldrius ever returned to attack.

Now Caldrius had finally returned, and I was the one fleeing him.

“You have five minutes to get into those tunnels and out of this castle,” Caldrius said, his tone matter-of-fact. “My diversion won’t last long, so I suggest you move quickly.”

I narrowed my eyes. “And what’s stopping me from killing you the second you open the door? ”

His grin was infuriating, full of smug confidence. But then he tilted his head, considering me. And when he spoke, his voice was quieter. More precise.

“Because she’s powerless now.”

The floor dropped out beneath me.

My breath hitched, my hands clenching at my sides. Thea.

“She burned herself out completely,” Caldrius continued, watching me. Studying me. “There’s not a spark of magic in her. She’s more powerless than she’s ever been.”

Powerless.

The word hit like a fist to the gut.

No.

Thea was never powerless.

I had told her that myself. Held her hands, guided her through her first true spark of magic.

That might have been the exact moment I fell in love with her. I had looked into those shining blue eyes and known without a shadow of a doubt the woman could bring me to my knees without any effort at all.

Even then, she had more power than she could have even fathomed.

I let my breath steady. “You don’t know her,” I said coldly. “If you did, you wouldn’t think for a second that magic is the only power she has.”

A flicker of something passed through Caldrius’ expression. Something thoughtful.

Behind him, Iris and Rankor were already hauling Kent to his feet, his weight dragging them down.

“Four minutes,” Caldrius warned. “Want to keep chatting, or are you ready to run?”

I hesitated, bile rising in my throat.

“Three.”

“Clay, we have to go,” Iris shouted, her voice sharp with desperation .

I met Caldrius’ gaze, my voice shaking with rage. “If you hurt her, I will burn your soul so completely there’ll be nothing left for the Underworld to reclaim.”

His grin didn’t falter. He stepped aside as the barrier lowered. “Two minutes.”

Rankor and Iris hurried past him, Kent barely conscious between them.

Caldrius leaned closer to me, his voice a low whisper that barely reached my ears. “Better run, little prince.”

I didn’t respond, but my eyes burned into his. “I’m coming back for her,” I vowed.

His smirk widened. “What makes you think she wants you to?”

My laughter was bitter. Without another word, I turned on my heel, jogging to catch up with my friends and help lower Kent into the tunnel.

As we disappeared into the dark, Caldrius stood unmoving, his smug satisfaction filling the air. He was so sure of himself, so certain he had won.

But he didn’t know. He didn’t realize her declaration of love—the lie she proclaimed to the room—were the same words she had said to me only days before.

“I love you. Only you. It’s only ever been you.”

My Goddess had left me a message.

A message that only I could understand.

Thea would never accept this life. Powerless or not, she would become his greatest enemy.

And as soon as I could, I was coming to get her.