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CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

T he victorious smirk on Arran’s face whipped Cael’s rage into a maelstrom as he exploded into his father’s office. Cael scanned the space for a weapon, any weapon, he didn’t care what.

Xenia had been taken from him, and Arran needed to die.

Now.

Cael wanted to see the life drain from his father’s gray eyes. Wanted Arran to know it was his own son who’d ended him.

Arran was about to round the desk when Cael remembered he had his own weapon. He curled his fingers, calling the wind in an attempt to snatch the breath from his father’s lungs.

Arran coughed, staggering only slightly before counteracting Cael’s gust with a swish of his wrist. “Please.”

Cael lunged across the desk, fisting his father’s jacket. “What have you done with her?”

Arran was the portrait of silent, haughty confidence.

“Fucking answer me!”

Arran squeezed Cael’s wrists nearly hard enough to snap bone, then threw them away and gestured to the chair. “Sit. Calm yourself. I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”

Cael’s chest heaved, his anger a wicked beast urging him to maim, to kill . To tear through everything and everyone in this wretched estate until nothing was left but blood and bone and dust. He propped his fists on the desk and leaned forward, snarling through clenched teeth. “What. Have you. Done with her?”

He should have been afraid of his father. Should have been cowering and begging for forgiveness. It was the only way he’d ever known to survive Arran Zephyrus. And some small internal voice pleaded with him to do it now. To back down. To obey. To protect himself.

Arran looked shocked by Cael’s defiance before his eyes narrowed. “Sit. Down . And we will discuss this civilly.”

Cael scoffed. But what else could he do? He had no idea what Arran had done with Xenia. So, Cael would sit and listen. Would learn what his father wanted. And would then decide precisely how to end the male.

He sank into the leather chair, gripping the armrests tight enough to crack a fingernail.

Arran nodded curtly. “Better.” He took his own seat and intertwined his fingers atop the desk. “I am curious. How were you able to remove the tracking device? They’re supposed to be tamper-proof.”

Cael glared at Arran. Wasn’t about to confirm anything . “ I’m curious, also. How the fuck did you find us?”

Arran cocked his head. “You made some enemies among the keepers at Typhon mountain, boy. Including one whose mistress lives in some backwater village up in the Icthians. She wouldn’t shut up about the one-winged male who’d just arrived and was staying in a little cottage outside town.”

Cael kept his face blank, relieved that Arran didn’t seem to realize that it had been Leonard who was harboring them, nor what they’d been plotting.

Arran waved a hand. “None of that is important. What is important is this. I have her. You won’t find her. And if you don’t marry Elodie Laskaris, I won’t merely kill her.” Arran’s eyes glittered with sick glee. “I’ll give her to Tomas.”

Bile crept up Cael’s throat, along with such a blinding wave of fear and panic that his vision blurred.

“Why are you doing this? I’m useless . You said so yourself. What does it matter if I marry Elodie?”

Arran shook his head. “You’re so naive, Cael. What does a male have in this world outside of his legacy? I have spent centuries buttressing mine. Ensuring the name Zephyrus means something in this world. Something powerful. Something pure . And you think I’d let my own son sully that with a piece of human trash?”

“How is offering Xenia to Tomas any different?”

“Because he will use her how nature intended! Feed from her, break her, discard her. Not fucking fall in love with her!”

The moment the words left Arran’s mouth, Cael realized he was in love with Xenia. Had been for months now. And he was about to lose her. Was about to get her tortured and assaulted and killed because of his love.

It was the exact scenario he’d always feared. It was why he’d left her on that ship in Rhamnos. Why he’d never wanted her to love him in the first place. Because he knew, on some level, that his love was too dangerous for her.

He slumped in his chair, every ounce of fight draining from his limbs.

He’d been such a fool. All this madness with the dragon and the rebels and Tristan. He’d dared to hope for an escape from Stoneridge, from Arran. Where had that hope gotten him?

Outmaneuvered.

And now Xenia would pay the price for his failures.

He couldn’t fucking bear it. He would do anything, agree to anything , to ensure Arran would not snuff out Xenia’s light. The world deserved it.

Even if he didn’t anymore.

“If I agree to proceed with this marriage, I want you to swear you will not harm her,” he whispered, broken.

Arran ran his thumb along his jaw. “How will I ensure you won’t flee your wife after the ceremony and run off to rescue your pet?”

“And how will I ensure you won’t kill Xenia after I’m married?”

“We’ll make a blood vow,” Arran said, opening a drawer and pulling out a dagger. “Breakable only by death. I will promise to send your human back to the colonies, and you will promise to marry Elodie and never see the woman again.”

Cael held his hand out over the desk, palm up. “Do it then.”

He didn’t so much as flinch as Arran dragged the blade across his palm. A line of red bloomed, and Arran did the same to his own before clasping Cael’s hand.

“I promise to send the human?—”

“Say her fucking name. Xenia Cirillo.” His voice faltered as her name crossed his lips. His Xenia. His Blondie.

Fuck, she may hate him for this forever, but at least she’d be alive .

Arran rolled his eyes. “I promise to send Xenia Cirillo safely back to the human colonies. She shall not come to any harm by my hand nor my command after Cael Zephyrus says his wedding vows to Elodie Laskaris.”

Cael squeezed his father’s hand. “And I promise to say my wedding vows to Elodie Laskaris and afterward to never interact with the human Xenia Cirillo ever again.”

A tingle swept up Cael’s forearm as the blood bargain sealed, and something within him settled.

Xenia would be safe from his father.

Forever.

And the only thing Cael had to do to ensure it was to give away his life.

“The wedding will take place tomorrow,” Arran said.

Cael blanched. “It’s not scheduled until next week.”

Arran glared from beneath furrowed brows. “Thanks to your little vacation , it’s being expedited. Fortunately, the Laskarises have no idea why you disappeared. I told them I’d sent you on a business trip, then informed Elodie you missed her so terribly that you wanted to get married the moment you returned.”

Cael stood. “Fine. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner Xenia will be safe.”

Arran smiled. “I’m so glad you see it that way. And mind the words of our bargain, boy. If you try to leave before tomorrow to seek help or escape, I will be able to harm her. I am not bound until you say your vows. Remember that.”

Cael squared his shoulders, choked down the urge to wail and scream and thrash, and walked to the office door.

“Enjoy your last night as an unmarried male, Cael,” Arran crooned from his desk.

“Your bride will be waiting at the altar tomorrow.”