I tried to grasp what he was telling me, still reeling from the horror of it. “I just saw… a human heart, contained in some kind of vessel? You’re collecting magic from a dead person’s harvested organ? An abomination! They're monsters—you're a monster.” I kicked and screamed… trying to knock him down. He sighed as he pulled me to him with a hard tug.
“Don’t worry, love. I won’t letthathappen to you. I don’t plan on sharing. You taste too good.” He shoved me to the bed and I took stock of my surroundings.
I was in a small room with stone walls and floors. No windows—and definitely no fireplace or bath. Just a bed, a chamber pot, and a small desk with several metal tools sitting on it. My eyes widened when I identified small knives, hooks, scissors, and saws…torture devices.
Galen followed my gaze. “I’ve used this room for interrogation before. I don’t plan to use any of those on you—as long as you don’t do anything stupid. Yield to me. Once you blood-bond with me, this will all go away.”
Silent tears began to fall, despite the strength I wanted to show.
“You poor, gentle-hearted creature. Always crying, always trying to save someone. It must be exhausting, always trying to do the right thing." My eyes narrowed at him as he continued. "There must be a part of youthat wants to give in… to let me take control. I'm your destiny, after all." He tried to brush back my hair and I scrambled away from him.
"We’ll undoubtedly be great together. Wehavebeen great together. I’ll eventually forgive you for running off to Rafael. After all, I’ve been letting Isla lick my wounds. I’ll teach you how I like to be licked… perhaps she can show you. Monogamy gets boring. You’re young… you don’t understand the larger picture, but you’ll learn in time. I don’t expect perfection from you, but I do expectobedience.” He took the engagement ring out of his pocket and held it up to me. “What do you say?”
I spat at him in answer. That proposal had somehow been even worse than the last. He had the audacity to look outraged as he wiped spittle from his face. “That was uncalled for,pet.”He huffed, before sending me flying as he backhanded me.
The pain was instant, searing, and somehow stung more than the spider venom that had burned like acid. My cheek throbbed as I sat hunched on the floor in disbelief, holding my face, completely gutted. He’d continue to hurt me if I didn’t obey. His flames would be next. I clamored towards the corner of the room and curled into a tight ball.
“Your willfulness is tiresome.” Galen sighed. “I gave you patience and protection, and in return you ran to my brother. Just remember, this is all your doing. We could’ve done this the easy way, but you decided to become disobedient.” He stood up straight and smoothed down his green velvet tunic. He nodded to the guards and they gripped me by the arms, securing me to the wall.
Prisoner—that’s what I'd been to him all along. I’d made it soeasyfor him, but now my blinders were off and I planned on fighting like hell.
He couldn’t force me to blood-bond. Could he?
“I’ll leave you here to mull over your choices. Don’t make me wait too long…” He glanced at the desk, before methodically gathering up the tools, one at a time, and handing them to Robert. I laid on the bed in shock, rubbing my swollen cheek.
My Prince Charming had been a villain all along.
fifty-one
Istared into eternal darkness, eyes glazed over and unfocused. Time was a winter night, stretching on and on. My candle had gone out and I no longer knew if it was night or day. My stomach grumbled angrily at me. How long would it take Rafael and Louis to find me? What if they’d been captured too?
My mouth was parched, my lips chapped. I tried to ignore the relentless thirst as dread crept in. With no magic, no light, I felt completely upside down. I inhaled faster and faster until I had to lay my cheek against the cold stone floor to avoid the spins. Hours passed and still no one came. I faded in and out of consciousness, wondering how long it would take for me to die.
I heard my mother’s voice. “Stay strong, Goldie. You’re not alone.”
I repeated her words over and over.I am not alone. I am not alone.
I am not alone.And yet, I felt more alone than I ever had. I was beginning to recall memories of my father, who I hadn’t been able to picture clearly for years. Dream and reality began to blur together as fragments of another time came back to me. It was like trying to put a smudged and shredded letter back together.
His blonde hair hung over my mother’s limp body as he shook her lifeless form, telling her to wake up. He seemed almost convinced that she’d be able to. Ophelia leaned down and whispered something in his ear, and then he’d simply… left. What had she said to him? I watched him walk away, not knowing it was the last time I’d see him. He hadn’t said goodbye.
I remembered gardening with my mother with soil-covered hands. My father teaching me to ride a horse. Playing hide and seek in the loft ofthe barn. My mother's bruised cheek after a fall down the stairs. Blood. So much blood… soaking into the hardwood. My mother's pale, lifeless hand. Her hunched body as she scrubbed at the stained floors.
A bright light blinded me as someone entered the room. I breathed in Galen’s smoky scent and squinted up to find him staring at me with a dead expression on his face. He set down a plate of food and water before lighting my candle with the snap of a finger. I didn't bother to peel myself off the floor.
“I’ve been thinking of you down here… cold and alone. This isn’t easy for me. Are you ready to forgive me?” he asked softly. I could hear the internal conflict in his voice. Some part of me felt bad for him and his warped mind.
“Don’t do this, Galen. I know you want to be good—I’ve seen it, felt it. Marry Isla and let me return to Erador. Respect what we shared and let me go.Please.” I pleaded and knelt at his feet, bowing from exhaustion rather than a desire to grovel. He stayed quiet for a moment.
“I can’t,” he said in a clipped tone. “Your magic is too powerful, and I know what you are. Only an imbecile would give that up. You aremineto claim, the Oracle said as much. Blood-bond with me. Give me your magic, open a portal for my people,thenI’ll let you go.” He squatted beside me, offering me a cup of water. I didn't respond, afraid he might hit me or worse if I outright refused him.
“Very well.” His voice turned flat again. “Then I’ll take what I need and give you more time to consider your options, or lack thereof.” He pulled me up by my arms and I struggled against him, attempting to knee him in the groin.
He turned me, holding me firmly, as I flailed in his arms. He pressed against my backside and I panicked, becoming frantic in my efforts to evade him. “Be still. I’m not going to force myself on you,” he said gruffly as I continued to fight. “Well… I’m going to take your blood, but I won’t touch you beyond that… if that’s your wish.”
“It’s my wish,” I sobbed. “Don’t touch me!” I yelled, twisting, trying to bite anywhere I could. "Help! Someone help me," I cried out to the void.
He gave an exasperated sigh and walked me forward until I was pushed against the stone of the wall. “You used tolovewhen I took you this way,” he whispered into my ear. “And you will again. Once my brother’spoisonhas left you. But for now, this will be enough.” He brushed my hairback—kissing my shoulder, my neck. I froze, rigid with fear, as he took a sharp intake of breath and bit down.
