To my relief, it didn’t hurt. To my alarm, it made me go supine, relaxing into the rush of euphoria as I let out a humiliating moan. The bridge linking us took away the hollow ache in my veins, allowing me tofeelmy magic. I tried to call upon it as he drank from me, but it hovered just out of reach. There was a small comfort in knowing that it was right there, waiting for me—because he couldn’t keep me cuffed forever. I’d strike hard and fast when I got the chance. He pulled away and left without another word and I slumped against the bed, depleted and dejected.
"Goldie," my mother's voice was urgent as it attempted to rouse me.
"What?" I groaned.
"We need to go. He's coming."
"Who's coming? We've been at this for weeks. I'm tired. Even in my dreams, I'm not allowed to rest," I snapped irritably.
"Quickly, get up. Now." She sounded so frantic that I opened an eye. We were in the loft of the barn, surrounded by blankets and piles of hay. I had a toy unicorn clutched in my hands—the one Rafael had rescued from the cave.
I sat up groggily. "Who is—"
"Quiet," Mama hushed me with a sharp whisper. "He's here."
All it took was a glance in her direction to know that she was absolutely terrified. It was enough to sober me. She was trembling, gripping my shoulders protectively with both hands. I attempted to speak again and she covered my mouth.
"Eliana…" A male's voice echoed across the barn, causing my pulse to soar. Slow, deliberate footsteps hung in the air as he sauntered directly below us. I couldn't see him, but his voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My father. We were hiding from myfather.
I tried to count the days, but it was impossible without the sun and moon’s guidance. I was almost certain that Galen had been bringing me food twice a day and taking my magic once a day. I kept a small kernel of hope that I’d see Raf at the door, but Galen was always the one who appeared. I was in such a dark place that I began to look forward to his visits, knowing his bite would take me to oblivion, if only for a moment.
“You’ve been here a week now,” Galen announced, jarring me from a dream of Rafael and I flying through an onyx sky. “Only three more nights until the festival. I’ll be announcing you as my future bride at the party. It would be convenient if you came around before then. I don’t need you making a scene, especially with how hard Isla has been working to make this festival an occasion to remember. She’ll be disappointed enough when she hears the news.”
He was a sociopath.
“Your mother did a number on you,” I said through gritted teeth.
He contemplated, rubbing his jaw. “Yes… she did. But she also taught me how to get what I want. And since love doesn’t come easily to me, power shall be my beacon. Let me remind you of the power that I wield.” He lifted two orbs of fire into the air. They started out amber in color before reshaping and changing hue as he juggled them back and forth.
“Orange and red flames are more than capable of burning flesh in seconds, but thanks toyourmagic, I now have a rainbow to choose from. I have a theory about the purple flames—I think they can leave even a healer scarred. Which body part do you like the least? We can start there. A pinky toe, perhaps? I hate to mutilate a delicate flower unnecessarily… I’m going to be looking at you for the next millennia, after all.” He flashed white teeth at me and I almost vomited at the beauty in his smile.He was a fraud. An imposter.
“How could you burn someone that you claim to care for?” I rasped. I was terrified, but I’d withstand it. I wouldn’t let him scare me into submission.
“You can make this all go away if you stop denying me what I want. I don’twantto burn you, love. But I will. You need to learn your place, just as I had to learn mine.”
His mother had successfully ruined him—beaten him into obedience. Like an abused animal, he’d learned to bite anyone who got too close. He broke the things he loved, before they could break him. Somewhere along the way, he must’ve decided that relationships were always conditional and that if he wasn’t on top, then he was on the bottom. I hated Sylvia with my entire heart.
“You know nothing of love, so stop calling melove,” I said, baring my teeth.
He gave a dark laugh. “To be fair, I preferred seduction… overthis. We had some fun, didn’t we? Bow to me or burn. Last chance, my obstinate little pony. Just sayyes.”
I lungedat him in answer, before hitting the ground as chains yanked me back.
“Very well then,” he said stiffly. “This is atasteof what you can expect if you make a scene at the party.”
“Robert, Alaric. Get in here!” he yelled. I shrunk into the corner of the room, trying to make myself as small as possible.
“Restrain her,” Galen commanded. I begged them to leave me alone. The guards looked apologetic, with drawn brows and sunken shoulders. They pulled me from the floor, each taking an arm.
“Turn her around. Take off her dress.”
They hesitated and I felt the heat from his flames roar in response, making them startle and comply. They unfastened my buttons until the top of my body was exposed. I didn’t let the shame hit me. I’d already burrowed deep within myself and was too far away to reach, flying through a starry sky.
While Galen sent a whip of flame at my back, I prayed Raf and Louis had gotten the humans out. I visualized them walking through the forest towards Monrovia. They would come for me.We’d go home.
He sent another lick of flame towards bare skin, making me scream as my body involuntarily arched, snapping me back to the present. He was making thin, precise lines on either side of my spine. Slash after slash, he burned over the same patch of skin in sadistic repetition.
I lost my footing and then Robert and Alaric were keeping me upright as Galen continued his assault. Each lash destroyed another sliver of my soul, while I waited for the one that would finish me off.
