Chapter 6

Well, shit. It was me. I was blocking our bond and I didn’t even know how I was doing it.

            “How do I stop?”

            His eyes searched mine. What he looked for I didn’t know, but finally a hint of cockiness enter those beautiful amber orbs. Cupping my cheek he leaned forward, slowly, as if giving me time to stop him. His lips brushed mine, soft and teasing, before his tongue swept forward to caress the seam of my lips. I opened for him, my eyes closing. His hand slipped to the back of my head, pulling me in closer, melding his mouth to mine. Our tongues danced a sultry tango, pushing and pulling, twisting and twining. Pulling back slightly he nibbled my bottom lip before sucking it between his. I moaned deep in my throat as his kisses moved down to my neck.

            “What do you feel, little fox?”

            His lips and breath tickled my skin, distracting me from his question. I didn’t want to talk, to focus on stringing words together to form logical responses. I only wanted more of his mouth on me, all over me. A chuckle vibrated through him before he nipped my throat. And then I felt it. Joy, longing, need, pleasure. All multiplied tenfold. With a start I realized these weren’t just my feelings. It didn’t take long to realize they were his as well.

            “What do you hear? What do you see?”

            His forehead rested against mine as images and thoughts flashed through my mind. His images and thoughts. Images of me, white-haired, streaked with icy blue highlights, blue-eyed, contrasting starkly against my dark chocolate skin tone and stunningly fierce. Beyond beautiful, as I battled him and his men. Holding them off, not because they were afraid to hurt me, but because I truly challenged them. It was theirpride that I hurt more than my own warriors. His pride had soared. As his mate, I had proved to be his equal and as his queen I would rule by his side. My eyes flew open and I stared at him in shock.

            “You’re the crown prince of your people?”

            “One of them,” he confirmed. I didn’t know what caught me off guard the most, his title or me actually speaking to him by thought alone.

            We didn’t get a chance to say anything more. His head snapped to the door and in a flash he’d placed me on the bed and moved across the room. Throwing the doors open he jumped into the fray, fighting with his men. In my mind I could hear him telling me to run, to find somewhere safe to hide. My mind was sluggish, slow to comprehend what was truly happening and I sat there, dumbfounded. Lily burst through a hidden door and beckoned for me, just as I heard Celeste’s voice.

            “Bring me my daughter, unharmed!

“My princess, we must go. We cannot stay. The things they mean to do to you¼,” she cut her words abruptly, unable to finish her sentence. “We must go!”

            She tried to help me from the bed, but I found myself reluctant to leave without Valen. I needed to stay and help him.

            “She knows the plan, Little Fox. You’re too weakened to fight this time. Let her get you to safety and I will come for you.” He must have sensed my hesitancy because he spoke again. “I promise. I will come for you. Go now!”

            With one final glance, I allowed Lily to lead me away. I struggled to remain upright, my legs felt too heavy to manage and I wanted nothing more than to stop and lie down. I wanted to quit. To sit and curl into a ball of nothingness. Instead, with Lily’s help, I ran. I ran until I could barely stand and just when I thought I would collapse, Lily announced that we’d made it. She pushed the door open and we stepped into a dimly lit hallway.

Somewhere unseen, water dripped and the dank smell of mold permeated the air,. I knew the sound and the smell well. When I didn’t perform the way she wanted, Celeste had me locked away in these dungeon cells beneath the palace. I spent plenty of time down here and my stomach roiled with the memories of starvation and wallowing in my own filth. I rallied my strength, determined to not spend an extra second in this place and hoping this wasn’t Lily’s final destination. Further ahead, I could make out forms, one tall and familiar. Even pissed off with him and still raw from his betrayal, I’d never been happier to see Kormen. Lily, however, froze where she stood.

“You’re here! Kormen, help us. Something is wrong, nothing makes sense,” I pleaded. He ignored me; his focus trained solely on Lily.

            “So very predictable, Lily,” he scolded.

            “Kormen?” I asked in confusion. Why would he speak to Lily over me? Why would his face be contorted into such a sneer?

            “Hush now, Cy. I told you everything would be okay,” he assured, hate filled eyes still trained on Lily.

            “You promised! You said if I did whatever you said you’d leave her alone. You said you wouldn’t go through with this,” Lily yelled as she placed herself between Kormen and me.

            Her short stature did nothing to block my view of Kormen and definitely wouldn’t protect me, like I suspected she was trying to. Not when his sneer deepened and not when he viciously backhanded her. I tried to catch her flailing body but I was weak and we both crashed to the ground. I pulled her small frame into my  embrace, my arms wrapped around her protectively. I glared up at Kormen and placed as much of myself as I could in front of Lily’s prone form.

            “I also told you to keep your mouth shut!” he fumed.

            Lily wasn’t born with Vetur and even though she didn’t have any power, she was still a woman and treasured, revered, just as much as any other. For Kormen to do this to her was unacceptable.

            “Kormen! You will not speak to her like that. How dare you put your hands on her?” I raged. “Have you lost your mind completely? She deserves better than this!”

            “She is nothing! Did she tell you how often she spread her legs for me? How much of a whore she really is? The things she let me do to her?”

            My breath caught in my throat and my head jerked back as though I’d been physically struck. His words made absolutely no sense. I shook my head in denial. He couldn’t have touched Lily. I’d always considered Lily a friend, but she had never admitted to the same. Celeste would never have allowed it. But I had always looked out for her. I gave her extra and treated her with the same respect she showed me. When she came to me with an issue, I made sure it was resolved in a way that was always beneficial to her. But she never told me this. She never came to me for this. How could she have kept this from me? I would have protected her from anyone, Kormen included. I made sure her status as my first attendant, my friend, kept her safe. But clearly I’d failed her.

“He promised, Cyan. He promised that if I did the things he asked he wouldn’t do them to you. I didn’t know. I didn’t think you could stop him,” Lily whimpered.

            My entire body felt heavy, weighed down by her proclamation. I pulled her tighter to me, my heart shattering at her words. Celeste never let me show the full extent of my powers in public. Everyone thought I still needed to hone them. None of the clan, Lily included, were privy to what I could do. All she’d seen were the times that she’d been called in to privately help me recover from whatever torment Celeste had decided to inflict upon me for failing to meet her standards. It made sense that she thought she needed to protect me from Kormen. She had let him use her, abuse her, all out of some misguided sense of loyalty and keeping me safe. This was all my fault. I should’ve known. I looked up at Kormen, tears burning my eyes.

            “What did you do, Kormen? How could you do this?”

            He grinned. Full blown, dimples in his cheek, and shining white teeth. He took pleasure in this. How could I have been so wrong about someone? I couldn’t reconcile this cruel, sneering monster with the boy that I’d loved and grown with. How could I have missed the evil lurking behind the sweet façade.

            “Don’t worry, love. She was only a stand in until I could feast upon your delectable frame,” he cooed as he squatted before me, his eyes twinkling as though he expected me to be grateful for his words.

            Vetur flared at his audacity, his patronization. With a snarl, I released it. It sent him soaring back, crashing into the dozen warriors behind him. Just as quickly as it had flared, it fizzled out. I could only watch helplessly as they slowly picked themselves up. I took satisfaction in the few that cradled broken bones and staggered with their movements. Quite a few bled from their noses and ears. It wasn’t enough though. Kormen got up and dusted himself off as he shook his head and chuckled.

            “I really should thank the dragon prince. Were it not for him, you probably would’ve killed me. He’s made you weak though. And that little stunt you just pulled is going to cost you.”

            Reaching forward, he grabbed Lily by her hair and yanked her to him. I crumbled back to the floor and watched as he wrapped an arm around her, plastering her back to his front. She struggled, kicked and screamed, arms flailing. Terror seized me as he pulled a dagger from his waist and held it against her throat.

            “No, no, God, please, no! Kormen, don’t!” I pleaded.

            “Cyan? What’s happening?”

            I heard Valen and try as I might, I couldn’t answer him. I couldn’t calm myself enough to even stop blocking him so he could see what was happening.

            “Kormen, please! What are you doing? Don’t do this,” I begged, my voice a horrified whisper. He couldn’t do this to Lily. She didn’t deserve this. He couldn’t just snuff her life out like it meant nothing at all.

            “This is what happens when you use Vetur against me. I am your mate, you will never attack me that way again,” he stated calmly.

            His dagger slid across her throat, turning her cries into a wet gurgle. Blood flowed from the wound, drenching the front of her pale pink dress in crimson. Her mouth opened and closed struggling to make words and speak the agony she was experiencing. Her eyelids drooped and resignation settled in her features. Hands that’d been trying to stem the flow of blood slowly drifted down to her side. I stared, unable to move, unable to speak as I watched the light bleed from her eyes and her body go limp.

            “Never defy me again,” Kormen hissed as he carelessly tossed her body aside.

            “Cyan! Answer me! Where are you?” Valen shouted into my head, breaking my terror induced trance.

            “Kormen. Kormen killed Lily.” Even in my mind my voice was small, terrified.

            “Where are you? I can barely sense you.”

            Pain, horrid and debilitating blasted through me, stealing my breath. I knew immediately it wasn’t mine. Valen had been hurt. A roar bellowed through my mind before our link went completely silent.

            “Valen? What was that? What just happened?” I called out to him repeatedly, but he didn’t answer. It wasn’t until Kormen grabbed me by my upper arms, his grip tight and painful, that I realized I’d been speaking aloud.

            “He can’t save you now,” he sneered as heels clacked across the floor.

            Celeste came into view, her regal features contorted into a disgusted scowl. Her gaze drifted over the scene and she scoffed when she saw Lily’s lifeless form.

            “Was that really necessary?” She sighed, exasperated and silenced Kormen’s response with a raised hand.

            “Take Cyan, Kormen. Do not bring her back until it’s done. I’ll not have my bloodlines tainted because of her foolishness,” she ordered.

            “It shall be done, my queen,” Kormen promised, a leering smile on his lips.

            I looked between the two of them, still not believing my ears. Kormen, my best friend. My mother. Betrayed beyond comprehension, I had no idea what to do. Lily laid dead at my feet and my mate had been hurt. I was alone again and this time, there was no one for me to fall back on.

            I felt a pinch in my neck and shortly after everything became hazy. Kormen placed a kiss on my lips and told me to sleep well. I waited for Vetur to surge, but nothing happened and I remembered Valen’s words. I’d never felt so desolate, so dismal in my life, but I vowed then and there to kill him and The Queen. The one person who could’ve stopped me had been taken away from me before I’d even truly had him and I curled in on myself to try to block the agony rippling through me. My eyes grew heavier from whatever they’d injected me with. My heart ached for Valen, but I let the pain fuel me.

            “I’m going to kill you both,” I swore just as darkness enveloped me.