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I held the tea beneath Tari’s lips, letting her take her time as she took small sips. By the time she was finished, her cheeks were flushed with color, though she still had a glazed look in her eyes.
“Now how do you feel?” I asked as I took the goblet and handed it to Esther.
She covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. “Tired.”
I rubbed warmth into her leg. “Tari, tell us what you remember.”
She frowned then looked away. “I can’t in front of the girls.”
“I’ll take them to our room,” Blaze said before ushering them outside.
I gently stroked her arm while leaning closer. “Tell us, sweetheart.”
She visibly swallowed, her hand trembling in mine. “He tried to rape me.”
I stopped breathing. If it wasn’t for the wild thudding of my heart, I would’ve thought time had stood still as I focused on my mate. “Who?”
Her lower lip trembled. “Thorin.”
Ash jumped from the bed and let out a mournful wail.
Calm yourself, brother, I chided, projecting my thought only to him. This doesn’t help our mate.
The wolf flashed in his eyes as fur sprouted on his face. I will rip out his heart.
Leave if you can’t calm down, I warned. I respected that my twin was the alpha wolf, but his dominance meant nothing to me if his behavior threatened to upset Tari.
Ash’s shoulders sagged as he lowered himself back onto the bed with a whimper. “When?”
“Many times.” Tari swallowed. “I fought him every time, and then he’d erase my memory and try again about a month later. He was usually distracted by his human girlfriends, but when they weren’t around, he’d turn his attention to me again.”
“Oh, darling.” Shiri’s eyes watered as she stroked her sister’s face. “I’m so sorry.”
Tari wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Sometimes he’d call me Flora when he’d try to rape me.”
I recalled Tari’s first meeting with Selig in Fachnan’s court. “Selig said the mind spinner was obsessed with your mother.”
“We do look a lot like our mother,” Shiri said.
Tari shook her head. “I didn’t look like our mother when I was with Thorin. I was a plain little human.” She groaned while hanging her head in her hands.
“He would’ve probably tried to rape you more if you had looked like our mother.” Shiri rubbed Tari’s back, her brows drawn with concern.
I imagined her soothing Ember and Aurora in the same way whenever they’d been traumatized. I was grateful to her for taking care of the girls these past few years, but it wasn’t until that moment I realized she was so nurturing. Our children had been fortunate to have their aunt watching them, and I knew I’d never be able to repay her for her kindness.
All went silent as an invisible fog hung between us.
Ash cleared his throat as he leaned toward Tari. “Did he ever succeed?”
“No.” She looked down as she folded her hands in her lap. “He was usually so drunk that it wasn’t hard to fight him off.”
Ash jumped from the bed, letting out a wolf’s howl. “I’ll rip his heart out and slice off his dick!”
The satyr priestesses flinched, hiding behind their high priestess.
“Ash!” I said on a warning growl, balling my hands into fists.
Shiri shook her head. “He’ll change your memories before you can touch him.”
