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“He can have his hands. It’s not like the iron prevents him from using magic anyway,” Rares grumbled from the couch adjacent to the torture table.
The chains were removed, and Ithuriel rubbed his wrists as my chest heaved with silent sobs.
“Get to it, then,” Zalan snapped from above me. I closed my eyes, unwilling to look upon my husband's face while my true love, my mate, touched my trembling thighs, parting them slightly.
“I am so sorry, my love,” he whispered in my mind.
“Stay with me here. Please don’t let me suffer this alone,” I thought back.
“Always,” his honeyed voice replied. He began to sing a tune in Angelic, the sound soothing in its melody, and I relaxed enough to spread my legs wider. He entered me gently, so unlike our first coupling, and his song never wavered as he moved inside me.
I bit back on my pleasure, knowing that Zalan would be furious if he watched me writhe beneath another male. Ithuriel, to his credit, hurried through his task, quickly filling me with his seed.
The moment he was done, he exited me and the song ended.
The guards tossed him some clothes, and he dressed quickly, though he was left unbound. He shot me a sorrowful look, and through our bond I felt his desire to burn every male in this room to dust to save me from the humiliation I endured.
“She needs to remain like this for twenty minutes before she can move. We’ll do it again tomorrow,” Rares instructed. And with that, all departed, leaving me alone with my husband.
His grip on my wrists was bruising, and I’d have to wear thick bracelets to cover the rings his fingers left there. He released one, only to thread it in my hair and rip my head back so I was forced to look him in his disgusting green eyes. “You heard him. Don’t move, Liessa. The sooner you get pregnant, the better.”
He threw my head to the side and stalked from the room, following his new master like a starving pup begging for a scrap of power. Only once the door slammed behind him did I allow the grief and shame of my new position to spill from my lips, and I curled in on myself atop that table and cried until no more tears flowed.
“Shh,we must be quiet, my love.” Ithuriel dragged me along a dark corridor in a far corner of Ryza. He opened the door to an unused room, sheets covering all furniture. But in the middle, rows of candles lined the floor, forming the shape of a heart around a soft pile of fur. A stifled gasp caught in my throat as Ithuriel led me to it. My blood heated with every step closer to the promise of aloneness with my mate.
I buried myself in the soft fur, Ithuriel joining me on it, stroking my back and eliciting goosebumps across my skin. “Let me heal you,” he begged. The low lighting could not hide the new bruises scattered across my ribs.
“It will only be worse for us if he sees me without them,” I whispered, and my mate’s stunning blue eyes glistened. His hands shook as he brought them to my face, brushing my hair from it and capturing my lips in his.
“It kills me to watch him hurt you, Liessa,” he murmured. “Every time I see him, every time I feel your pain down our bond, I want to kill him.”
“But if you kill him, you will die for it, and I’d rather know you still breathe than live in a world without you in it.”
“I will find a way out of this, my love, and we will be together and free.”
My mother began narratingas her memories continued to play before me, like my own personal performance.
We madelove over and over and over again that night. It was one of the few stolen nights of aloneness, where Zalan did not discover us. Our love was intense, passionate, and over much too soon. From themoment I met him, I could not deny our connection, no matter how much the threat of Zalan discovering us and killing him hung over my head. Zalan was controlling, aggressive, and violent toward me – all things a male should never do. All he cared about was serving himself and his needs, no matter the harm that came to others.
My daughter, I love you so much, even as you are just a tiny seed in my belly as I create this for you. You were born from love, no matter the circumstances. One day, you will find love too. Make sure he puts your needs above his own, protects you with the fierceness you deserve, and does not dampen your free spirit. For if you are anything like me, and I hope you are, your spirit will be as untamable as a wild stallion. Do not lose yourself along the way, as I allowed myself to be destroyed. Be free, my sweet angel.
My palms hitthe ground in front of me, and my breath heaved in my chest as I wrestled down the anguish in my heart. A waterfall flowed from my eyes as I crashed back into reality.
I felt everything.The intensity of her connection to Ithuriel. Her unconditional love for me. Her fear of King Zalan. Her disgust of King Azim and Rares. It was all too much.
With shaking hands, I lifted the chain over my head and palmed the deep purple stone, holding it to my heart as I broke apart from the inside. “She loved him so much…”
“I know,” Zuriel murmured as he stroked my back.
“Thank you,” I managed to choke out. “That was possibly the greatest gift I could ever receive.”
“I am sorry I did not give it to you sooner.” He wiped tears from my cheeks, then handed me a bit of cloth from his jacket for me to dry my face.
I hugged the Angel who had given me so much already. “You gave it to me at just the right time.” I’d finally calmed enough to speak of other topics, and I was torn between revealing my planand risking someone overhearing and wanting to protect him from any fallout should I succeed. He protected me against the spell Rares tried to place on me the first day, and I owed him my life. So, I shared.
“I have been influencing Ruslan’s emotions every day since we started training. He has changed, little by little, and I have grown to love him for it. I have hope that he will stand against King Azim when the time comes. And when we take him down, I will release you and the rest of the Telivér so you can either return to your lands or make your homes here. No one deserves to be trapped against their will. I will right the wrongs done to you.”
“My dear cousin, your heart is too pure for this world.” Zuriel gave me a sad half smile and cupped the side of my face. “I will fight alongside you when the time comes. You have my support in whatever way I can provide it. But for now, let’s practice influencing multiple people at once. Béke starts in a few days, and I have a feeling you will need it.”
