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Ahand clamped over my mouth, and I smelled him – amber. My flailing limbs struggled against the male who trapped me to his chest, my heart pounding wildly out of control as adrenaline flooded my veins. I dropped the mugs of hot wine, and they fell into the snow without a sound. Cursing, I continued to fight Kazimir, but he dragged me backward and away from the stands where my mate waited for me.
“Shh, stop fighting,” Kazimir purred in my ear, and my eyes jerked to the young male manning the drink stand. But he seemed oblivious to the fact that Kazimir had me in a chokehold. The male I had loved first dragged me against my will toward where I’d left Mistik.
Fuck.
Kazimir’s intentions became crystal clear at that moment, and I snapped out with my teeth, hoping to graze his skin in any way I could. The moment I did, a corrupted black rope circled my head, gagging me as it bit into my mouth. “All I want to dois talk, but you need to listen to what I have to say instead of screaming for help or screaming over me.”
The muscles in my neck strained as I fought against the bitter binding, but despite my obvious attempts to get his attention, the young attendant still did not notice my peril as Kazimir dragged me toward the horses.
Kazimir’s laugh sent an icy chill skittering down my spine. “He can’t see you. He can’t hear you. No one will find you until I am ready for them to.”
I screamed as much as I could behind the gag in a last-ditch effort to call for help, my throat vibrating with the force of my cry. Kazimir did not even acknowledge the level of distress he brought me, and that might have been the most terrifying part of this encounter.
Was this monster always lurking inside him? Had I not accepted him during those first few months outside the cave, would this have happened sooner?
In one swift motion, Kazimir threw my legs over Fek’s back, then vaulted onto his stallion behind me, snatching the reins and kicking him into a gallop. Houses flashed by us as we raced down the street, which was devoid of life as the whole of Radence was preoccupied with the parade.
But I was an insidious bloom, and I needed no one to save me byt myself. I had reclaimed my power, and I had trained for this, and I would not be afraid.
Kazimir crushed me against him, and I struggled to free myself from his grip. Searching for the powerful white flames inside me, I called to them, stoking them higher in preparation to blow us off the street.
But nothing happened.
That’s when Immonen’s words drifted back to me.Binding magic blocks access to our Goddess-gifted power.
My eyes widened as panic clawed her way up my throat, stealing my breath as we raced to Goddess knew where. I tried again, grasping for my precious magic, but it slipped through my fingers. Cursing Kazimir, I dug my nails into his arm, shoving down with all my might, trying to break his grip.
The laugh he left in my ear was so sinister that my entire body went cold. Another malicious rope bound my hands together, and it was then that I felt truly helpless and utterly powerless for the first time since I’d left my cave.
I couldn’t save myself.
Tears pricked my eyes, and I fought with every spark of hope left within me to crush the overwhelming feelings threatening to render me immobile. I was a fighter, a survivor, and I would not give up on myself – not ever. This insidious bloom had one final thorn, willing and able to prick, and I knew, without a doubt, it was my only chance of survival.
“Ruslan!”
“Sprite? What’s wrong? Where are you?”
“I don’t know. Kazimir took me, we’re riding through Radence. I don’t know these streets, they aren’t familiar.”
The roar that burst from Ruslan shook even the homes around us, and Kazimir snapped the reins, urging Fek faster.
“Please hurry.”
“I will find you, sprite. No one will ever hurt you again.”
“He bound me, I can’t access my magic. I’m scared.”
“Me too. But we have survived so much already, and we will again.”
I tried to look up toward the sky, searching for my Demon Dragon, but Kazimir’s hand threaded through my hair and shoved my head down, causing me to cry out against my gag. “No one can see us.” Another rope wrapped around my eyes, blinding me from our path forward, and tears overflowed as I surrendered to the mercy of another male again.
But I was not giving up; no, I was doing what survivors did best – biding my time until I was certain I could strike. And then, I would offer Kazimir the same mercy I had offered the males who abused me in the cave.
Death.
Fek’s pace slowed, and Kazimir pressed his chest into me, forcing me to lean forward as we began an uphill ascent.
“I think he is taking me into the mountains.”
