Page 136 of Somnium

A scream echoed from the corridor, stopping his heart cold.

“Cadi,” he breathed. “No. Cadi!”

He rammed his shoulder against the door, over and over, blind to the searing pain from each desperate collision. “Cadi!”

A small chirp, then a metallic click and the door swung open, nearly knocking him off his feet again. Oneirios stood in the doorway, framed on either side by the two acolytes that had dragged Elias from the dais.

Darting forward, Elias threw himself against the acolyte to his right and sent the man stumbling backward. But his escape was thwarted when rough hands clutched him by the shoulders to force him back violently and pin him to one of the chairs.

Oneirios stepped inside. Elias’s breaths came in short, shredded bursts as he tracked the god’s movements. He glided around the desk, then gently lowered himself into the high-backed chair with a sense of calm that set Elias’s teeth on edge.

Cadi was out there, hurt and terrified, and this fuck was acting like it was just another Wednesday. An animalistic snarl tore from Elias’s throat as he twisted hard against the acolyte’s grip, but the man just jerked him back.

Oneirios folded his hands and raised a single eyebrow as he patiently watched Elias’s futile attempts to break free.

“This is very disappointing, Elias,” he said. His tone was calm and measured—too calm. It sent a shiver over Elias’s skin. The god pulled in a deep breath and leaned back against the chair, waving his hand in dismissal. “But no matter. Leave the robe. Your personal effects will be at your car.”

Elias froze, waiting for the final blow. The yelling, the screaming, the promise of punishment. But instead, there was only silence. Somehow, that felt worse.

“What?” he bit out.

Oneirios tutted a laugh, then leaned forward to rest his elbows on the desk, steepling his fingers in front of him. “You didn’t honestly think you would remain my high priest after that, did you?”

Elias’s jaw went slack, his mind struggling to keep up. “You’re just—you’re letting me go?”

The god’s lips curled into a cruel smirk, his teeth flashing like a predator toying with his prey. “From your position as high priest, yes.”

Elias shook his head. This wasn’t right. Oneirios could easily have him beaten to within an inch of his life and locked him away for what he’d done, so why wasn’t he? The god of dreams never made a move that wasn’t self-serving, there was no way he would just⁠—

The room dipped as he began to see the subtle details buried beneath the specificity of Oneirios’s reply. Elias was being released from his position, but the god had said nothing about an end to their deal. “My binding …”

The god sucked his teeth and snapped his fingers, as if the magic that compelled Elias to preside over every Somnium had simply slipped his mind. “Oh yes, that little detail. That will remain in full effect, I’m afraid.”

Elias’s throat went dry as understanding snapped violently into place. His freedom was the punishment. It would be torture each time his absence from Somnium triggered his binding’s conditions. Oneirios wouldn’t have to lift a finger.

The god’s eyes gleamed with vicious delight as he stepped around the desk to tower over Elias with a cruel smirk. His long fingers twirled the silver ring around his knuckle.

“It would be easy to just lock you away and let you rot as the binding slowly chips away at your sanity, but where’s the fun in that?” Oneirios leaned forward to grip the arms of Elias’s chair, pressing closer until his face was barely an inch away. “How long do you think it will take for the city to turn on you once word gets out about who you really are and what you’ve done? A week? Two? I wouldn’t be surprised if those in attendance tonight had already told half the population. It isn’t looking good for you, friend.”

The final word dripped with venom as Elias watched Oneirios’s expression shift from mock pity to a look of satisfied triumph. “Everything you have, everything you are, is because of me, and I’m going to enjoy watching you crumble. Arcadia is mine, my siblings are powerless, and so are you.”

The smile dissolved from his face, replaced by seething wrath. “Now get out.”

The acolytes gripped his arms, stripping off the silken fabric as they hauled him to his feet. Elias’s entire body shook with the effort to keep from launching himself over the desk and wrapping his fingers around Oneirios’s throat. There wasn’t time for that; his fate was sealed. He had to get to Cadi.

Fingers dug into his arms as the men led him away. Their hold was relentless as they wound through the corridors toward the lift that would take them to the private subterranean parking garage.

“Hey, Masterson!”

The skin on the back of Elias’s neck drew tight. He knew that voice, and the edges of his vision were already tinging with red as his escort spun him around. The smug look on Damon’s face as he sauntered toward them sealed it.

This, he had time for.

Elias lunged at him.

“You sick fuck!” he yelled, raging against the acolytes’ grasp. “I will fucking kill you!”

Pain exploded in his shoulder when one of the men yanked his arm behind his back and twisted it at an awkward angle before they shoved his face into the stone wall.