Page 198 of Sienna Rossi: Beyond Shattered Trust

He steps closer.

Sienna. Darling, can you hear me?! She doesn’t respond, her body forced to bend over as chains now spread across her legs and her ankles, and even trapping her wings.

“To think I was so focused on the Deimos King that I didn’t realise for far too long that the greatest treasure was not something he possessed but something standing beside him – it was never you.”

He came after me because he fucking thought I possessed something so great when it was her…

“There are three steps to enslaving a demon. Their name, the incantation, and then breaking them into submission. I think the third is going to be my favourite part,” Vincenzo hums.

“Sienna! Can you hear me!” I shout, forming a barrier around us, buying precious moments as my gauntlets evaporate and I cup her face, the bond sparking between us.

Her eyes flutter as they stare at me weakly.

Jayce…

Come back to me. He can’t win over you!

The drakaths will become his… We can’t let it happen.

The chains tighten again, and Sienna sucks in a sharp breath, her nails digging into the ground, refusing to bow her head despite the pressure being exerted on her. Even now, she’s fighting. Even now, she’s refusing to break.

Through the barrier, Vincenzo watches us with quiet satisfaction as he closes the distance between us.

“Jayce…” Sienna whispers, her voice cracking, but I’m relieved she’s still fighting. “You have to do it.”

My heart clenches sharply when I realise what she’s insinuating.

“Sienna...” My voice comes out rougher than intended.

Her eyes meet mine instantly, and she shakes her head, not afraid, as certainty burns in her eyes. “You know the words… Your memory has always been incredible, so do it now.”

It isn’t a question; she’s not asking me.

No. I can’t do that to her. Her eyes soften, as if realising what’s going through my mind.

It’s the only way, or I’m his.

The very thought feels like a knife through my heart. For a moment, neither of us speaks whilst the battle continues around us, and somewhere in the distance, lightning cracks through the darkened sky. The drakaths wait – their future as uncertain as Sienna’s in this moment.

“No. I can’t,” I whisper. All logic tells me it’s how to go about it, but what if it cannot be undone? What if she’s bound to me forever in a way I don’t want her to be?

Sadness flickers across her face, and she smiles as if understanding it.

Jayce-

No. I can’t. You’re my queen; I’m not- The very thought turns my stomach.

I’ve spent my entire life knowing the kind of man I want to become, the kind of mate I want to be, the way I want to treat her, and she’s asking me to place chains on her.

The woman I love. The woman I’d give up everything for. The woman I yield to.

“Don’t look at it like that,” she whispers softly, sensing my emotions through the bond.

“And I know a way to make you submit,” Vincenzo hums; he’s a mere twenty yards away now.

The chains burn again, and pain flashes across her expression before she forces it away.

I hate that she’s hurting.