Page 1 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

1

Betrayal coats my tongue. Thick. Metallic. Suffocating. It clings to the back of my throat, choking me every time I think of the Fae’s deception, my town’s treachery, and everything else that’s transpired these past days. Everything I’ve lost. Everything I still stand to lose.

The tattered nightgown from my abduction is gone, but when I glance at the fresh tawny dress spread across my lap, I can still see where drops of blood fell. Where each tear and smear of dirt clung to me like a brand. My body may be healed, but the ghosts of every strike I endured in the barrack cell, every crack of pain, still pulse across my skin.

The saddle groans as I shift my weight, gripping the pommel between my legs. The mare’s gait is steady, tethered to Jaxon’s horse ahead, carrying me away from Verdanthia. The town I once called home, the town I bled for, has turned its back on me. All for the sin of speaking up and offering to save them from the wrath of the Fae.

Even Lev turned on me. My childhood best friend, my lover, and a person I believed would be part of my days for the rest of my life.

No good deed goes unpunished, but mine ended in torture. It could have been worse. If not for the Fae males who now hold me captive. If not for him.

Rian.

The Shadow Prince rides at the head of our small procession, Draven beside him. Their midnight stallions move like shadows come alive, muscles rippling beneath ink-dark hides. The air around them hums with restrained power, warping the sunlight into a muted haze. They ride relaxed, unhurried, as though the world bends to their will.

Arrogant monsters.

The magic in my veins rustles.

Rian’s back stiffens. I tear my gaze away before he turns around. I won’t be able to contain my fury if he meets my eyes.

I long to demand he release me—to curse him for stealing me from my sister. For forcing my hand in binding myself to him again, stripping away my choice, tethering me to his power like I am something to be used.

But I won’t. Not yet.

I fix my attention on Jaxon and Darius. They haven’t stopped talking since the moment our horses carried us into the ominous darkness encompassing the Forbidden Forest.

Their voices thread through the dense air as they banter about the humidity, the smell of the forest, even the discomfort of their saddles. Their easy conversation contrasts sharply with the forest’s hush, broken only by the rhythmic clomp of hooves and the soft grind of the wagon wheels behind us.

No one else speaks. Not me. Not Draven. Not Rian.

Once again, my eyes drift to the Shadow Prince.

Shadows press against his broad back. Their commanding presence penetrates the air, all the way back to me. The magic dwelling within me snaps to attention. My power warms with desire.

I grit my teeth and tamp down the traitorous emotion.

Whatever pull I once felt toward Rian…whatever strange connection tried to bloom for the male who’d learned about my power and chose not to treat me as an enemy, I snip it from the stem.

I crush the petals into dust and toss them into the wind.

Shadow Fae destroyed the human kingdom during the Shadow Wars.

Rian’s people tore down the Veil separating our worlds, and humans have been living under their oppressive thumbs ever since.

That is the legacy Rian will inherit. That is his fate as the Shadow King’s heir.

And he kept it all from me…

He tricked me.

Rian may have freed me from the deal we made, but he chose to trap me in another. Now he drags me along on whatever dastardly mission his king has sent him on.

For there is no reason the Shadow Prince would be so far south of the Veil.

Not unless he’s doing something important. Something that will undoubtedly harm humans and rob us of what miniscule freedom we have from our Fae overlords.

“Mother save me,” Darius groans, cutting through my thoughts. “My ass hurts. Please tell me we’re getting close to the port.”