Page 35 of The Last Storm
I chuckled darkly as tears ran freely down my cheeks.
I didn’t want the mate bond. I didn’t. But now, he’d taken it from me before I even had a chance. Just as he had done my entire life. Ensuring I never had a taste of happiness.
The overwhelming hurt in my chest was cracking me in two. My fire exploded, incinerating everything around me, including my clothes. It returned to his statue, his monument, and I glared, willing it to burn hotter, more intensely. To devour everything in its wake. The granite cracked, pieces tumbling to the ground.
Roaring in rage, in agony, in hatred, the ground shook and birds took flight in the nearby forest. The fire flared, burning blue, before the entire monument exploded, tossing me back several feet.
I hit the ground with a thud, choking on a sob as the entire monument and surrounding forest burned to the ground.
Chapter Thirteen
Ara
It had been days since I’d seen Rogue. Actually, the only person I’d seen was Thana.
She had warmed up to me since our first meeting and I to her. She no longer seemed scared of my presence; we even chatted when she visited, learning of our mutual love for reading. After that, she started bringing her book recommendations from the library with her when she came and we would trade books.
Surprisingly, her favorite genre was romance—not that I minded, as it was also mine—but the romance novels in Ravaryn were much different than those in Auryna. They were much more detailed with sex laced into almost every story and I loved it. I devoured book after book.
However, reading these books only brought my thoughts back to Rogue. His red eyes, his Goddess-forsaken wings, the ease with which he handled a sword, the smell of smoke and evergreen spice that seemed to follow him. It was intoxicating.
And then irritation would inevitably prick at me. He was the vicious king of Ravaryn and had kidnapped me, holding me captive as a prisoner of war, a thing to be ransomed. That in and of itself should have turned me off from him, disgusted me, terrified me… But my body didn’t seem to care, and I was constantly having to remind myself.
I even dreamed of his touch and it felt so real. Even now, I could almost feel his hand sliding up my leg, gripping my hip, before gliding his hand down to my…
No.
My chest tightened with unease and I stood from the leather chair, clenching my jaw.
On instinct, I headed for the library, to the books that would grant me a distraction, an escape.
Crossing the hallway, I passed Doran as a look of worry bit into his features.
“Doran, hi,” I said a little too loudly, happy to see a familiar face. Any face really.
“Ara, it’s nice to see you again,” he said with a soft smile.
“Have there been any updates in the correspondence with my father?”
He averted his gaze.
“It’s not really my place to talk about such matters with you,” he replied and my heart sank. Giving a sharp nod, I started to turn away when he continued. “However, I guess it wouldn’t do much harm. No, there hasn’t been. Not to my knowledge. But that is to be expected. I would assume he’s with King Adon right now, attempting to convince him there is no other way.”
That gave me pause. If my father had to convince King Adon of anything to get me back…
Nausea rolled in my stomach and I suppressed it from showing on my face.
If my father had to convince King Adon of anything, it would be to cease the attacks. Which meant they were, in fact, attacking. Murdering women and children. In their homes. If they weren’t, then there would have been no reason to kidnap me in the first place. They needed leverage, just as Rogue had said.
My chest ached.
“Thank you for letting me know,” I replied weakly, turning to the library, my eyes unfocused.
My mind kept seeing the people in Blackburn. They were Fae, yes, but they seemed normal enough. Children played in the street as we left, just like any human child would. Women gossiped and laughed as their children ran amok. Not evil or vicious like I remembered from the war…
The Ten Year Wear.
Had we started that? Are we the aggressors then?
