Chapter 70

Ellery

I wasn'tsure what drove me across the room, but I stood before him with my fingers on his chest before I registered moving. The disbelief of seeing his back had frozen my feet to the floor, and when he turned to reveal his chest, something compelled me forward.

He was so big, so broad, and so powerful I couldn't imagine anyone being able to inflict the dozens and dozens, if not hundreds, of scars slicing across his chest, abdomen, back, shoulders, and arms. There were so many they crisscrossed each other in dozens of locations as they ran across his sides and down to the waistband of his pants.

His clothing had always kept them hidden, but this close, I saw some fainter ones creeping up his throat and across his temple that I'd never noticed before. Like he was some kind of macabre painting full of hidden details, the more I explored him, the more scars I discovered.

Fury and sorrow warred inside me as I traced one of the white scars running from his shoulder, across his abs, and down to his ribs. A whip inflicted this; I was certain of that.

Most of the scars were white slashes, but others were a puckered, faint pink. Mixed within those awful slashes were circular holes created by a knife or some other weapon.

I'd seen other holes on his back before he turned, but they were different than the ones on his chest. On his back, they were evenly spaced… like someone had pressed him down on a bed of spikes.

Unexpected tears swam in my eyes and clogged my throat. What evil, horrendous bastard did this to him, and why?

"Don't," he said in a raspy voice I barely recognized. "Don't cry for me, Ellery. I won't have your pity."

I tilted my head back to discover his eyes blazing down at me. I blinked away the tears that irritated him so much.

"I don't pity you," I whispered. "I just don't understand why someone would do this."

"Because there is great evil in the realms. There is a lot of good, and I've encountered plenty of that, but I've run into my fair share of monsters too."

I knew that I was living amid some of those monsters now, but this was a level of depravity I never could have imagined existing. No wonder he was so different from the man I met on that snowy day six years ago.

He'd been far from a boy then but more innocent. That man had gone to war and returned with more knowledge of the realms and the nightmares they contained. He had a reason to be ruthless and bore that reason for others to see.

"Who did this to you?" I breathed.

"The ophidians did much of it while they held me in their dungeon. Their favorite pastime was torturing us and seeing what it would take to make us scream. Some scars are from the war, and others are from my past."

I traced another jagged scar across his heart. I couldn't believe anyone or anything would enjoy doing this to another.

"I'm sorry you had to endure this. It never should have happened."

He caressed my chin before lifting it so I had to look at him. "I survived. Many others didn't."

I blinked at him, mesmerized by his gaze and the strength of a man who had endured this and lived. His experiences had changed him, there was no denying that, but they hadn't completely eradicated the good in him, and I sometimes glimpsed the more carefree man who had sat in our manor six years ago.

At first, I'd missed that man, but not anymore. Brutality had forged this man into someone stronger, someone who might be able to save Tempest.

So much had happened to both of us between that winter storm and today, but somehow, those events had brought us together, and while all my many lies would tear us apart, I wouldn't change anything. I was glad I'd gotten to know him better, and no matter the outcome, I always would be.

"How did you survive this?" I asked.

When he hesitated, I could tell it was a memory he didn't like sharing.

"You don't have to tell me," I assured him.

His fingers tightened on my chin before his thumb tenderly stroked it. When his gaze fell to my lips, my toes curled into the cool wood beneath my feet. I held my breath as I waited for him to kiss me again, but instead, he spoke.

"In the beginning, there were more of us in the dungeon. At the end, all I had was Tucker, a witch named Leland, the dark fae prince Brokk, and Kaylia, another witch and Brokk's consort. We survived together."

"Did King Leonidas also die in that dungeon?"

His fingers squeezed my chin. "No. He died while we were trying to free him from the ophidians."

The way he said it made it clear he believed he'd failed. "You did the best you could."

"It wasn't good enough."

"It's not your fault King Leonidas is dead. King Ivan could have ransomed his brother; he had to have collected enough money to do so, and he didn't. Instead, he used the money to trap us all here; his brother's death is his fault. This is what he wanted. You never had a chance of saving the king; I bet they always planned for him to die."

When he stepped closer, his chest brushing mine caused my breath to suck in as tingles of awareness erupted across my skin. Hunger burned in his eyes, and while I didn't have much experience with men, I knew it was for me.