Chapter Twenty-Three

C HAPTER T WENTY-THREE

‘Nice to see that true love can indeed break even the most powerful mind magic.’ Aurum’s smile is viperous. ‘Pathetic, truly, but what can I do when my only nephew becomes weak over a mortal?’

Darius quickly takes on a protective stance, pushing me behind him while he glares at Aurum and shields me with an outstretched hand across my midsection.

Aurum watches the action with cruelty alongside Sarilyn. I’m used to seeing her in a gown, but now she’s wearing a suit of golden armour that fits her like a second skin and is just like Aurum’s. Panic smashes across my chest like fragile glass as I think of my brothers, my friends . . .

‘Oh, Darius, how you disappoint me. I thought we were family.’ Aurum’s grinning, arms opened wide as if to greet us.

Darius’s hand hardens into a fist. His harsh gaze targets Aurum as he says, ‘You’re a sick bastard.’ He charges at him, set on doing harm, but Aurum’s grin widens as he raises his arm and shadowed hands form out of the ground, seizing Darius’s ankles.

‘Don’t forget, I still own you,’ Aurum says mockingly while toying with the shadow magic at his fingertips. ‘As long as you have that mark on you, you can’t do anything.’

Anger ebbs out of me as I unsheathe my dagger and run towards him. Predatory green eyes slide over to me as he creates a massive shadow that drives me back into the wall. Hot stings spread all over me as I scream and land on the ground with my palms flat on the rubble.

Pushing through the throbbing pain, I rise to my knees, but something heavy pushes me back down and I groan, unable to move. My gaze fixes on Aurum as he stretches his hand to me. He clenches his fist, and the weight on my back crushes me bit by bit.

As my mouth fills with a heavy metallic substance, I immediately spit blood out in front of me. Aurum’s slow, lethal steps then stalk towards me, but Darius shouts for his attention, making him pause and turn. I look up to see Darius free from the shadows and now, behind Sarilyn, pressing one of her blades against her neck.

‘Touch her again and I swear I will take pleasure in slicing this knife across your precious Sarilyn.’ Darius is furious compared to Sarilyn’s confident stance, as she holds her head high and doesn’t show any sign of fear in her dark gaze.

Aurum’s chuckle comes out as a scoff. He looks back and forth between Darius and me. ‘Even without your powers, you’re a brave little shit,’ he says to his nephew, prompting Darius to draw blood from Sarilyn’s neck. She stutters a gasp but does not try to fight out of it. ‘Go on then, kill her. I can easily make you stop with a click of my fingers.’

‘Darius,’ I croak, seeing his gaze shift to where I am. Anguish clouds his eyes with a veil of hesitation. The blade in his hand trembles, and he struggles to keep his grip on it as Aurum manipulates his mind and the dagger clatters onto the ground. Darius stumbles away from Sarilyn, and at that exact moment, Aurum whistles, beckoning a few Elven soldiers.

They rush in, not giving me enough time to recover as two of them yank me up from the ground. A third, who I recognise from my time with Arlayna, stands before me, his green regretful gaze elsewhere as he places my hands in shackles. It is the same boy from the night we rescued Darius.

‘Ruvyn,’ I whisper. He doesn’t look at me, his dark hair shielding most of his face. ‘You don’t have to do this. Arlayna would not want this.’

He yanks at the chain connecting to the shackles and shakes his head. ‘I no longer answer to the princess.’ He turns away from me before I can speak, and the two other Elvens holding me by the arms look towards Aurum as more Elves haul in someone else, beaten and bruised.

Terror slices across my heart when I realise it is Gus.

He is thrown to the ground, his eyes flickering up to meet mine with apologetic need.

‘Ah, there you are, finally,’ Aurum says gleefully as Sarilyn watches on from the shadows of the dungeons. ‘I was beginning to wonder if they had left anything of you at all.’

A trail of blood follows beneath Gus as he holds his abdomen, but an Elf quickly presses the heel of his boot down on Gus’s back. He cries out in pain, and I squirm to let myself free.

‘What did you do to him?’ I demand and glance over at Darius. His gaze is fixed on me, and as his eyes lower to the shackles on me – the same ones restraining him – he seethes with anger.

‘Well, after I took hold of . . .’ Aurum begins, his voice dripping with malicious amusement, ‘most of your little friends, and what is it again? Ah, yes, those interesting brothers of yours. Augustus here enlightened me to a terrific truth, in accordance with the fact that I freed your siblings and took him in their place.’

A wave of nausea burns my throat as I choke back the panicked fear that my brothers never made it to safety.

Furiously shaking my head, I attempt to lunge at him, but a sharp cry escapes my throat when the Elf beside me yanks at my hair, forcefully pulling my head back.

Darius yells, trying to draw the Elf’s attention as he breaks free from Aurum’s lackeys, but it is useless. Aurum’s power takes hold of him, and he freezes on the spot as if trapped in an invisible cage with no way to escape.

Aurum’s smile widens. ‘Although now I’ve changed my mind.’

‘You said you’d let them go!’ Gus chokes from the ground.

‘I’m funny like that.’

With his free hand, Gus raises it towards Aurum, shadows swirling around his palm as he conjures blades aimed at him.

Aurum dodges them, letting a few hit an Elf behind him. As the Elf crumples to the ground with blood spilling from his head, neck and chest, Aurum turns to Gus. ‘Is that any way to treat your brother-in-law?’

The air stills.

Aurum chuckles. ‘Oh, that is right; I forgot.’ He glances back at Darius. ‘He doesn’t know, does he?’

Gus’s eyes turn to slits. ‘Don’t—’

‘This is why, Darius.’ He shakes his head in faux shame, walking up to him. ‘I told you that you were siding with the wrong people.’

No, no, no, no.

‘Aurum!’ I shout, but the grip on my hair has me barely able to move an inch of my neck.

He strolls behind Darius before leaning forward as if he is about to let him in on a secret. His gaze is directed at Gus as he says in a venomous whisper, ‘Even your own father has been lying to you all these years. He is the one, after all, who left you and your mother to focus on becoming the leader of those delinquent shifters.’

I see the colour drain from Darius’s face and jerk my arms, wanting to break free from the Elf.

‘No,’ I whisper as he looks down at Gus, and the betrayal sinks in. I can only feel a surge of helplessness as Gus pleads with him from the ground, and Aurum watches the exchange with a sadistic gleam in his eye.

‘Darius.’ Gus’s voice cracks with vulnerability. ‘I never left your mother. He’s lying—’ The pressure from the Elf’s boot on Gus is enough for him to stop talking.

‘Now that that’s over, here is what will happen.’ Aurum strides past a devasted Darius, his gaze so vacant it hurts. ‘While my soldiers—’

‘Dusan’s soldiers,’ I grit between my teeth. From the corner of my eye, I see the slightest hint of a smirk form on Sarilyn’s lips before she looks away.

Aurum comes closer to me, his smile dripping with hate. ‘While they slaughter those stupid Aerians. You, the shifters and everyone you love will come back to Emberwell with me.’ He stares at how defenceless I am right now and chuckles. ‘I am sure you are looking forward to your new home.’

‘You’re not going to touch her, I swear—’ Darius, fuelled by mounting anger, seems to recover enough to turn towards us.

Aurum doesn’t acknowledge him, keeping his filthy eye on me. ‘Oh, don’t worry, Darius, I’ll be kind enough to let you share it with her.’ With one click of his fingers, the Elves begin to drag Gus and Darius away. ‘But first, you and I are going to have a chat about the stones.’

‘Nara,’ Darius calls out as he’s pushed and pulled. ‘We’ll get everyone out, I promise, okay? Don’t let him break you. You’re stronger than him. Nara!’

I lose sight of him, and my heart splinters into pieces. Tears sting my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall as I look at Aurum. ‘You can wonder where the stones are all you want, torture me to get the answers, but I will never tell you.’ My smile is malicious as I stare into the only eye visible and then look closer at a deteriorating slash of black and green across his jaw. ‘I would rather see you completely rot before you can return to the Isle.’

Aurum’s smirk falters at the realisation that I know what is happening to him. His confident veneer starts to crumble, and I revel in it.

His gaze narrows and the dungeon seems to darken along with his rage. ‘I’m going to enjoy ruining every little bit of hope you have left.’ His words are laced with venom. He takes a step back, tilting his chin upwards – a signal to the awaiting Elves.

Yanked forward, the sharp sting from the Elf’s grip on my hair reverberates throughout my skull. I pass by Sarilyn, nailing her with a vicious glare before I am forcibly claimed as Aurum’s captive.