Chapter 25

Isat on the end of the bed, my hands folded primly in my lap as I stared down at the beige carpet. At any moment, somebody would be arriving to escort me to the dinner my parents were having for a few of their friends. It was a common occurrence, one I should have expected. I guess I hadn’t thought they’d have a dinner party the day after they forced me back home.

I’d slept horribly, tossing and turning in the starched white sheets. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw visions of Valen the way he’d been when he smiled down at me or imagined the way his wings had felt under my fingertips. I clench my hand into a tight fist as if I could hold onto that sensation and never let it go.

I glanced at the window, considering, again, if I could escape through it. Unfortunately, I was on the second story. There was a concrete pad under my window, and guards had been posted nearby, easily spotted. Each time I’d wandered over to the window, I could see at least one, sometimes two, making a pass. There was always one holding the leash of a large dog. I wasn’t stupid enough to think it was possible to outrun a trained guard dog.

I closed my eyes as hopelessness swamped my heart. If I were to escape on my own, my one and only chance would be to use the ability that had terrified me ever since I was a young girl when I’d lost control and nearly brought the house down. It frightened me. The thought of what could happen, the people I could kill. I could even hurt myself. It wasn’t as if I could control the damage done.

My eyes opened, and I stared blankly at the wall as I remembered something Valen had said. After we’d sealed our bond, he’d told me that he could feel a difference in his abilities. He was no longer afraid that they would get out of control. He’d said he was stronger and implied that I was, too. Could it be true? Could I really control the damage I caused?

The sound of the key turning in the lock jarred me from my musings, and I jerked my head in the direction of the bedroom door. As soon as the door had swung open and I saw my mother standing there, I stood to my feet, nervously smoothing the pantsuit, hoping I hadn’t caused it to wrinkle. The very last thing I wanted at that moment was to enrage my mother by not being perfect.

She walked over the carpet soundlessly on her high heels and came to a stop in front of me. She glared down into my face, and I couldn’t help but fidget as she inspected my makeup. Martha had insisted that it was her duty to apply it for me. At first, I’d been worried that she would purposely apply it in a way that would get me into trouble. But as I’d looked myself over, I was surprised to see she’d done a fabulous job. It was light and without color, but it looked natural. I couldn’t find fault in her work as she walked out the door with all the supplies with her. Even if I wanted to change anything, I wouldn’t have been able to.

“You have bags under your eyes,” she snapped at me once she was done with her inspection. Honestly, I’d thought Martha had done an outstanding job covering the tired bruises. I made a mental note to thank her later. Maybe it would help thaw her frosty attitude toward me.

This was the first time I had seen my mother since I’d arrived last night. She’d never had me brought to her for that talk she’d warned me about. I knew they’d get around to it eventually and I was torn over wanting to get it over with and putting it off until never.

I dropped my gaze to the floor, waiting for the verdict if I was suitable for their company, but caught the moment when her already stiff demeanor hardened into granite. I gasped as her hand shot out and snatched my wrist. Her nails dug cruelly into my skin as she held up my arm.

She sucked in a breath as she studied the mating brand. I had been worrying myself sick over what their reactions would be once they saw it. Frankly, I am surprised that my father never seemed to notice it yesterday on the trip. But that was him. Nothing mattered to him except for his own goal of reaching the White House.

“You got a tattoo,” she hissed as she tightened her grip painfully. She dropped my arm in the next second as if I had burned her. Or at the thought that tattoos were contagious and she would suddenly sprout a tacky rose on her hip. “We will have it lasered off as soon as possible. In the meantime,” she walked over to my dresser where the jewelry box sat. I hadn’t bothered to open it, figuring everything inside had likely been removed.

She withdrew a cuff bracelet in hammered gold. I hated the thing when I’d received it as a birthday gift a couple of years ago. It wasn’t my style, and I knew when I saw it that I would never wear it. I had murmured my thanks regardless and placed it in the jewelry box to gather dust along with the other bits and pieces of items I had been disappointed to receive over the years. It wasn’t that I was ungrateful; it was that my parents had never bothered to really get to know me and, after 22 years, still didn’t care to.

She snapped the cuff into place and then turned my arm this way and that, trying to determine if any part of the brand would show. Instead of letting go of my arm, she pulled me in close with a hard yank. She spoke right into my face, invading my personal space. Her warm breath poured over my skin and it took everything within me to not grimace.

“You have so much to pay for. The money your father will have to shell out to get rid of that abomination on your skin will be paid back. Do you understand me? You’re going to work off every penny. Maybe that will teach you not to go against my rules again.” She ran her eyes over my face. “Did you whore around while you were gone, too?” she hissed.

My face flamed with heat, and she must have taken that for a yes because the next thing I knew, she was pulling back her arm and slapping me across the face. “You disgraceful little fool! We will make an appointment for that as well. Your future husband would have expected better from you.”

I cupped my cheek, feeling the sting from her slap. She’d never really struck me before. Looking into her furious face, I came to the realization that she hated me. All my life, I have done everything I could to make my parents love me. I don’t know if her love for me died the day I hurt her with my ability or if she’d never loved me at all. But I couldn’t remember actually seeing the vile loathing she had for me until this moment.

“I’m not getting the br-tattoo removed. I’m also not going to the doctor. I am a grown woman, and what you are doing here to me is illegal and immoral.” I glared right back at her. “What would father dearest’s constituents think if they knew he had kidnapped me and you were holding me against my will?”

She lifted her hand to strike me again, but this time, I caught her wrist and held her hand away from me. I didn’t resort to her level by digging my nails into her, but I did hold her firmly. “No, Mother. You will not touch me again.” I could feel the moment my eyes bled to black. She gasped and tried to pull away from me, but I held her for another long second, just long enough to tell her without words that she was only free because I allowed it.

She all but ran to the door and pulled on the knob. She couldn’t hide the way her hand shook as she failed to turn the knob the first time she pulled. Seeing that she was truly frightened of me caused a pang in my chest. I wish she knew that I could never purposely hurt her. She paused before opening the door to allow time to compose herself. The person who opened the door wasn’t the same shaking, scared woman.

“Come along, Kallista. It’s time to greet our guests for dinner.” Without looking back at me, she began walking down the hall. I took a deep breath and stepped into the hallway. I started to follow her but was startled when my upper arm was gripped firmly. The guard walked me down the hall and to the sitting room, finally letting go before we came into sight of the guests. I resisted the urge to rub at the tenderness that his bruising grip had left behind. I turned to look at him, studying his features.

“Why the fuck are you looking at me?” he snarled.

“I want to remember who I need to tell my mate to kill when he comes to rescue me.” Without waiting for a reaction to my words, I lifted my chin and walked into the sitting room where my parents and their guests were gathered for a drink before dinner. I forced a smile that I hoped looked genuine enough as I glanced around the room. There were faces I recognized from past dinner parties, but there were a couple that I hadn’t seen yet.

I murmured a polite greeting, then walked over to a spare chair to sit on the edge of the seat. My feet were crossed and tucked to the side, my knees together. My hands were resting together in my lap and my back was straight as a board. I felt like a fraud. If I had learned anything from my time away, it was that I would wither and die if I had to live like this for the rest of my life.

“Kallista, dear, it’s so nice to see you up and about. Your parents have told us that you have finally recovered from your illness. I was so sorry to hear that you had fallen ill. And you missed your wedding, too.” The wife of the Mayor turned to a man who sat on a loveseat to my left. It took me a moment to finally recognize him as my groom. “Bradley, have you made new plans with our lovely Kallista yet? I do so love a beautiful wedding. I can’t help but cry every time.” She waved her hand at her face as if fanning away tears.

I kept my serene smile plastered to my face with the sheer force of will. I was grateful she had asked the question of someone else because I had plenty to say on the subject, but it wouldn’t be pleasant.

“I believe since my lovely fiancée is doing better, we will have the wedding back up and running very soon,” Bradley answered. I wasn’t surprised at the response. I was sitting in a room full of politicians. They were nothing if not diplomatic and experts at side-stepping questions by answering without giving a full answer at all.

“That’s wonderful to hear.” The Mayor’s wife thankfully turned to someone else to discuss plans for a charity event. I let my muscles relax the tiniest bit once the attention had been moved away from me. I glanced back at Bradley to see he was looking directly at me. There was a slight sneer on his face. Of course, he knew the real story. He had been jilted the night before his wedding, which had taken nearly a year to plan, so I understood his frustration with me. I would have pulled him aside a year ago to explain myself, but if he were anything like our fathers, he wouldn’t understand, and nothing would have changed.

I lowered my head to stare at my folded hands, risking my mother’s wrath for not engaging the guests in conversation, but I had already reached my limit. I wondered if there were any excuses I could make to politely leave the dinner party before the meal even got started, but I lost the chance a moment later when the cook entered the sitting room to announce to the room that dinner was ready.

I waited, hanging back as everyone stood and carried their glasses of wine to the dining room, as they chatted happily with each other. Inside, I was dying slowly. I took the seat that my mother pointed to, making sure to keep my elbows off the table and that my posture was impeccable.

I hadn’t noticed who was sitting next to me until a hand suddenly slid underneath the table and gripped my thigh hard enough to bruise. I held in my yelp of shock and pain at the last second; the only outward sign that Bradley was hurting me was the rigidness of my muscles.

“When you’re my wife, I’m going to punish you severely for making me look like a fool. And if you spread your legs while you were gone, I’m going chain you to the bed and whip you until you bleed.” The way he whispered the words into my ear sounded like a lover’s promise of pleasure instead of the threats they were. I clenched my fists under the table to stop them from shaking, and I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood.

I could feel the way the powerful emotions of fear, revulsion, and rage coursed through me. I was silently seething inside while doing my best to remain impassive. I could feel my demon side lurking just beneath the surface and knew at that moment Valen had been right. I was stronger and had better control. I wasn’t going to allow these people to take from me any more than they already had.

With my new resolve in place, I lifted my head to look at my mother and saw that her eyes were already on me. I wondered if she knew what he was planning to do to me, but then it occurred to me that she wouldn’t care as long as he didn’t leave any marks that could be seen by the voters.

While maintaining eye contact with her, I allowed my demon to come forward. She immediately paled and jumped to her feet at the sight of my black eyes. I’d never seen her so flustered before, and seeing it, had a smile curving up the corner of my lips. I must have looked unhinged because my mother took a step back before glancing around the table to see everyone staring at her in confusion and concern. She raised her hand to literally grip her fucking pearls, making me laugh out loud.

“Kallista,” she cleared her throat and changed her tone from panic to her usual calm, cultured tone, which she used for anyone who didn’t live in our home. “Kallista, dear. You don’t look well.” She snapped a finger at the doorway, and my hateful guard appeared immediately. “Escort my daughter to her room, please.” Then she smoothed her palms over the skirt of her dress and slid back into her seat without looking at me again.

I gripped the hand that was still bruising my thigh under the table and jerked it off of me. I turned to Bradley, not even attempting to hide my eyes from him or anyone else who chose to look. “If you ever lay your filthy hands on me again, I will cut out your heart and feed it to the guard dogs.” With those parting words, I lifted my chin and walked from the room. I didn’t fight when the guard grabbed my arm again and just gritted my teeth against the pain.

I wanted to use my ability to escape, but there were too many innocent people in the house. I would practice alone tonight, then, in the morning, I would do what I needed to.