55. Dexter

55

DEXTER

F our fucking days of relentless torment, each second more excruciating than the last.

The cage, forged from iron and lined with Fates-damned tourmalyke nullified my use of magic anywhere but this fucking cage. The cavern around us was dimly lit by flickering orbs of light, casting eerie shadows that danced across the rock walls.

Blood pooled beneath me, the ground slick and sticky with the remnants of my flesh. Every cut, every lash, every piercing stab was designed to break me, to mold me into the monster she believed I should be.

“Dexter,” Poppy drawled lazily. “You must learn to embrace the darkness within you. Only then can you truly understand the vision of the Dark Veil. I’ve said this so many times.”

Her shadows slithered toward me like snakes, their strikes cold and cruel. They wrapped around my limbs, pulling me taut, exposing my flesh to the sharp tendrils.

I bit back a scream as she cut into me, the pain searing through my body. Blood splashed onto the ground, along with a couple of chunks of my flesh.

“Please, stop!” Pandora’s voice, raw with desperation, echoed through the cavern. Her beautiful face was streaked with tears, and her big red eyes were wide with horror. “You’re killing him! Please, just stop!”

Poppy turned to her with a twisted smile. “Bones, you don’t understand. Dexter is my son. This is necessary. Neither of you see the vision of the Dark Veil. You think you’re better than us, better than him . But you’re wrong. You’ve warped his mind with your foolish notions of love and freedom .”

I summoned the last vestiges of my strength, spitting blood onto the ground. “I’ve always hated you, Poppy. Ever since you killed my sister! But I love Pandora. Nothing you do will change that.”

Flickers of anger sparked in her bored eyes.

She drove the tendril deeper into my gut, and I couldn’t hold back the scream that tore from my throat. I fed off the pain she gave me, fueling my reserves enough to heal me, but it was fucking exhausting.

Pandora’s sobs grew louder, her cries echoing off the cavern walls. “Stop it!” She clawed at the tourmalyke collar around her neck, but it was pointless. Her magic, like mine, was suppressed.

A figure stepped into the light, her fiery red curls and piercing green eyes coming into focus—she looked familiar. I’d seen her around somewhere, but I couldn’t place it.

Poppy’s smile widened as she gestured for her to come closer. “Dexter, meet Charlotte. Isn’t she pretty?”

I snarled at Vane, hatred seething within me. Vane. She was the one who gave my mate nightmares—Reed’s ex-best friend. “I’ll kill you slow, Vane. I promise you that.”

I was slashed across the face by Poppy’s shadows. “Silence, Dexter. You better get used to her because if the rejected bond doesn’t take hold with your fated, you’ll be paired and marked by Vane.”

Vane smirked, her eyes glinting with malicious delight, and she swung that smirk toward my mate. The sight of her made me sick, and I retched, bile rising in my throat. “I won’t just be marking one of your mates, Bones.”

The taste of vomit mingled with the blood in my mouth, and I puked through the bars. It hit next to Poppy’s feet.

I gasped a breath. “I swear, if I had the choice, I’d mark Pandora now. I’d choose her over this twisted vision of darkness.”

Pandora’s breaths came in short, frantic gasps, but she was silent otherwise. I knew she was panicking over seeing Vane—the demon who had haunted her nightmares. I’d kill her for that.

Poppy yawned, as if bored with our suffering. “It’s fortunate that you and Pandora didn’t complete your bond. Otherwise, this wouldn’t work.”

Rage boiled within me, and I wanted to cut her head off. “I’d mark her now if I could!” I roared, my voice echoing through the cavern. “I’d choose Pandora over anyone, especially over your fucking cult!”

With a swift motion, she raised her shadows, and before I could react, she swung it down.

Pain exploded in my neck, and my head rolled. The world tilted and spun as Pandora’s quiet, raspy screams filled my ears.

Her voice was the last thing I heard, and then— nothing .