Chapter 42

42

V ertigo.

My dad told me that when my mom was pregnant with Sam, she was laid up for months in bed with vertigo. Everything bothered her. Light and sounds, no matter how small. Even strong smells. For the entire third trimester, she sat in bed with no light, no TV, no sound. I wasn't allowed in her room for weeks on end, and as a little girl, I didn't understand why she wouldn't see me.

I wake in blackness with an intense headache, dizzy to the point of nausea.

Vertigo.

I blink into a dark, drafty space, seeing nothing. My hands are met with the resistance of a cold metal chain as I try to lift them. A knot forms in my stomach when I yank again and realize I'm chained to the floor.

My entire body feels heavy and lethargic, like I've been drugged. I feel around in the black, over the coarse, cold ground beneath me.

What happened ?

The last thing I remember was dancing with Kylian, and then the hall erupted into screams and chaos and…

Those beasts— the Stryga —were there.

Oh my god.

Jace and Zadyn. Kai and Mar. Dover, Sorscha, Cece, the king, Igrid…My head spins. All of my friends. They could be dead.

And I'm…I have no idea where I am.

"Serena?" a voice whispers in the darkness.

"Who's there?" I croak. My throat is raw, as if I'd swallowed sandpaper.

A tiny flickering candle appears before me, illuminating half a face. I blink.

"Kai?" My voice cracks as I choke out his name.

"Thank gods. Hang on. I'm getting you out of here," he says in a hushed voice over the jangle of metal.

"Where—" I reach my bound hands out toward him, and they are met with metal bars.

Am I in a cell? A dungeon?

"Where are we? What happened?"

"I'll explain everything, but we need to stay quiet if this is going to work," he warns. "Can you use your magic at all?"

I try. I try to call it forth, but nothing comes. That's when I remember.

"Blood ore. I'm wearing blood ore chains."

"That's what I figured," he mutters. My eyes adjust to the darkness as Kai holds the candle to the lock and, with one hand, slips a key inside. It doesn't fit. He goes through each of the keys on the rusted ring, and on the seventh try, the lock clicks open.

Relief floods through me as he eases the barred door open and scrambles toward me, dropping to his knees. He throws his arms around me tightly, and I lean my head against him, unable to hug him back with my restraints.

"Thank gods, you're alright," he whispers against my hair.

"I've never been happier to see you," I murmur. "The others?"

He pulls back and shakes his head. "I don't know. I was knocked out during the chaos. I didn't see. Come on, we can't linger," he urges, making to lift me. The chains yank me downward.

"I'm chained to the ground."

"Fuck," he hisses. "It's too dark in here. I can't see enough to swing a sword, and even if I could, I might take off one of your hands."

"There has to be a key somewhere." I eye the iron ring in his hand.

"Blood ore is spelled—there is no key."

"Where there's a will, there's a way. Isn't that what they say?"

Kai and I go utterly still.

"My little brother, the traitor."

Ice creeps up the back of my neck at the sound of Kylian's voice.

Gone are the honey-dipped tones and seductive purrs, replaced by the cold, calculated voice of a cruel king. He takes a slow step through the open cell, towering over us.

"I always knew you were a detestable little earthworm, but have you no loyalty to your blood? To your dear, dear older brother? To the crown?"

An iron fist shoots out and grips Kai by the neck, slamming him against the stone wall so hard that dust and debris crumble around his head. I let out a choked cry as he dangles Kai off the ground, his feet kicking for purchase.

"Have you no respect for your king ?" His maniac voice rises .

"Leave him alone!" I roar, rearing against my chains to reach him. Kylian slowly, like a possessed doll, turns his head toward me. A brilliant and horrifying smile spreads across his proud face.

"My love," he breathes, dropping Kai so abruptly he crumples to the ground, gasping for air. "How I hate to see you bound and chained like this." He starts toward me at a leisurely pace.

"You did this to me, you asshole."

"And I regret it wholeheartedly. Do you think it brings me pleasure to see my future queen rotting away in filth and decay?"

"Future queen?" I hiss.

"That is why I've brought you here. You have done what no one in hundreds of years has managed to do." He pauses dramatically, splaying a hand over his chest. "You have stolen my heart. You are my equal. The last Blackblood Dragon Rider. You will make a worthy queen, and we—" He closes the gap between us and slides his hands into my hair. His grasp borders on rough—like when you find a puppy so cute, you just want to squish it in your hands.

"We will rule everything ," he concludes.

I spit in his face.

"Such venom." He chuckles, wiping the spit from his cheek with one long finger and licking it up. "And yet it tastes so sweet."

"You sick son of a bitch."

"You know, this mouth—this filthy mouth—is my favorite part about you."

"I will destroy you," I promise.

"My love, you are powerless. That's what the blood ore is for," he muses, releasing my hair with a toss. "But like any mare, you'll need to be broken. Trained into submission."

"I will never submit to you, you fucking psycho," I hiss .

"Perhaps you just need the right motivation."

Kylian whirls and roundhouses Kai in the face. I cry out, rushing toward him, only to be jerked back by my restraints.

"Don't fucking touch him!"

"Don't stress yourself, love. My mealy-mouthed little brother can take it. He would be honored to serve his future queen and sister this way."

"I will never be your queen! I will never be yours!"

"You say that now, but you lie. You lie to yourself about the way you want me. The way you desire me. I expected you to be grateful after the lengths I went to in order to get you here. I played the long game for months. I put on the performance of the century. I ripped this world open for you. For us."

"What do you mean, you ripped this world open?" I demand as the pieces of the puzzle all come together. "The attacks at the castle, the portal in Hyrax…" I breathe.

"I destroyed those Guardians. Quite easily, actually. Shredded their minds like tissue. And then I negotiated like any good diplomat and king. Safe passage for my foreign friends into these lands in exchange for their undying allegiance—and I do mean undying . Any creature that crosses through that portal has sworn fealty to me and my crown."

"Oh my god," I whisper.

"What have you done!" Kai bellows, charging him. He doesn't even get close before a phantom wind slams him backward.

"Stop! Stop it , Kylian!" I cry.

"Alright, alright." He sighs, his power releasing Kai. "I can see you're still agitated from your long journey. I'll leave you to contemplate my offer. Kai and I are due for one of our talks. Isn't that right, brother?"

"Go to hell." Kai grits his teeth, struggling to sit up .

Kylian just chuckles and starts down the dark corridor. "Bring him," he says to an armored guard outside the cell.

My jaw drops when Mal steps out of the shadows, his flaming auburn hair momentarily illuminated. I gasp, completely astounded, as he grabs Kai and tows him from the cell. I scream my friend's name as he is torn away from me, only guessing at the horrors that await him for trying to free me.

"It will be alright, Serena," Kai says as they disappear into the dark. "We'll find a way."

I slam my fists into the ground angrily as I'm left alone again. The chains dig into my skin, drawing blood as I fight against them.

Worry overtakes me.

The names and faces of my friends flash through my mind in a torturous loop. I don't know if they're dead or alive. I don't know what torture Kylian is inflicting on Kai right now while I sit here powerless in a cell.

I don't even know where I'm being kept.

Prophyria suddenly pops into my mind. She said to call her if I was in danger.

I close my eyes and quiet my anxiety to dip into the channel between us. But I'm met with a sealed-off wall, thick as brick. I pound against it with my mind. And it doesn't budge.

The channel is sealed. Which means either the blood ore has affected my ability to communicate with her or she's…

No, I will not go there. I would know if my dragon was dead. I would feel it in my soul.

I have to get out of these chains. But how? Without the spell and without a key, I'm useless. I'm entirely at the mercy of a psychotic king hell-bent on marrying me for world domination. As if my experience with men couldn't get any worse. This one takes the whole damn cake.

Something scratches against my neck. I reach up and feel over the cool gemstones. Kylian's ruby choker remains around my throat, thick and heavy. Only now it feels more like a collar.

A collar built specifically for a leash.

I don't know how much time goes by as I am slowly starved and dehydrated to the point of immobility. Moving takes too much effort, so I lie frozen on the floor, every breath labored.

I will die soon if someone doesn't come to my aid.

But Kylian needs me too much. Wants me too much. Which restores some hope in me that I will not be left down here and forgotten.

A few minutes or hours later, an armored guard slides open my cell and unlatches the floor chains. He pulls me up, and I immediately collapse from weakness, dizzy and sick. He scoops me into his arms, my head lolling against the cool metal as we break from the darkness into a too-harsh light.

I shield my eyes and squeeze them closed, unable to bear the brightness after days of being entrenched in darkness.

I'm laid down on a soft chaise lounge in a dim damask room. Someone lifts a cup to my lips. I sip tentatively, worried it might be drugged, but as soon as I get one gulp down, I take the cup in my own hands and chug the water greedily. Gasping, I hold my hand out for more. I am obliged, feeling some life flood back into me.

"Good girl."

I lift my eyes to Kylian.

He takes the cup from me when I'm finished and sits down on the cushion beside my limp form.

"Eat." He holds out a piece of bread, and I rip it from his hands, stuffing it into my mouth as he watches silently.

"Where is Kai?" I manage to croak between bites .

"In his room, of course." Kylian gives me an innocent look.

"Don't bullshit me."

"I'm not. Your little friend took quite a tumble down the steps yesterday. He's getting some much-needed rest."

I stare at him for a moment.

"How can you be so cruel? He is your brother!"

"That means nothing to me. He is a liability," he says, his face expressionless.

I shake my head in utter disbelief. "You really are a sociopath."

"Are you feeling better? There are some matters we need to discuss." He moves toward a large desk situated in front of a wall painted with a giant map of Solterre.

"Where are we?" I demand.

"Home, my love."

"Home…we're in Vod?"

He nods, sitting down at the desk to sift through some papers. His attention remains fixed on the documents while I grill him.

"Where are my friends? What did you do to them?"

"Oh, I lost track of them amid the chaos." He waves a hand absently.

"You orchestrated those attacks. All of them." I plant my feet on the floor, testing my strength. I won't be able to stand, not yet. "You are the reason all those fae are dead. The reason Ilsa is dead. You brought those creatures into Solterre—into Aegar and the castle!"

"I did it for the greater good. King Derek is a weak ruler. He always has been. I've been preparing your place here long before you even arrived in this world." He looks up at me. I wait for an explanation, my nails digging into the cushion.

"When my mother wrote to me of your sudden appearance in Aegar, I initially thought to wed you to my brother. If you survived bonding the dragon, of course. You would have been no use to me dead."

Ilspeth, that bitch.

I knew she couldn't be trusted. How many times had I caught her sizing me up? Observing me silently from the sidelines. She had been plotting and scheming this entire time—conspiring with her son to get me here.

"But I grew impatient," Kylian continues. "Desperate to lay eyes on the infamous Blackblood Dragon Rider. So, I journeyed to Aegar. The moment I saw you, I knew you were my future wife—my queen. My brother wouldn't have the faintest idea what to do with a female like you. I just needed to put your dalliance with that captain to an end. Convincing Derek to promise him to that disgrace of a princess was so easy. That little attack in the maze was all it took. It was the perfect solution. And the civil unrest it will spark in Aegar will be the cherry on top of a successful execution."

"What are you talking about?" I shake my head, not understanding. He chuckles, redirecting his attention to his desk.

"Derek naming his nit-wit daughter and a low-born bastard as his successors is enough to start a civil war. People will never accept him as their king. And everyone knows all that little brat is capable of is looking pretty. And now they've lost the only thing they had going for them—their Dragon Rider. By the way, I've been meaning to ask you—" He finally looks up, a mad twinkle in his eye. "Where is she? The dragon."

"I will die before I tell you a thing," I spit.

"Ah, well, we shall see. Now, onto more pressing matters. What kind of flowers would you like for the ceremony? Gardenias are in season, but I find the smell quite irritating?—"

"I'm not fucking marrying you!" I roar.

"Oh, come now. Don't deny what you know is between us. We had a moment when we danced, didn't we? "

"You were using your siren magic on me! None of that was real. And I was putting on a show to get close to you because I knew—I knew in my gut that you were behind all this. I hate you. I hate you, and I will never be your wife."

"But don't you see how alike that makes us?" he asks. "You're a cunning little liar. We are masters of deception, you and I. We, Serena, are cut from the same cloth."

"I am nothing like you, and I will never marry you," I say through clenched teeth.

"I could always force you," he muses. "But then, what kind of male would I be? I have a reputation of benevolence to uphold."

"Hah!" I bark. "Benevolence? Are you actually that narcissistic? If you had any decency at all, you'd take these chains off and let me go home. But you're a coward. You're afraid of me. You're not half the male Kai is. You're pathetic ."

The pen in his hand snaps in half.

"You are home. And I don't want to hear my brother's name on your lips again, wife." He stands abruptly, walking around his desk toward me.

"You might want to watch the way you speak to me, my love. My patience only extends so far." Kylian kneels before me, his hands smoothing over the rough blood ore chains at my wrists.

"You are powerless. Entirely at my mercy," he whispers, his face close to mine. "I can make you do things. Anything I want. And you would have no choice but to obey me. Is that what you want? Do you want me to make you do things? Would that excite you?"

I snarl at him, baring my tiny fangs as he squeezes my face in one hand.

"It can be enjoyable, surrender. Submission. It can be freeing. I can show you if you'd like."

"No," I grind out against his death grip .

"Then at least be agreeable," he says loftily, releasing me with a shove to my face. A gesture of degradation. "If you give me what I ask for, I won't have to take it."

He stands, not bothering to veil his threat.

"My dragon will come for me. My friends will come for me." I glare up at him as he motions a guard forward to drag me from the room.? *

He smiles dazzlingly as I'm towed away.

"Oh, I'm counting on it."