Chapter Twenty

CHAPTER TWENTY

OLD FLAME

I left Gia’s room to find Olea waiting outside the door. I wondered, not for the first time, who she reported to.

“Me lady, ye canna delay longer. Ets time for ye te see yer future husband.”

An image of Ezren’s face flashed in my mind, and I squeezed my eyes closed and opened them again as if it would make the picture disappear. It did little to quell the turmoil of emotion his face conjured—rage, longing, hurt. His lack of honesty might not have been a true betrayal, but it felt so. Like I could no longer trust him.

But any confrontation with Ezren would have to wait. Olea led me down more twisting stone hallways until we reached the grand staircase of the castle. It opened to a large foyer, and I marveled at how the space triggered memories of life in Valfalla. Clear as day, I could see Cas chasing me for a pastry I stole from his plate. I could see my father instructing me to be still as we stood in the foyer, receiving distinguished guests alongside the king. I could see a white-haired girl pinching me as we walked to our lessons, making me turn back and stick out my tongue to her—an action that earned me the stick.

Before I could lose myself in recall, Olea led me outside. The crisp air was ecstasy on my skin. Cool, but not cold, and full of salt and sea. I sucked in a deep breath, the smell triggering even more familiarity and nostalgia. It grounded my fresh childhood memories, making them more vivid and feel real .

We made our way around the side of the castle to a large, pale stone patio that jutted out of the palace onto a rock cliff. A training ground. The roiling sea provided a stark backdrop for two Fae in the middle of an artful duel, both wearing practice masks. Groups of courtiers gathered around watching the spectacle, most of them female. Anxiety coiled in my belly as we approached them, for I knew their shrewd glances would pick me over. The Fae continued sparring. When we drew closer, the taller one lifted his palm in the air, and his opponent halted. The crowd fell silent and followed his gaze, which landed on me.

He strode over to meet us, and my breath quickened. I was an image of red chiffon whipping in the wind, set against a picture of pale palace stone and an unlimited ocean horizon. The prince removed his training mask, letting his jet-black hair fall around his face, no longer pulled back at the base of his neck. When we were fifty feet away from each other, I could no longer stand it. I kicked off the stupid slippers Olea forced me into, and ran towards him. He did the same, lifting me up in his familiar but unfamiliar arms, twirling me around with one forearm on my waist and one hand tangled in my now wild blonde hair.

His scent hit me first—almost exactly like I remembered, but more grown, more masculine. A musky cinnamon and clove, indicating he still carried a fondness for the spice-filled soaps he’d loved as a boy. And when he pulled me in close, I felt the oddest sense of comfort, like I’d come home. Experiencing that feeling in the arms of someone who would have been a stranger to me just days ago—days I was in the arms of another—felt… bizarre. It made me question the realness of the moment, of every moment before it. I winced at my lack of trust in reality, praying my reaction was not perceivable.

He set me down and cupped my face in his palms, his thumbs rubbing back and forth on my cheeks. “ Mi karus ,” he breathed, and I smiled at the use of his old pet name for me. “I have thought about this moment every day for seven years. I nearly lost hope.” He shuttered his eyes and pressed his forehead to mine, pulling me into him once more. He re-opened his eyes and ran them down my body. “You are no longer the little warrior I remember,” he said, a mischievous smile forming on his face.

I blushed, which made him burst into a deep chuckle. “But still equally shy with compliments, I see,” he teased.

I met his eyes. “ You are no longer just a little Fae boy, leaving me purple-stoned trinkets as love tokens,” I shot back, the familiar banter returning to us.

This sent his smile wider, and his eyes shone, no doubt pleased I remembered such a detail. They were just as I recalled, shimmering gold rims around deep purple irises—streaked with flecks of something that recalled stars. He turned and faced the crowd, which had grown larger during our embrace.

“Fellow Viri, as you have discovered by now, my childhood friend and companion, Princess Terragnata of Nebbiolo, has been returned to us!” he bellowed. Cheering erupted from many, but not all. A few courtiers leered at me with narrowed eyes.

“I plan to uphold a promise I made to her many years ago,” he continued. He turned to me and removed something from his breast pocket: a sizable, roughly cut tanzanite gem set on a thin gold band. I had never seen a jewel so captivating; it looked like a bright evening sky decorated with a thousand sparkling stars. He knelt, and I froze, aware of the many eyes searing my skin.

I didn’t hear what he said next. I just remained still as he lifted my left hand and slid the ring on my finger, a perfect fit. More cheering ensued, but I couldn’t hear it over the pounding in my ears. He turned to lead me back to the castle, my arm linked to his. As we made our way, my eyes brushed over a small set of windows at the base of the stone place. Silver bars covered the openings, and I swore I saw a flash of green from behind them.

Cas led me into a small sitting room. My mind reeled from the display—from the shock of it, for one, and from the singeing thought that a certain Fae warrior witnessed it.

He placed a glass of amber liquid in my hand, and I stared into it.

“Drink,” he commanded. “You look like you need it.”

I took a gulp and sat on the couch, the fiery liquid burning my throat.

“Terra, I’m sorry for the spectacle, truly, but I had to put some rumors to bed, for your sake. Prying eyes are never friendly here, which you may remember.”

I chewed my lip, and he took my hands in his, turning them over as if to remember their lines and curves. “Terra, mi karus , are you okay?” he asked, genuine concern in his voice.

I shook my head. I could barely distinguish true memory from lie, which left me utterly confused about how I should feel—towards Ezren, Jana, or the situation as a whole. What I did know, was that I didn’t feel okay.

“I don’t know, Cas.” It felt so good to say my friend’s name once again, and it undid me. I wept, and he pulled me onto his lap, pressing my head against his chest, calming my heaves by tracing letters on my back. He kissed the top of my head numerous times. Finally, when I quieted, he said, “I will kill the bastard for laying a hand on you. That was never part of the deal, Terra. You have to know?—”

I jumped back. “Deal? What deal? Are you talking about Ezren?” I asked, now on the defensive.

“Yes, I’m talking about the deserting Dragon filth that raped you!”

I gaped at him. “Raped me? What gave you that impression?”

“I could scent him all over you when you arrived. And not in the way of two lovers, in a claiming way. And you looked so ill, so abused, you keeled over almost immediately!”

I sighed, exasperated at the territorial bullshit he spewed. “Cas, that’s because my memories were swarming my head like bees. And for what it’s worth, Ezren was barely willing to touch me.”

He quieted for a moment. “My sense of scent has never been false. It is unparalleled. The only other possibility is if you did something called the binding—” He stopped, his eyes widening.

I just looked at him, guilty and confused. I still didn’t know what the binding meant—only that the coupling we’d done to kill the Crona had accidentally led to it. Cas’s gathered, prince-like expression turned to pure rage as he read my face.

He shot to his feet and walked with such intensity it wouldn’t have surprised me to see steam pumping from his ears. I gripped my chiffon skirts, running to keep up with him, grateful I had shed those ridiculous shoes earlier.

“Cas, wait, please, can you just stop for a second!” But he kept moving, and I kept on following him through more twisting halls. Finally, he stopped at an iron door guarded by two Viri warriors. I caught up to him and grabbed his arm.

“We did it to save human lives, to prevent these horrible creatures Fayzien created from breaking into the human realm. I didn’t even remember who you were then. And I don’t even know what a dammed binding is !”

Hurt flashed in his eyes. “But he did. And he does.” He turned to face the guards. “Keep her up here.” And just like that, he disappeared down the stairs, the iron door clanging behind him.

Whatever anger I had felt towards Ezren paled in comparison to pure fear for his life. He was a formidable warrior, but he was likely chained and helpless in a cell. Cas would injure him severely at best and kill him at worst.

I turned from the door that Cas had slammed in my face. I whipped around, drawing one of the guard’s swords. As expected, they were unprepared for my wild action. I sent my knee into the groin of the one whose blade I stole, while jamming the hilt of the sword into the other’s temple. Before they had time to react, I slammed the other into the stone wall, hard enough to knock him out. They both slumped to the ground in front of me. Less than fifteen seconds after Cas had descended the stairs, I again ran after him.

The dungeon dripped with a cold and dreadful aura, but I didn’t let my bare feet dwell on it as I flew down the hall. It came to a T shape, but I heard a jingling off the right side. I veered towards the noise. Sure enough, a guard was fumbling with a ring of keys, Cas behind him. In a moment, the door swung open, and I darted into the cell, whipping around to slam the bars shut after me. The guard and Cas gaped at me as I stormed in silently thanks to my unadorned feet. Ezren stood almost naked, wearing only a small cloth covering his manhood and a collection of chains. They circled his neck, wrists, and ankles. I noticed a smattering of unhealed bruises and cuts that danced over his muscled body.

“Terra,” Cas bit out, “what do you think you’re doing?”

“I will not let you kill him, Cas,” I breathed.

He rolled his eyes. “Oh, for the gods’ sake, I wasn’t going to kill him. Even before I knew you two were bound! He’s a Dragon shifter. There’s no way my father would condone him being wasted. But Terra, he has to pay for what he did. If not in body, then at least in mind.”

“And what exactly did he do?” I shot back.

Cas looked at me, evaluating. “You really don’t know what the binding means, do you?” he whispered.

My blank expression offered answer enough. “Ah, now this all makes sense. You don’t know what he took from you.” Cas shook his head in disbelief.

Ezren cut in, his voice strained and dry. “She took from me, too, Princeling. And if you’re too young to remember, one does not know when a binding will happen. It just does.”

“Well, you still chose to couple with her! How did that make you feel, warrior? To know you were claiming an untouched female betrothed to another? Did that excite you?” Cas growled at Ezren. “Or did you just want a second chance, with any poor unsuspecting female, to redeem yourself after your last attempt?”

I turned around to face Ezren, pressing my back to the cell door. His eyes were blazing with a rage directed at Cas, doing his best to see if looks could truly kill. I searched them, looking for some ulterior motive, an answer to why he’d chosen to couple with me. He’d certainly been resistant at first, but Cas’s vague accusations fell flat. No words could shatter what we’d experienced. It had been etched on my body, and his.

But, no matter the connection we’d shared—it did not change the fact he’d lied to me.

“Look at me.”

His eyes pulled away from Cas. They traced my body, lingering on every inch of exposed skin. He had never seen me in a dress, save for the silk shift I wore during our coupling. Hell, he had rarely seen me washed . His expression seemed to brighten ever so slightly as it followed the lines of my figure.

“Why?” I whispered, a tear escaping down my face. “Why did you lie? You may not have spoken complete falsehoods, but you took advantage of my trust. You let me believe the crap Jana spewed about my Witch mother being dead, let me believe my memories had been restored when you knew there were key details missing. I could take it from anyone. Anyone. But not you,” I breathed, my voice hitching on the last word.

His gaze fell, landing on the new ring I now wore on my left hand. I shook my head, knowing he would say nothing in front of Cas. And though I still raged at the warrior, I wanted Cas’s focus elsewhere. I didn’t know what kind of psychological torture he had in store for Ezren, but I wasn’t about to allow it. Any verbal weapons used against him would be wielded by me, and me alone.

So, I turned on my heel, exiting the cell and slamming the door behind me. I slipped my arm in Cas’s, steering him back towards the exit. “Come on, Cas, he’s not worth it,” I said, my words sending a slice of pain to my chest, nearly breaking my resolve. Cas hesitated, but then I looked up at him, batting my lashes, playing wounded princess. It wasn’t difficult.

“Please?” I breathed. He regarded me with concern and nodded. And then we left. While I knew I had spared Ezren whatever torment Cas had planned for the time being, I had the overwhelming feeling that he was not safe there.