Page 111 of Haunted

Goodbye, Niawen. Find Kenrik. You’re his only hope.

She won’t be able to find him. Unless she decides to venture down into the cells. But why would she?

Seren adds a final dig. Ask yourself why Kenrik would leave. Ask yourself what Caedryn would do if he knew Kenrik came for you, that he wanted to bring you back. What would Caedryn do?

Yes, Seren, what would I do?

What are you saying? Niawen asks Seren.

Ask Caedryn if he knows where Kenrik is. Who lured you here so he could have you for himself? Who’s desperate enough to conceal his true nature? Who calls himself master of deception? Who’s the double agent?

Seren’s not wrong in any of her assumptions. I lured Niawen here. I do want her all to myself. Now that I’m reminded of my initial reasons for throwing the prince in the dungeon, my jealousy returns.

I cannot let Niawen know about him. She would return with him. She would leave me for him.

Seren and Niawen argue some more. A seed of doubt has been firmly planted in Niawen. She’s so angry with Seren that she rips her dragon stone off and tosses it into the snow as Seren flies away.

Good. Sever the ties that will take you from me.

Niawen is mine and no other’s.

I enter the cell where the prince is lounging on a wooden cot. His facial hair is at least half an inch long. He looks haggard, and bored. His cheeks are sunken from his meager meals.

But his eyes have not deadened from lack of hope.

“Are you here to release me?” Prince Kenrik asks the ceiling.

“You should have never come.” I step closer, grab his shirt front, and yank him to his feet. Kenrik doesn’t fight me.

“Where’s Niawen?” he hisses into my face. “Do you hold her prisoner as well?”

“Niawen is not your concern.”

“She will forever be my concern, you coward.” The prince wraps his hands around mine where I hold his shirt. He tries to pry my grip off. “I know she’s here. She’s close. I can feel her.”

I push him away, and he stumbles backward. How can he feel her? How does he know she’s here? “What do you mean you can feel her?”

The prince glares at me as he steadies himself. “She’s been sad. For weeks she was sad. Then something changed. She’s happy. Deliriously joyful for the past week or so. I don’t know. I’ve lost track of time down here. Except for this moment. Something has upset her.”

Seren. She’s upset about Seren, and Kenrik can feel her. “You lie!” I scream. “You can’t possibly feel her!” I grab his shirt and punch him in the stomach.

Prince Kenrik doubles over.

“You’re a pathetic mortal!” I yell. “You can’t possibly sense her emotions.”

Unless they bonded, emotionally. No.

What’s more, it seems their emotional bond can circumvent my cloaking spell. I haul the prince upright and send an uppercut into his jaw. He flies backward and falls limply to the floor.

I don’t know why he doesn’t fight back. This enrages me further. Does he know I’m an immortal? Does he know he wouldn’t stand a chance? I have yet to unleash my powers on him, so there’s no way he could know.

“Niawen is mine!” I hiss. I tug him up and continue to beat him. How could they have bonded? She is mine! How can I release him from her? “I will not allow you to share this connection, this unholy union.” Not when she is my wife!

Kenrik does nothing more than grunt and moan, but he never cries out. My knuckles are bloody, and his face a mash of colors. I move to his torso. He’s shoved against the wall, where I pummel him until I’ve lost all feeling in my hands.

Finally, he slumps to the ground, where I break his legs and leave him to suffer.

I will have to research this. A mortal bound to an immortal, on top of my emotional bond with Niawen.

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