Page 84 of Tangled Fates

“He needs to tell us how to get her out of here. He had a plan, and if we have any luck getting her out of here, we need him,” I said, hating the words on my tongue because I did not like the fact that we needed him.

Ryder snarled, not liking my answer.

“Goddammit, start talking,” Soren demanded.

“I’m not telling you shit,” he coughed. “She’s going with me, and I won’t say shit to you three.”

“She won’t leave without us.” Soren smirked.

“That’s what you think.” Tay looked unsure, but he tried to keep up his bravado.

“Just tell us,” I sighed, feeling a little woozy from the blood loss. “You don’t get to win this. We are her mates and there is nothing we wouldn’t do for her. You’ve already lost. She doesn’t trust you anymore.”

Tay’s face fell for a moment.

“Ok. I’ll tell you, but you need to go get her.” He grunted in pain. “She needs to hear this before she leaves. All of you need to hear this.”

“Only if she wants to talk to you, but if she refuses to speak to you, then you need to tell us how to get her out of here,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t want to hear him out.

“She needs to hear this, whether she is mad at me or not. Her life depends on it,” he said ominously.

Soren and I glanced at each other before I looked behind me to Ryder.

We were all wary, but my gut feeling said I had to go get her. The sooner we were able to leave, the sooner we could get on with our lives. I just wished it was that easy.

30

ORIA

Ididn’t know what to pack or bring with me. The room before me had years of character put into it and leaving it felt wrong. There were so many things I wanted to bring with me that I couldn’t let go of.

I grabbed a bag I had hidden for a long time in hopes that I would never use it, but it was there if I needed it. Taking a deep calming breath, I packed my life for the last seventy years in one small bag. I packed away clothes for a few days, my sketchbooks and some trinkets Tay had brought me that gave me joy.

Damn it, Tay. Why did you have to be the bad guy?

I didn’t know what to think or how to feel about him. My heart hurt at what he’d done and what he failed to say to me. Why would he come back for me when he conspired with Mother to manipulate and make me look like a fool?

He wasn’t just going to let me go, but neither was Mother and he was the lesser of two evils. My dresser was empty except for a few necklaces mother had given me over the years each time she came back. There was one that was exceptionally beautiful that she had gotten me when we first had to hide.

It had beautiful gems and looked like it belonged to royalty. I grabbed the necklace thinking this was the only thing I would take from here. It had always felt like mine and maybe it would serve to remind me that I couldn’t be so trusting anymore.

Closing my eyes, Tay’s words came back to me.

“They are manipulating you. They’ve made you believe this lie so they can take you from me.”

Had I been so desperate for so long to even consider that this was all a scheme? My heart dropped at the thought that these men were just playing me. It was a lie, it had to be. I felt something with them, I felt a bond. There was no way they could replicate that with magic.

Right?

Loki brushed against my leg, meowing softly. I picked him up to comfort me and give me strength. My lip trembled as I doubted what I was feeling, wondering if it was even real. Did they really care for me? Could this all be magic? I knew there were empaths who could change how you felt, but this wasn’t just about how I felt. Bonds were ingrained in you. They were a piece of your soul that was coming back to you when you met your soulmate.

I refused to believe someone could replicate that but… Dammit there was always a but. My life was a big giant what-if or but. I was tired of not believing in myself and right now I believed they loved me. Tay could kiss my ass and if… if they crossed me, I would make sure I would be their worst nightmare. I would no longer be the naive blonde girl in the tower waiting for someone to rescue her. I would be my own savior because no one loved me more than me.

“It’s us against the world, Loki,” I said, placing him on the floor.

Grabbing the last few things I wanted to take with me, I stuffed them in the bag, and headed down to my workshop to make another potion. Loki followed me down the stairs and waited by the window. Before starting I packed a few potions and grabbed my necklace I had been trying to perfect for the last few years. It was full of charms and stones that I had made to help if and when I left. I got to work, determined to get this potion right and maybe even better than last time.

A knock made me look up when I saw Soren in the doorway. I smiled, but when he didn’t smile back, I worried something had gone wrong.

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