Page 62 of Masked Fate

August smirks, standing up and offering me his hand. “You don’t know how men work. In some ways, that’s almost worse.”

With that parting comment, he stalks into his bathroom while Astrid and I head to the dungeons.

We find our mates standing in front of who I assume isDeclan, who is looking a little worse for wear. Magical shackles encase his ankles, and he sits with his back against the cold stone wall. Blond hair falls over his forehead, his eyes cold and blue. He’s a tall, built man—a warrior. And even though he is older, I would consider him attractive.

But his eyes are dead.

There’s no kindness or warmth in them.

Right now, they are pinned on Astrid, the woman he wanted but never got his hands on. “Queen Astrid.”

“Declan,” she replies, raking her gaze over him. “I hear you’ve been looking for me.”

“Always knew where you were,” he replies, a smug smirk tilting his thin lips. “I just couldn’t get to you.”

Without the shackles containing his magic, who knows what he would be capable of with his mind manipulation?

“And now we’ve gotten to you,” Astrid replies, lifting her chin.

Soren pulls me to his side with his big hand circling my waist. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

As Rave steps toward the cell, I know why Soren wants to get me out of here.

His eyes are pitch black, a cruel smile playing on his lips.

Rave is going to kill Declan, not taking any chances on Axe’s vision coming true.

“Take Astrid with you,” Rave orders and Soren nods, but Astrid shakes her head.

“No, I’m staying,” she replies, pulling out her ruby dagger and twirling it in her red-tipped fingers.

Soren looks to his king, who nods once.

He then picks me up and carries me out. “I can walk, you know.”

His lips curl in amusement. “I know, sweetheart. I just wanted you out of there before you decided you wanted to stay too.”

“I’m happy to skip the torture session,” I admit, burying my face in his neck. He flinches, and I realize how insensitive my words were. I shouldn’t joke about such things, not when he has lived through such hell.

He pauses as we almost get to the dining hall. “You smell different. Why do you smell like another male?”

I roll my eyes. “Astrid and I went to check on August.”

He continues walking until we reach the table with a full spread on it, but no one is around.

Couldn’t the killing wait until after dinner?

Oh well, more for me.

“You touched him?” he finally asks as he places me on a chair.

“Soren—”

He sits next to me, his jaw marble and his fingers twitching like they want to reach for his twin swords. “He’s a friend. We went to make sure he was okay with the whole Milana thing.”

“You can make sure he’s okay from three feet away,” he replies through clenched teeth. Still, he begins to serve me a plate filled with everything on offer and more than I could ever eat in one sitting. “I don’t like that he’s known you in that way, little witch. It makes me want to kill him with my bare hands.” He pauses and then adds, “And maybe gouge his eyes out.”

“Descriptive,” I murmur, amusement filling me as he slides me the full plate.

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