Page 119 of The Bond That Burns

I held her gaze just a second too long, drinking her in as if I might never see her again. My chest was tight. My throat even tighter.

Finally, I turned away and started walking down the hallway, the edges of my vision blurred.

The corridor leading towards my uncle’s chamber in the Black Keep stretched out before me, a cold expanse of dead stone.

I walked slowly. I’d chosen this meeting. That didn’t mean I had to rush towards it. Seeing my uncle alone was never a good thing.

I’d gotten Aenia out of Bloodwing. She was safe. At least, for now. She’d been lucid when I’d handed her off. She’d begged me not to leave her, but what choice did I have? My mother wasn’t around to protect either of us anymore. I’d asked Aenia about Theo, asked if she remembered attacking him. She’d looked at me blankly.

The madness wasn’t her fault. I knew that. But it was a constant presence, a storm always waiting to break. And worst of all? Sometimes I thought shecouldremember the terrible things she’d done. She just didn’t want to.

My mind churned, replaying the events from the carriage attack over and over, as if I could make them make more sense.

I looked down at my fingers, flexing them gently. I’d been tempted to wear gloves, but I couldn’t risk drawing even more attention to myself. My hands still felt... wrong. I’d scrubbed them raw as if cleaning them might help. But I could swear I still saw faint traces of scales when the light hit them just so. My palms burned a little even now–the same searing heat I’d felt when I’d ripped one of the attackers apart with my bare hands.

Fuck, I’d even dropped my sword in the middle of a battle—not because I’d been clumsy. Because I hadn’tneededit.

My body had moved like something from a nightmare. I’d been fast, vicious. Transformed. I hadn’t fought those men. I’dslaughteredthem.

I shuddered. I’d never felt so strong before. So filled with reckless aggression. I could still see the look on Visha’s face when she’d touched my arm, bringing me back down to earth. Her wide violet eyes had darted from my bloody hands to the mangled body on the ground. To her credit, she hadn’t said anything. I knew she’d stay quiet about what she’d seen.

But if anyone else had witnessed what I’d done...

My protective instincts had roared to life. Pendragon. Aenia. The others. No one was going to touch them. Not while I still breathed.

I’d fought like a man possessed. No, not a man. A beast. Like the silver wolf that had come out of the bush. Something primal. Something unrecognizable.

I stopped in my tracks, pressing my palms flat against the cool stone wall. Even now, my arms ached with a burning pain that hadn’t subsided since the battle. The skin over my back felt tight, as though something was pressing, clawing, trying to break free. I rolled my shoulders, attempting to shake it off. But the sensation didn’t dissipate.

What the hell was happening to me?

I’d been planning to talk to Pendragon about it. See if she had any insights. I’d been ready to take her into my confidence.

I shook my head. How could I have been so stupid? I’d thought we’d have more time... after I took care of Aenia. I hadn’t expected her to announce her departure.

Well, she’d made her choice.

The loneliness of that realization hit me harder than I expected. I tightened my jaw, refusing to show it, even to myself in this empty hall.

The door to my uncle’s chamber rose ahead of me. Viktor Drakharrow. The man who’d managed to take a loving family, warp it, control it, twist it to serve his own purposes.

But that was who I was now. First and foremost. His nephew. His pawn. His tool.

Except now, I was becoming something else. Something I didn’t understand. Something that fucking terrified me.

If anyone might know what was happening to me, it was Viktor. He’d lived long enough to have seen it all.

I hesitated, then shoved open the double-doors and strode into the room, my fists clenched at my sides.

Viktor’s quarters weren’t to my tastes. They were ostentatious and pretentious. Everything spoke of old wealth and old blood.

My uncle was seated behind his desk. He looked up as I approached. “You’ve got that petulant look on your face, Blake. The one that tells me this is going to be a tiresome conversation.”

I ignored him. “Aenia shouldn’t have been at the Tribunal evaluation yesterday.”

Viktor picked up a goblet filled with dark liquid in one hand. “You’ve come here to lecture me? To show me what a devoted brother you are? Look at that, I’m bored already.”

I stepped forward. “You put her in danger. Not to mention all of the others.” I couldn’t tell him what had happened with Theo. And when Theo awoke—because I knew he would wake—he couldn’t tell our uncle either. I knew he’d understand that. He cared for Aenia, too. He’d known her before she’d become what she was now. He’d forgive her. He had to. “You know what could have happened if she’d lost control.”

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