Page 53 of A Crown of Fates

Urgently, I place Estee on the ground to keep her as far from Orix as possible, my lips grazing her cool forehead. “He won’t hurt you ever again.” I stand, taking a step away from my mate. “Try and stop me.”

His laughter is menacing. “You’re bold, Theo. But you’re nothing without me. Remember that.”

Orix lunges, his strike fast and brutal. Pain explodes in my side, where a dagger has left a gaping wound across my ribs. Still, I don’t fall. Not even when I sense the bastard trying to get inside my mind again. Instead, I call on my wolf, ready to shift and rip his head from his shoulders. It might not kill him, but as long as I keep him away from Estee, that will be enough for now.

Just as my wolf starts to surge forward, a lavender energy seeps from my injury, stitching my skin back together. I ignore it, but Orix stumbles, his gaze narrowing as he sneers. “Aurora.” His voice drips with venom as he steps back, his movements unsteady.

The god’s energy presses around me again, but for the first time in three years, he can’t enter my mind. He can’t steal the information he seeks or manipulate my thoughts. Not with the goddess’s essence pulsing within me, a shield he can’t penetrate. His hesitation is all I need to get my mate to safety.

I turn and lift Estee, her weight barely registering as I carry her toward the portal. “She’ll never be yours, and neither will my heir,” I tell him, my voice steady as the energy drawing us back home clings to my skin.

“You’ll regret this!” Orix roars, the shadows around him writhing, but he doesn’t follow.

We’ve escaped…but that doesn’t mean we’ve won anything. Not when I get back to my office and find Estee completely slack in my arms, her face pale and lifeless, the rest of her bloodied.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

ESTEE

My body is cold, but I don’t shiver. This is a soul deep freeze like death itself has crept into my veins. A frost that lingers, unyielding.

Then, a familiar presence stirs within me, providing not just hope, but a sliver of warmth.Wolf.

Her steady energy moves through me, calming and grounding. She’s with me. We’re not dead. Then again, maybe that would be better.

“Estee?”

My heart soars at the sound of his voice.Theo.Not Orix. Not the shadows. The memory of him showing up replays in my head, but I can’t remember leaving that hell. Gods, please don’t tell me we’re both stuck there.

I try to open my eyes, but my body doesn’t budge and when I try to tell Theo as much, the words don’t make it past my lips.What’s wrong with me?

“I told you,” a woman says, her voice smooth and measured, “she needs rest. What she endured should’ve killed her. The fact that her heart’s still beating is all you need to concern yourself with.” Though her voice sounds familiar, I can’t tell who she is.

Theo growls in response, a deep, guttural sound full of raw frustration and pain. “She’s beenrestingfor two days.” The ache in his words cuts me deeper than anything Orix could’ve done. I want to reach for him, reassure him that I’m still here, and the fact that I can’t, only increases my frustrations.

Then, I feel him. His warmth breaks through the cold, his hands cradling mine as if they’re his lifeline just as they are mine. His heat chases away the frost inch by inch, thawing the parts of me that still seem stuck within the shadow realm.

“Please, Estee.” His voice cracks. “I need you.”

The tether between us, erratic since the moment I stepped foot in Selaris, flares to life. The bond glows, faint at first, but steady. Its energy spreads through my chest, pushing through the lingering cold and extending into my core, my arms, my legs.

“Don’t let go, Theo,”I tell him, even though he can’t hear me.“Don’t ever let go.”

I picture his charcoal eyes, the silver flecks that appear when he’s happy. I remember the way my chest pounded the first time he kissed me, the gentleness in every touch, the way he’s been so patient, even when I didn’t deserve it.

I imagine a future with him, not running, not hiding, but living for our highest good. Together. The thought fuels me, bringing me back from the edge of oblivion. The more I focus on my mate, the harder I pull on our connection, anchoring it to me, the easier it is to accept that there’s no reason to be afraid any longer.

Theo is mine. He’s the other half of my soul, and he won’t ever hurt me. He couldn’t even if he tried.

The knowledge that he would die for me, that we would die for each other and that we never have to be alone again fills me with strength. Not one forged out of a need to survive but a force made of love and compassion.

A bond that can’t be broken.

“Mate.” The word is garbled in my mind, and I’m not sure I’ve even spoken until Theo’s hold on my hands becomes almost painful.

“Estee. Can you hear me?” His voice is full of hope, trembling with emotion. “Oh, Gods. Please say something else.”

“Here.” The word is barely a whisper. I struggle to open my eyes. They burn, but I blink through the pain. I need to see him. “Theo.”

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