Page 167 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“Yes, dear prince, but you’re forgetting one very important thing… or should I say person?” Her green eyes flicked to Aelia, who didn’t move, her mouth still missing.

Caiden cocked his head to the side.

“Aelia?”

A muted scream echoed from the patch where her mouth had once been. Desperation flickered in her hazel eyes.

“Yes, prince. Aelia.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will.” She crossed the room to where Aelia was strapped to the cot. Placing a long, spindled finger on Aelia’s sweatytemple, she pressed hard, muttering some ancient words under her breath.

Aelia screamed, writhing in pain. Erissa twisted her finger, her words becoming louder and quicker with each passing moment. Erissa’s eyes darted underneath closed lids. Aelia gritted her jaw. Her breath came fast and shallow.

“I can’t watch this.” Baylis disappeared up the stairs.

Slowly, Erissa pulled a long glowing string from Aelia’s mind, wrapping around her hand as she went. Aelia’s screams ripped through the silent cabin despite her lack of a mouth.

“Stop, stop, whatever you are doing to her. Just stop it!” he yelled.

“All done,” Erissa said. Pulling the string tight between her fingers. “Hold him down,” she commanded the two mercenaries.

Strong hands held Caiden in place.

“What are you doing?” His throat thickened, and he could barely get the words out.

“As I said, I’ve been thinking of how to punish you for my face. At first, I thought about returning the favor in kind. But then, I thought that might give you some sympathy points. So I thought of something better.” She threaded the string through a sharp needle. “You got to forget your first love. But I never did. I replay our fondest moments together as a way to both keep him alive and punish myself for not saving him.”

Caiden scoffed.

“There is nothing you can do to me that I do not already do to myself. You don’t think I replay my wife’s death every day in my mind?”

She scoffed. “Oh, prince, I’m giving you something much worse. A love you don’t even remember.”

She jabbed the needle into his temple.

A scream scraped its way from Caiden’s gut up through his throat and out of his mouth. He tried to wriggle free, but themercenaries held him firmly in place. A searing pain ripped through his temple as Erissa sewed the thread into his forehead.

A rush of memories came flooding into his consciousness, overwhelming his senses. Every touch, every kiss, every painful moment fit into jagged empty spaces in his mind. His breath caught in his throat.

“Is it all coming back, prince? The hurt? The lust? The love? You thought you could have your Mind Breaker take it all away, and you’d just waltz off into the sunset?” Erissa’s voice faded into nothing.

A flood of emotions overwhelmed Caiden as each memory found its home. His heart rose and fell with each moment he’d shared with Aelia. They’d been in love—really, truly in love. They had known each other for years—before he met his wife. It all made sense now why he felt the insatiable scratching at the back of his mind. These pieces were missing. Aelia erased them. And worse… he’d asked her to.

“There we go. All done.”

The pain subsided, and the thread disappeared into Caiden’s skin.

He looked at Aelia, who stared at him with tears in her eyes. An invisible dagger sliced its way through his heart. So many memories. So much hurt, but also so much joy. They had shared something special, and he’d asked her to erase it.

He turned to Erissa. “Give Aelia her mouth back.”

An evil smile creased her macabre face. “If I can’t escape my past… neither should you.” She snapped her fingers, and Aelia’s mouth reappeared.

“Caiden… I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry. I’m so, so, so sorry.” Tears snaked their way down freckled cheeks.

“You have nothing to apologize for, Aelia. We loved each other once. I knew what I was doing when I asked you to takethose memories.” He turned away from her. Pain bloomed in his chest like a rare flower, familiar and foreign all at the same time.

---