Page 59 of Wrath

Wrath

I close my eyes and try to picture her.Wynter.Her green eyes begging me to kiss her. I’m so weak, I can hardly bring myself to smile, and just as quickly as I conjured her, she disappears.

“Wrath? Wrath?” I prize my eyes open and there she is again, leaning over me with her small hands gripping my shirt as she shakes me awake. I want to lift my hand and touch her face to see if she’s real, though deep down, I know she’s not.

“He’s refusing to eat or drink anything,” I hear a woman say, and I frown.Wait. Is she real?I try to lift my head to see, but it hurts too much. I groan.

“Get me the water,” I hear Wynter order.

I feel a gentle hand supporting my head and then something is pressed to my lips. At first, I refuse to part my lips. “Please, Ares. Drink for me.” My vision begins to clear, and she’s smiling back at me.

“Wynter,” I whisper, my voice cracking from dryness.

“Yes. It’s me.”

“But . . .”

“Drink, Ares,” she repeats. “You have to drink something.”

I sip the water and it cools my throat. After a few more sips, she takes it away and cups my face in her hands. “Why are you doing this?”

“You left me,” I murmur. The kiss comes back to me full force and I try to remove her hands, but she holds on with tears in her eyes. “You’re one of them.”

“I’m not, Ares. I’m not one of them.”

“I saw you,” I snap.

She releases me as someone hands her a bowl. She scoops something from it and holds it to my lips. “Eat so we can talk,” she orders firmly. I shake my head, and she groans with frustration. “Why? What will you achieve by refusing to eat or drink? You’re giving up, and then they’ve won.” My stomach growls as the smell hits my nose, and my mouth begins to water. “You want to eat, so just try, for me.”

I open my mouth, feeling like a child as she places the spoon in. I close my eyes, savouring the taste of warm porridge.

After a few mouthfuls, I turn my head away, and she sighs, placing the bowl down. “I didn’t want to leave,” she says, her voice quiet. “I had no choice, just like you have no choice being in here.” She waits a beat before adding, “One of the forefathersdecided he wanted to marry me.” I clench my jaw, and she finally meets my eye again. “Say something, Ares. Please.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

WYNTER

His eyes are sunken, and he’s got a lost look in them. The second I entered the caves, Martha was alerted, and she was relieved to see me, wasting no time begging me to encourage Wrath to eat.

There are no guards down here currently, only Alex, who seems to be on our side, surprisingly. Martha didn’t have to convince or beg him to let me see Wrath.

She lingers in the doorway with a worried look on her face.

“Where are the guards?” I ask her.

“They’ve taken Jax for the main entrance and haven’t replaced him yet. With the warriors in here locked away, they seem to think we’ll be fine. They only send extra guards when moving them.”

“How long has he been like this?” I ask, watching Wrath stare at the ceiling with a tight jaw and clenched fists.

“Since you left really. He got worse after the fight.”

“Does my father know?” Wrath tenses further.

“Yes. He’s giving him until the end of the week and then he’ll have him removed.”

My chest tightens. “What does that mean?”

“Killed,” mutters Wrath, and he brings his eyes to mine. “I can’t wait.”

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