Page 172 of Wolf Caged
The male hesitated still, and I flinched away as those shadows flew at him, as they stabbed him one by one, piercing only deep enough to inflict pain rather than a fatal wound. The fae unleashed a blood-curdling scream as his body jerked and twisted with each shadow that struck him. Malachi lifted his head and shoved off the one he had stabbed, his onyx gaze alight with reddish-purple fire as he looked at the one Kaeleron was torturing.
I looked at Kael.
At the cold male who stood on that dais at the end of the aisle, dressed in black armour and a thorny crown, ice coating the hard lines of his face and his eyes empty, soulless pits that revealed no emotion as he stared at the fae he was striking with his shadows, not even giving him a chance to speak.
“Stop!” I stepped further into the room, my heart pounding as I forced myself to do something rather than stand by and let him do this, let him torment these fae, and maybe part of me didn’t want to see this reminder of the male he could be.
The cold, ruthless unseelie king.
The fae closest to Malachi made the mistake of trying to move towards his companion, and Kaeleron made a small gesture with his hand, a flicker of something twisted andpredatory in his eyes as he watched the two fae. Malachi immediately caught the male around the throat and shoved him back against the floor, his blade against his throat this time, poised to cut it.
Kaeleron’s lips stretched in a satisfied smirk as the fae in the middle cast a terrified look at the younger male Malachi had pinned, his face crumpling as tears lined his pale lashes.
“Wait.” That word was garbled and the male coughed, bringing up blood that trickled down his chin as he reached for the male beneath Malachi. “Stop. Wait. Do not harm my brother.”
I gasped as I looked between the two of them, and then looked at Kaeleron.
And saw only darkness in his eyes.
Victory.
He had found a weakness among them, and was going to harm the brother to make this male speak.
I stared at Kaeleron, hating this brutal reminder of who he really was, a male so different to the one who had come to me last night, who had taken care of me and had held me in his arms while I slept.
“Stop,” I said and stepped further into the room.
Kaeleron’s eyes lifted to me, his expression dark and unreadable, and then he gestured to someone off to his left, his voice cold as he ordered, “Remove her from the room.”
Jenavyr nodded and stalked towards me, her face as cold as her brother’s as she closed the distance between us.
I shot Kaeleron a hard look. “You’re harming innocents.”
He snarled, baring jagged fangs, the lines of his face hardening with it as he stared me down. “The only innocent in this room is you, and you are a blind fool if you believe I will show mercy to these wretches simply because you asked it of me. I have no mercy to give. Take her to her room and lock her in it.”
Jenavyr seized my arm and I started, entire body tensing before I recognised who had me.
With a withering glare in Kaeleron’s direction, and sickness brewing in my stomach as I glanced at the sobbing, cowering fae before him, I bit out, “It appears the seelie aren’t liars after all. You’re as much a monster as they paint your kind to be.”
I wrenched free of Vyr’s grip and stormed from the room.
Kaeleron’s roar shook the castle and fear flashed through my blood as I broke into a run, fleeing from him, afraid of him even when I knew deep in my soul that he would never harm me.
Jenavyr closed the door of the great hall behind me but didn’t chase me down the corridor as I expected. I glanced back at her, finding her standing with her back against the ornate wooden doors, her beautiful face still as dark as night.
I didn’t stop running until I was in my room, my heart thundering as I closed the door and locked it behind me, my limbs shaking as the adrenaline wore off and my mind cleared.
And I realised I was going to pay for my outburst later, that I’d had no right to intervene when I didn’t know why those fae had been brought to Kaeleron, and no right to believe them innocent simply because they had been young. I had overstepped, but I hadn’t been able to stop myself. I couldn’t stand by and watch that sickening display of power—and anger—andhatred—without saying something.
I struggled for air as I went to the balcony, as I pressed my hands to the stone balustrade and looked out at the city that seemed darker now when it had been a source of light for me just an hour ago, while I had enjoyed my breakfast, all of me warmed by my night with Kaeleron.
I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, trying to reconcile everything that had happened, torn between polar feelings as I thought about Kaeleron.
It was only when the lock on my door snicked and it opened slowly that I realised afternoon was fading into evening, and I had been stood on my balcony for hours, lost in thoughts of the male who entered my room on a wave of power that curled around me in a gentle embrace rather than crushed my bones to powder as I had expected.
I looked over my shoulder at him as he stopped in the centre of my room, his gaze downcast, his air withdrawn rather than raging and furious. The stillness of him was more terrifying than his rage would have been.
“You cannot understand the burden I bear—the choices I must make. You do not understand how the things I have done—the things I must do—affect me.” He slowly lifted his emotionless silver gaze to meet mine. “You would rather watch a world go to hell than bloody your hands.”
