Page 71 of The Dragon's Captured Heart
Madison
Cleye had lost his mind.
“You’re going to look so beautiful once we finish this up,” he said as he worked at mixing the dyes.
I didn’t respond. There was no point. He was lost in a delusion of his own making, and no amount of protests on my part could change that. I’d spent the better part of three days trying, and so far, nothing.
“Whoever told you to get rid of that beautiful blonde hair of yours should be ashamed,” Cleye clucked.
“My hair isn’t dyed. This is the natural color, Cleye. Because my name is—”
“Hush,” he said, pressing a finger to my lips. “It’s okay. You don’t need to pretend anymore. Everything will be okay. I’ve made sure of it. We can finally be together.”
“If that’s the case, then untie me,” I said, straining with my wrists to free myself.
He giggled. “Nice try. But until you remember who you are, I can’t risk you going off and hurting yourself.”
This had been going on for days.
“How many times do I have to tell you my name is Madison Page! I’m a human.”
“No!” Cleye shrieked as he stood, spilling the dyes everywhere. “That is not who you are. You are my sister. Your name is Noa. I know you are because you have to be.”
“Your sister is dead!” I shouted back, hoping that maybe someone would overhear and come investigate. “She died two years ago.”
“That’s what they wanted us to think,” Cleye said, shaking his head. “But they’re wrong. You’re right here. And now, once you remember yourself, this will all be over. You and I will be together. This time, Callum won’t be there to take you from me!”
I rolled my eyes. The man was crazy. There was no reasoning with him.
“I should never have agreed to help you,” I muttered.
Outside the room, when he’d asked if I would help him punish the person behind his sister’s death, I’d readily agreed, eager to find out who it was so I could tell Callum. The man deserved closure.
Not wanting to tell me in public, Cleye had brought me to an abandoned part of the palace. Then he’d locked me in a room and didn’t return for several hours. When he did, he had suitcases full of luggage and other items.
All of which, I soon learned, belonged to Noa. He’d saved them, hidden them away instead of throwing them out.
It wasn’t until he’d started calling me by her name, however, that I realized he was delusional.
“We were robbed of a chance the first time,” Cleye said, stroking my face tenderly. “But not this time.”
He was also in a fabricated, incestuous relationship with his sister.
Who he now believed was me.
It was all kinds of fucked up. He’d dressed me in her clothes. Called me by her name. And now, he was preparing to dye my hair so I more closely resembled her.
“Callum cannot take you away from me,” he continued. “Not this time, my love. This time, there won’t be any need to intervene.”
That was a new piece of information. I focused on it. Why would Cleye have intervened?Howdid he intervene?
“What happened to me last time?” I asked, hoping I was phrasing it right to get him to answer. “When I said no?”
Cleye closed his eyes, shaking his head, muttering something to himself over and over again.
“What did you do to me, dear brother?” I asked in a gentler voice. “How did you handle the situation?”
“Enough!” Cleye cried. “Stop talking! Stop asking questions!”
