Page 13 of Empire of Wrath and Ruin
The conversation with Aytara weighed heavily on me as I descended the temple steps. Her warning about Livia burned in my mind, mingling with the shadows' whispers of possession and control. I had hoped for her blessing, or at least her understanding—instead, I'd received caution wrapped in reluctant acceptance.
The morning sun had fully risen by the time I emerged from the temple, bathing the city in golden light. Thal'Zereth spread before me, stone buildings nestled into the mountainside like jewels set in living rock. My people moved through the streets below, going about their daily lives—lives I was sworn to protect. How many of them would question my decision if they knew what I had done? How many would see it as the betrayal Aytara feared?
I made my way through the upper district, nodding to those who acknowledged me but avoiding conversation. The shadows followed, coiling around my ankles like eager pets seeking attention. They had grown stronger since the claiming, feeding on the raw power of the mate bond and the conflict it stirred within me.
She is waiting, they reminded me. Bound. Ready. Ours.
The thought sent heat coursing through me again, despite my efforts to focus on more pressing matters.
The shadows urged me to quicken my pace, their whispers growing more insistent with each step closer to home. She would be awake by now, perhaps struggling against her bonds, confused and afraid. The thought should have troubled me more than it did.
Instead, I found myself imagining her testing the restraints, her body arching against the soft furs as she discovered shecouldn't break free. Would her eyes flash with anger when I returned? Or would they darken with the desire I'd glimpsed last night, when she'd surrendered to the bond between us?
But as I made my way back toward my home and the woman waiting bound in my bed, I couldn't shake the feeling that Aytara's concerns might be more justified than I wanted to admit. Livia had fought against us, had been willing to die rather than surrender. That kind of conviction didn't simply vanish because of a mate bond.
Yet when I thought of her sleeping in my furs, marked by my touch and claimed by my magic, none of that seemed to matter. She was mine now, for better or worse. And I would make sure she stayed that way, no matter what it cost.
5
Iwoke slowly, consciousness drifting back to me like fog rolling in from the sea. The first thing I noticed was warmth—deep, luxurious warmth that seemed to seep into my bones and the soft brush of fur against my bare skin. The second was that I couldn't move my arms.
My eyes snapped open, heart immediately racing as I tested the restraints around my wrists. Shadows. Dark tendrils that looked like silk but felt unbreakable, binding my arms above my head to the carved wooden headboard. I could move my legs, thankfully.
"No, no, no," I whispered, panic clawing at my throat. Memories of the night before crashed over me in vivid detail—Taveth's hands on my body, his voice commanding my submission, the overwhelming sensation of something fundamental shifting inside me. The mate bond. Gods help me, he had actually done it.
I pulled against the restraints, testing their strength even though I knew it was futile. These weren't ropes that might fray or metal chains that could be picked. They were made of shadowmagic, extensions of Taveth's will given form. They would hold until he chose to release them.
I twisted my body, trying to see more of my surroundings. The room was unfamiliar—spacious and surprisingly beautiful, with high ceilings and intricate carvings decorating the stone walls. Morning light filtered through narrow windows, illuminating dust motes that danced in the air. This was no prison cell, but it might as well have been.
My body ached pleasantly, the kind of soreness that comes from thorough lovemaking. The thought made heat rise to my cheeks even as anger bubbled in my chest. How dare he? How dare he claim me without my consent, bind me to his bed like some conquest, some possession?
I examined the shadow bonds at my wrists more carefully. They appeared almost liquid, flowing around my skin without cutting into it, yet when I pulled, they held firm. I could feel them humming with power, with his power.
"Taveth," I called out, hating the way my voice trembled. No answer came. I was alone.
I closed my eyes, trying to steady my breathing. Panic wouldn't help me now. I needed to think, to plan. But how could I plan when everything had changed so fundamentally? I could feel it inside me—the bond—like a golden thread connecting me to someone I barely knew. Even now, some treacherous part of me yearned for his return, craved his touch again.
This was his home. Taveth's private sanctuary, and I was bound to his bed like a possession waiting for his return.
The thought should have filled me with rage, but instead I felt something far more complex. Beneath the fear and indignation was a treacherous warmth, a satisfaction that felt alien to my nature. Part of me—a part that was growing stronger by the hour—actually enjoyed being here. Enjoyed being claimed and marked and kept. His mate.
The word sent a shudder through me that wasn't entirely fear. Images from the night before flashed through my mind—his hands gripping my hips, his mouth on my neck, the way he'd claimed me with a ferocity that should have terrified me but had instead awakened something primal within me. I'd responded to him, gods help me. I'd arched into his touch, begged for more, surrendered to whatever this was between us. The heat between us was similar to that I had felt with Tarshi and with Sirrax, but Taveth was something else, and the darkness that I felt in him had only intensified with our pairing.
We were bound together now, and fighting the bond was unthinkable, but alongside the dark fire that raged between us, I could still sense the golden pull of my other two mates, and the agonising emptiness that came from being separated from them all. I had seen Tarshi from a distance that day, in his beautiful dragon form. Septimus wouldn’t be fair, that I knew by now. Had they found the others after the battle? Would Tarshi reveal Sirrax’s true nature to the others when they found me gone? Would they protect him? Would they come for me?
More and more questions rushed through my mind, and my heart sped up, panic fluttering in my chest as I pulled harder on the restraints. Then I felt him. That dark presence at the edge of my mind was suddenly right there, close by. I looked up as Taveth appeared in the doorway, and despite everything, my breath caught. He had washed away the scent of our joining, but nothing could diminish the raw magnetism that seemed to radiate from him. His white hair was bound back, and he wore simple black clothing that somehow managed to make him look more dangerous rather than less. But it was his eyes that captured my attention—those ice white depths that seemed to see straight through to my soul.
"Good morning, Aeveth," he said, his voice carrying that same strange harmonic I remembered from my dreams. Only now Iunderstood what created those undertones—the shadows that lived in his mind, shaping his words even when he didn't realize it.
"Don't call me that," I said, pleased that my voice came out steady despite the turmoil inside me.
He tilted his head, studying my face with predatory intensity. "Why not? It suits you. Beautiful and bright, but capable of burning those who aren't careful."
"Because it's not my name." I met his gaze directly, refusing to show weakness even bound as I was. "My name is Livia."
"I know your name," he said, moving closer to the bed. "Just as I know you're angry about the restraints."
"Then remove them."
