Page 93 of Fury of the Bound
I was pissed when Kieran told me he took her back into the Whispering Woods, but it had to be done to protect her and Darian’s twin brother and sister. I still didn’t like it.
And that’s when we were taken by some of the guards and brought down here so Vespera could question us.
Some hunters who are so far up her ass they could taste her shit showed up here and beat us to a pulp. And trust me, I’ll never forget who touched us—I’ll slit every last one of their throats for turning their backs on us.
I knew she was watching me through that meeting, and I tried so hard not to react, and I thought I did okay, but I suppose not, because here I am.
Vespera always did have a flair for theatrics. She was a curse that needed to be broken.
Kieran wasn’t far from me, hanging from the same chains. His busted eye was swollen shut, his nose looked like it had taken a solid blow, and he was barely holding himself up. But he was breathing.
That was something.
I have no clue where Darian is; he never showed up with Kieran, and that sets off every alarm bell in my head. I wouldn’t put it past him to go looking for Ravena, hurting her or bringing her to the devil.
The past few months, he's been different, and not in his usual grouchy-muppet way. Ever since Vespera had him working for her more, he's been colder, cruel at times and completely spaced out. The way he talks to Ravena grates on my nerves, and I've never wanted to sucker punch someone so much in my life. She'spart of this family now—her, her dragon, and that psychotic blood mage—and she'd better start acting like it.
All I wanted was to go back to her, crawl into my bed, breathe her in, feel her warmth and maybe steal a few more of those sweet noises from her lips.
Now I’m fucking stuck here.
Both of us battered and bleeding, and now Kieran's passed out, not only because of that, but I can’t remember the last time he had a drink.
They haven’t even questioned us, just used us as a personal punching bag.
We have been careful not to let on that we were involved in hiding the witch the seers kept having visions about, and stayed clear of Nyx, so I don’t understand why we are here.
They couldn’t know about her. If they did, she’d be dead—and honestly, I’m not sure what I’d do without her. In what feels like no time at all, she has turned my world upside down. It’s fast, messy, and yeah, it’s confusing as hell—but it's real. And somehow, it scares the crap out of me and excites me too.
Kieran groans, his head rolling forward as blood drips from his nose.
“Are you still conscious over there?” I croak out, wriggling my fingers.
“Unfortunately,” he grits out.. “Would rather be waking up to a bottle of whisky and not a broken face.”
I smirk, but it hurts like hell. “Yeah, well… looks like we're stuck with door number two.”
I yanked at the chains, ignoring the sharp sting as pain tore down my arms. The metal barely budged. Figures. Vespera didn’t do half measures when keeping people in their place.
The door creaks open just as I give another pull, and my eyes narrow when she steps in—Nyx sliding in beside her, all shadow and nightmare.
Shit. Okay. Don’t look into its eyes.
“Good evening, gentlemen. Hope you're holding up well.” She steps further into the room as her bodyguards close the door.
I let out a sharp bark of laughter, shaking my head. “Seriously? Holding up well?” I shoot her a look, my lips curling. “Is that a pun, or are you actually trying to be funny?”
Kieran huffed beside me, shifting in his chains, his busted eye cracking open. “If she’s trying to be funny, she sucks at it.”
Vespera's smile didn't waver, revelling in our discomfort, but I caught the brief flare of impatience in her gaze directed at us.
Good.
If I was going to be strung up like a fucking ornament, I was at least going to be a pain in her ass while I was at it.
Her heels clicked against the floor as she moved closer, stopping just a foot away. Even bound and beaten, I could still feel the weight of her presence, the suffocating power she wielded. It never felt right, like it was infected somehow.
“I see you're both full of spirit,” She muses, tilting her head to study me. “Good. But let's not waste time.” She claps her hands behind her back, pacing around us like a predator circling its prey. “I’ll only ask once, and I expect the truth. Fail me, and you'll answer to me—and trust me, you won't like it.”
