Page 29 of Song of Night

It’s just as horrifying as I’d imagined it, a nightmare come to life: Zara in the hands of Vyrin. Trapped down here where I can’t protect her. The thought of him possessing her in every way makes me insane. He will be as cruel and twisted as possible, all to harm me.

I climb to my feet and hurl myself against the bars of my cell over and over again. Even without magic I possess greater than average strength. But the metal holds, even after I batter it for countless minutes. Finally, I sink to the ground, my breathing rapid, my heart pounding. I force myself to slow down and think.

Zara is far from defenseless, even without magic. She’s certainly not going to let Vyrin have his way without a terrible fight. But as he’d said, he’s ancient. He is clever and powerful, even if his magic is diminished. And his rule here is absolute. The more Zara fights, the more pleasure he’ll take from it.

I don’t know how I’m going to get out of here, but when I do, I’m going to burn down this entire castle, and Vyrin in it. I will burn field and forest, I will lay such waste to this place that no one will step foot here again. Then I will dig up his burnt bones and give them to a pack of dogs for playthings.

Vyrin may have the upper hand right now, but he made one grave, reckless mistake.

He should have killed me when he had the chance.

Chapter Twenty

ZARA

I stare at Vyrin, his words echoing in my mind. Because he loves you, and you are now mine.

Everyone seems to think they can lay claim to me, possess me, as if I am merely some object to be stolen and placed upon a shelf. Rage simmers in my belly, but I bite back my response. Clearly my attempt to convince him he needs both me and Asher to control Night is a lost cause.

I need to get this conversation turned around.

“You mentioned coming to an agreement,” I say. “But all I’ve heard is threats.”

Vyrin’s anger morphs into a smug smile. “How quickly you become agreeable, Zara, when you realize you can’t win.”

It takes every ounce of willpower to suppress a response.

“Come, sit by me,” he says, pointing to the chair across from him.

Everything within me screams in protest, but I force my feet to move, slowly carrying me across the room. I’ll let him think I’m being compliant. Had he any sense at all, he wouldn’t wish for me to sit so close to him.

I fold myself into the chair and meet his gaze. “What did you have in mind?”

“I shared my plan with you both earlier,” Vyrin begins, leaning back in his chair and fiddling with the tassels on a pillow. “I will annihilate your city, take back my magic, and torture your Lord of Night for hundreds of years. Thousands, perhaps. He will live in agony for an eternity.”

The muscles in my cheek begin to twitch and my fingernails dig into the arm of my chair, but I manage to keep my expression neutral.

Vyrin smiles. “However…I could perhaps be more lenient if you and I come to an arrangement.”

“Yes?” I ask, because he clearly expects a response. Though it’s not hard to imagine what he has in mind.

“You will become my consort. You will give yourself to me in the most intimate ways, and you will accompany me on all my visits to the demon king’s son, where we will demonstrate to him the full depths of our arrangement.” The smile twists even more.

I try not to imagine the horror of what he describes—not only being intimate with this sadist, but doing so in front of Asher. It’s a struggle to keep my tone level. “And in exchange?”

“In exchange, I will spare some of the citizens of your city, rather than exterminating them all. And I will allow your former consort every other year in a prison cell being fed a small ration of blood rather than the constant starvation I otherwise have planned for him.”

“I see.” I make a show of biting my lip, forehead furrowed as if in deep contemplation.

Vyrin raises a brow. “Do you not think it a generous offer?”

I pause just long enough for him to clench his jaw in anger, and then I dip my head. “It is generous.”

Another smile. “We are in agreement, then?”

I nod slowly.

He raises a finger and gestures for me. “I require a more enthusiastic response. Come here and show me how generous you think I am. And how very charitable you will be in return.”

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