Page 64 of A Story of Sinners

“What comes next?”

“I don’t know,” she shook her head, “but it can’t be good. You were supposed to go away for a short period, and then you would have returned stronger than ever, with the world in the palm of your hand. It’s different now. It must be.”

Unsure of what she meant, I opened my mouth to reply, but she held a finger to her lips and silenced me, her eyes darting to the high fae at the table. They were no longer even trying to disguise their pathetic attempt at eavesdropping.

She reached for her wine and spoke once again. “Thank you, by the way, for saving my coven from the dungeon. It had been a fate we did not see coming, and I will forever be in your debt. You can trust me always, even if it doesn’t seem like it.”

I inclined my head and mirrored her movements, reaching for a glass of wine. My head spun as the sweet liquid met my lips, and I smiled, slowly swirling the wine in my mouth.

Oh, how long it has been, old friend.

Ryken spoke, and my smile vanished. Not even the fairy wine could mellow out the irritating sound of his voice. “So, I heard you tried to run away today. Multiple times. Almost impressive. Though, how you managed to sift yourself into a heavily warded, iron cell is anyone’s guess.”

My cheeks flushed at the memory of being sprawled out on the grass below as countless fae looked on, pointing and laughing. Then, at the idiocy of finding myself trapped in yet another dungeon. I’d been horrified. The wound of being trapped in that dark cell had hardly had the chance to heal, still bleeding through every other thought.

“I want to leave.”

Ryken settled into his chair and tilted his head. “Not going to happen. You may try to sift. Who knows where you will turn up? I can guarantee one thing, and it’s that you will not sift behind that barrier. It’s spelled to protect against such an act.”

What an odd thing for a fae barrier to spelled against, but Ryken, Redmond, Fin, and the witches had found their way in and out of Faerie. There must be a way around it. I would discover a way, even if it took years.

I narrowed my eyes on Ryken, throwing every ounce of ire I could gather into my glare. “You won’t keep me here, not for long. I won’t stand for being locked in a cage by a male who thinks I am his property. Never again.”

Ryken’s fork clattered against his plate, and he leaned forward, his eyes flashing. Everyone hushed, unwilling to join in on the lover’s quarrel transpiring right before their eyes.

“I wouldn’t lock you in a cage, and I don’t think of you as property,” he claimed. “I want you to be safe, and you can’t trust that demon. You were going to make a rash decision. Again.”

“As if you could speak of rash decisions.” My eyes cut into him. “Do you think I am unaware of his untrustworthiness? I know him better than anyone else. I know what makes him tick, his deepest desires. Don’t mistake me for a fool. I know he wants me, but he would never have me. Never. I was yours, but you threw that away. Now you expect to keep me like Aiden did. Do you know what that makes you?” I seethed. “A hypocrite.”

Ryken shook his head and clenched his jaw. “I’m nothing like him.”

“Oh?” I mocked, raising a brow. “Since we are mates, it’s all right to impede on my boundaries? Does it make it right for you to hold ownership over me? Because I can guarantee he felt the same.” I shook my head and hissed. “You think you’re better than him, yet you sought to claim me without my permission.”

He flinched, then firmed his jaw. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“And you dare to question my judgement?” I shouted, slamming my hands against the table. Fury and burning rage churned inside me, anger from the small grasp of freedom that seemed to slip through my fingers like quicksand. My whole life had been spent running, hiding, yielding to everyone around me, making myself small enough to slip just beneath the surface of unwanted attention. The one chance I’d ever been offered to employ any sort of independence, had been thwarted—by my own mate.

My magic brimmed close to the surface, swelling and writhing from the pure venom dripping through my veins.

The room went deadly quiet, and Ryken inhaled, lifting his gaze to meet mine. His shoulders slumped, and his eyes hazed over. “What do you want from me?” he asked in a barely audible tone. “What can I do to make up for this? I made a mistake, but I won’t undo it. You may be angry, but you will thank me for this one day.”

All the poison inside me pooled on my tongue, and I spat, “No, I won’t. I will never thank you for this. There is nothing you can do to make this right. I hate you more than I ever hated Aiden.”

That was a complete lie, but the blow hit where I intended. The gasp of air he inhaled killed a part of me I’d thought long dead. I continued, regardless of the pain my own words caused. “I want nothing but to never have to speak with you again.”

His jaw clenched, and his lips flattened into a straight line. The glass in his hand shattered as he rose and towered above the table, both fists planted to the wood.

“That’s fine. You don’t need to speak with me ever again, but you’re still not leaving Faerie.” He looked to Fin. “Fin, take her to the Dragon Lands with you and Eulalia tomorrow. Take Gabriella, too. If Dahlia wants her independence, she can have it, but only in Faerie. Nowhere else.”

He stormed away, leaving behind a plate of uneaten food. The room remained silent in the wake of his absence.

The screech of a chair interrupted the tense atmosphere, and my eyes whipped to the fae female rising from the table. Her manicured nails dragged along the wood as she smirked, issuing a look of pure contempt my way.

This female had been the one to speak ill of me while I laid comatose in bed. I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms, locking eyes with her and issuing a glare of my own.

Calculation and resentment rolled off her in waves, and the flashing neon of her aura warned of foul intentions. She wanted my mate, and there was nothing she wouldn’t do to get him. The corner of her red painted lips stretched into a wicked sneer, and I ground my teeth. I didn’t know anything about this female, but I knew she would be a problem.

She spun away to chase after my mate, and I huffed.

---