Chapter 7

I floated in and out of consciousness. Sometimes, when I awoke, only Kormen would be there. Other times Celeste appeared. Each time I surfaced, I called out for Valen hoping he would answer. He didn’t. For the first time in my life, I was bothered by the cold. It was no longer welcoming and comforting to me. After being wrapped in his warmth, I doubted my body would ever get used to my normally chilly state.

            When I woke again, Dallon sat beside my bed. Christmas lights and decorations covered every visible surface. A massive tree took up one corner of the room, silver tinsel and purple ornaments creating an alluring display. The smell of pine flowed heavily in the air. Had I not been tied to the bed I laid upon and realizing I wore nothing but a thin t-shirt beneath this blanket, I would have been intrigued by the sight. It’d been years since I’d seen Christmas décor, but tied to the freaking bed! I yanked at my bindings as panic settled deep within my core.

            “Stop, don’t move! Let them think you’re still sleep,” Dallon hissed.

            I stopped moving, wide-eyed and unsure. What if Dallon was in on it with them? Somehow, he’d known exactly where my thoughts had gone.

            “Don’t, Cy. I wouldn’t do this to you.”

            Tears coated his eyes and he quickly swiped them away. He glanced over his shoulder to the door. From the other side I could hear muffled voices.

            “Cy, tell me what to do! Tomorrow is your birthday. I need to get you out of here. Mom is telling everyone you’ve started the process to mate Kormen and that your Vetur was settling into place. The clan thinks that’s why you haven’t been seen in nearly a week.”

            He shook his head and more tears fell. My brother was not made for this type of thing. He was kind. He would never hurt a soul. Hell, he still called Celeste mom and he knew the atrocities she was capable of. My situation had probably hurt him just as much as it did me. A week. I’d been hidden here, tied to this bed for a week.

            “I heard them talking. Mom wants Kormen and you to have a baby. She said if you carried his child your Vetur couldn’t see him as a threat. She said she wouldn’t allow you to be mated by a dragon.” His eyes grew wide and his dark curls flopped into his eyes, his ten-year-old youthfulness shining through as he spoke of Valen and it broke my heart all over again. “Is it true, Cy? Is that why they locked him in the dungeons with the knives in his chest? They said it was because he killed Lily, but after hearing them talk I didn’t believe them.”

            My mind snagged on his words of Valen. Could it be true? All the stories I’d heard of dragons spoke of their ability to heal. If they were purposefully keeping Valen injured, constantly reinforcing the knives so they didn’t melt, he wouldn’t be able to heal.

            “He’s alive?” I whispered, afraid to truly hope.

            “Yes, they have him in the dungeons. The warriors guard him and his men as though they think they’ll wake up and walk out of there.”

            My heart soared and I bit back a sob. Valen was alive.

            “So it’s true? The dragon is your mate!”

            In his excitement, Dallon had nearly shouted. The voices outside the door went silent. We had little time left.

            “Dallon, you need to get to him. You have to get the knives out of him so he can heal. He’s the only one who can help us now. No one else will go against Celeste. I don’t know how much time he will take to heal, but I know that by this time tomorrow Kormen will have¼”

            My throat closed and I couldn’t say it. My mind faltered every time I thought of what they were going to do to me. Dallon gave a quick nod before jumping from the chair and turning to the door. His face lit up in a smile as it opened.

            “Kormen! Tell mom she’s finally awake! She didn’t even try to hurt me,” he shouted as he flung himself into Kormen’s arms.

            Kormen stared at me, eyes narrowed in suspicion, as he hugged Dallon. For a moment I worried he would harm him, but Celeste would never allow that. I processed Dallon’s words. They must have told him I was tied down because I was out of control.

            “She can come out now, Kormen, right?”

            Pulling his gaze away from me, Kormen bent at his waist until he was eye level with Dallon, a hand placed on his thin shoulder.

            “Not just yet. We still have to wait until tomorrow just to be safe. We don’t want her to hurt anyone.”

            Dallon nodded his head then turned to face me.

            “Don’t worry, Cyan. You’ll be out of here in no time, I promise.” Turning away he faced Kormen again. “Right?” he asked expectantly.

            “Right,” he agreed easily. It was so much clearer now. With this easy lie to my little brother, he showed me how he’d been able to do it to me for so many years.

            Dallon raced out of the room, a peal of laughter following him as he shouted that I was finally awake.

            I kept my gaze on Kormen, waiting for his reaction. He sauntered over to me, taking a seat in Dallon’s vacated chair. Raking a hand over his face, he sighed.

            “It was never supposed to be like this, Cy. You know I’d do anything for you. Still would. For years, I hoped that one day you would look at me and see more than just your best friend. So many times I wanted to tell you how I felt. So many times I was tempted to try and touch you.” He shook his head sadly. “Your mother forbid it though. I would only get my chance if all the others failed. She didn’t want to risk unnecessarily losing me. If you’d mated to one of the others she’d already planned to make me your personal guard.” A mirthless chuckle escaped him. “She would have sabotaged any pregnancies you and your mate had. Her plan has always been to combine our bloodlines.”

            Revulsion churned within me. How long had they planned this? How far were they willing to go? I’d known Kormen since I was six-years-old. From day one he’d become the only friend I had that wasn’t related to me. He’d been nine. Had all of that been a ruse? A way to win me over? Lily came to me when we were both twelve. How long had Kormen been tormenting her? I forced myself to speak. I didn’t care about his reasoning. I honestly wasn’t even interested in how much of our friendship had been real.

            “Kormen, how could you do that to Lily? Why would you hurt her like that?”

            “Lily tried to come between us, Cy. She never should have told you anything about us. She made a deal and she went back on it.”

            “She made a deal to protect me from you when you and I both know I never needed protecting. She had no idea what I was capable of and she had my best interest at heart.”

            “No, Cy. I protected you. I had your best interest at heart. I got from her what I knew you were too good to give to me. Had I not had her around to take out my frustrations on, I would have snapped long ago. Everything I did to her, I did to protect you.”

            “Kormen, you killed her! You took her life like she was nothing. How was that protecting me?”

             “I’m done talking about this, Cy. She’s gone. Nothing you say or do can bring her back. Besides, we have more important things to discuss.”

            My eyes slid to the Christmas tree, large and imposing. A smile graced his lips.

            “I know you had The Queen implement the no decorations rule, but I wanted this year to be special. I wanted you to remember this birthday as the best and I know purple is your favorite color.”

            “It’s a stupid fucking color,” I spat, ignoring the fact that it really was my favorite color.

            His eyes narrowed and he stood from his chair. One hand gripped my chin, holding my face still as he forced his lips against mine. Vetur stirred, only confirming what I knew: Kormen was not my mate, but I held it back. This wasn’t the time to fight. I needed to bide my time.

            “Control yourself, Kormen. You don’t get to touch her until it’s time. Do not make me ban you from her presence until then,” Celeste ordered.

            Kormen glared at me as he slowly moved away. Vetur flared stronger in response to the threat of him, but I knew that if I used it now, I would have nothing left.

            “Fix your face, daughter of mine. Those scowls will give you wrinkles prematurely,” Celeste warned.

            “You think I’m worried about wrinkles right now? Clearly, there are more important things for me to concern myself with, mother.” I spoke the word as the insult I meant it to be. I never would have suspected anything like this from her. I knew she was ambitious, but this was too much, even for her. Or maybe I was still in denial, kidding myself in my attempts to believe this wasn’t my reality.

            “Come now, Cyan. Did you truly think I would allow anything, but the best for you? You should be thankful I care enough to secure the throne for our future generations. Any child from you and Kormen will be resplendent. There could be no better combination.”

            I opened my mouth to refute her words, but thought better of it. There was nothing that could be said to make them see fault in their actions. They had already spread word of what they believed was right. They’d kidnapped me. If they had gone this far already then their treachery truly knew no bounds. I turned my head away from them and stared at the shimmering tree. It truly was beautiful. Too bad their crazy had tainted it. Celeste stepped into my line of sight and one of her attendants quickly placed a chair where she could sit. God forbid she walked to where the chair had been before.

            “Leave us,” she commanded with a wave of her hand.

            The room cleared. Kormen hesitated, but with a sharp look from her, he left as well.