Silence.
“So, that’s what this is about?” I moved forward, but I glanced over my shoulder repeatedly to keep him in my sight. “You want to make him pay for something?”
His ice-cold stare was on my face, his tightly pressed lips and hard jaw matching the eyes I now knew so well.
“You’re the one who’s kidnapped his innocent daughter, so look who’s the piece of shit now…”
“Nothing I do to you will ever compare to what he’s done to me.”
“And what did he do?” I stopped again, turning completely to face him.
He continued his pace, headed right toward me, blood lust in his eyes. When he was right in front of me, he stopped, his chin tilted down to examine me, his breaths slow and controlled.
I wanted to take a step back, but I resisted.
His eyes shifted back and forth between mine. “He raped my mother—and made me watch.”
My lungs automatically sucked in a deep breath as the repulsive accusation made my heart stop. My body gave a jolt in disgust because it couldn’t process the words that were shoved in my face. “You’re mistaken. He wouldn’t do that…”
His eyes turned still, locked on my expression. Without a blink, without a breath, he stared.
I caved and took a step back…because I just couldn’t handle it.
“When you asked him about the scars on his left cheek, what did he say?”
I breathed deep—in and out. Those scars were still visible in direct sunlight, but I was so used to them now that I didn’t even notice them anymore. “He scratched himself in his sleep—”
“A lie.” He stepped closer, forcing me to step back. “In a desperate attempt to stop your father from throwing her sons over the side of a cliff, my mother clawed him hard, from cheek to chin.”
I could feel my head shake, feel the disbelief combating his words.
“It didn’t work. With your father’s seed still inside her, he threw them all to their deaths—with a goddamn smile on his face.”
I couldn’t stop shaking my head. “You’re wrong…”
He watched me, his look maniacal. “Believe me. Don’t believe me. Makes no difference to me.” His large hand grabbed me by the arm, and he shoved me hard, so hard that I hit the earth with a thud that made me wince. “Move.”
I pushed to my feet and stumbled forward. “That’s your plan, isn’t it?” I continued to walk forward, my heart dropping into my stomach. “You’re going to force me the way your mother was forced…and then kill me.”
“The second part. Not the first.”
I turned to look at him again.
“There’s not enough magic in the world to ever make me desire you.”
At nightfall, we reached the base of the mountains.
I knew there were mountains to the west of the Capital, so that must be our location. I spent my time sticking my nose in books, not maps, so geography wasn’t my forte. But I did know there were villages between the major settlements, and Mastodon knew exactly where those were located because he expertly avoided them.
I had no idea where we were going or why he’d kept me alive this long if he just intended to kill me, but I had to keep those curiosities to myself because I couldn’t ask for those answers.
We entered a cavern, and once the darkness blanketed our sight, the torches were lit. We moved forward, deeper into the cavern, the ceiling slowly rising higher and higher toward the sky.
I’d never been underground before, and the deeper we ventured, the more my heart began to pound. In the forest, I had always had the option of running if I wanted to, but down here…there was nowhere to go. “Where are we going?”
“Entitled, isn’t she?” One of the five came closer to me, holding his torch up high as the oil beaded down the wood and onto his glove. He looked me over—with bright-blue eyes.
My attention had been on Mastodon this entire time since he was the leader and the others were followers. But now that I had a good look at one of them, I realized exactly who he was. “He’s your brother, isn’t he?”
“Stop asking questions like you’re entitled to answers, Princess.”
“I’m not a princess—”
“Really? You sure act like it.” He stepped away and carried the torch with him.
When I looked ahead, I felt his stare, his cold stare. “You need to remember I’ve done nothing to you and your brother—”
“Shut up.” He didn’t raise his voice, but his tone stunned me into silence.
I pressed my lips tightly together and tried to process the rage trapped in my chest.
Mastodon moved forward with the others, leaving me behind for the first time.
I looked behind me, daylight at the end of the tunnel.
“Go for it.”
I turned back around, seeing that Mastodon was still moving ahead.
“Just give me a reason. Any fucking reason.”