Chapter 39 Chapter 39
Bailey’s POV
“What did she tell you?”
Nathaniel’s voice was deadlier than ever.
I shifted under his intense gaze, anxiety coiling tight in my chest. I had to tread carefully. One wrong move, one flicker of thought, and he’d rummage through my mind like a thief in a jewelry store. My mental shields were the only thing standing between me and total exposure.
And he was already testing them—hard. The power surged through me, his will crashing against mine like black waves against rock. I refused to let him in. If he figured out what Eliza had told me, all her effort—her sacrifice—would have been for nothing.
Something told me she’d used up every last drop of her strength to reach me. Now she was trapped inside this wretched place, waiting for Nathaniel to decide when she could breathe again. I’d find a way to free her too. She didn’t belong in this nightmare anymore.
“I won’t ask you again…” Nathaniel’s voice snapped me back.
He stepped closer. I took a step back. His eyes locked on mine—storm-dark and sharp.
“Nothing,” I said finally, forcing a breezy smile. “She just wanted to know me better… without you meddling.”
Yeah, that sounded dumb the moment it left my mouth. He didn’t buy it for a second.
Before I could blink, he closed the space between us. One hand pinned my wrists behind me, the other gripped my jaw, forcing my gaze to his. His cobalt-black eyes glittered with frustration. He couldn’t break my shield—and it was driving him insane.
Good.
Benjamin’s training was paying off. He hadn’t just taught me to raise physical defenses; he’d taught me to wall off my mind. The physical shield? Still a work in progress. But this? This I could hold.
“I see you’ve been practicing your telepathy,” Nathaniel hissed.
I smirked. “You know me—always staying one step ahead.”
His expression didn’t soften. If anything, it hardened. He was still probing, still clawing at the edges of my mind. Fine. Two can play this game.
I focused, feeling the hum of magic rise within me. My power flared like lightning beneath my skin. I aimed it straight at him—into his mind.
For a heartbeat, surprise flickered in his eyes. Then the flood came.
Images slammed into me in quick succession—his childhood, fragments of battle, flashes of rage. And then—
That night. The night. The one I’d seen through his eyes. Kara. The betrayal.
The memory tore through me again, raw and brutal. But this time, I felt him too—his emotions pulsing through the memory. Guilt. Actual, bleeding guilt.
What the hell? Nathaniel Thorn felt remorse?
It knocked the wind out of me. Why guilt? Why now?
And then—another echo. A single phrase looping in his mind: I’m so close.
Close to what?
Before I could dig deeper, he broke the link. My mind snapped back into my body with a crack, and his snarl cut through the haze.
“You dared to enter my mind?!”
Well… crap.
Power slammed into me like a tidal wave. His dark magic wrapped around me, suffocating, choking. I screamed as he dragged every painful memory I’d ever buried to the surface—childhood taunts, heartbreaks, his infidelity—twisting each one until they felt freshly carved into my soul.
“You have no idea how much I wish I could rip it from you,” he growled. “Your only luck is that I still need that power intact. That’s the only reason you’re still alive.”
Still needs the power? Not keep it—needs it?
My mind spun. Whatever he was planning, it wasn’t over.
As the magic ebbed, I gasped for air, my entire body trembling. But I didn’t cower.
“You may think you hold all the power, Nathaniel,” I said, voice shaking but steady, “but you underestimate me.”
A flicker of surprise crossed his face—quickly masked by that infuriating grin.
“Oh, my dear,” he drawled, stepping closer. “You truly are a firecracker. But firecrackers are easily extinguished.”
I lifted my chin. “And phoenixes rise from the ashes. Stronger than ever.”
For a second, his grin faltered. Just for a second. Then came that low, knowing chuckle.
“But phoenixes,” he murmured, “can still be tamed.”
The air between us snapped like a live wire. His gaze darkened—the same dangerous gleam from that morning when he’d shoved his tongue down my throat.
Great. Thanks, brain, for that visual.
He took a step closer. I took one back.
“Whoa, whoa!” I blurted, pointing straight at him. “Keep it in your pants, mister!”
He blinked. “Excuse me?”
Heat rushed up my face as I realized how that sounded. He smirked, thoroughly amused.
Oh, hell no.
He leaned in, voice dropping to a low purr. “Perhaps you misjudge my intentions.”
My pulse stuttered. His breath brushed my ear—warm, commanding, dangerous.
Goddamn this marriage spell. If I didn’t find a way to break it soon, I was going to lose my mind.
But as I looked at him—really looked—I saw it. The tightness in his jaw. The clenched fists. He was fighting it too. The bond, the pull.
The big bad wolf was struggling.
Magic shimmered beneath his skin, unstable and vicious. His control was slipping.
Before I could think, I reached out, grabbing his hands. His knuckles were white, trembling with suppressed power.
“If you could not explode right now, that’d be great,” I muttered. “I’m kind of attached to being alive.”
For a moment, his eyes met mine—and something shifted. He inhaled slowly, and the raw, burning energy in the room eased.
He calmed down.
Wait. I calmed him down.
Okay, that was new. And terrifying.
He turned away, shoulders tense, exhaling a long breath. The storm inside him dimmed, just slightly.
“Let’s head back,” he said after a pause, his voice back to that smooth, infuriating calm. “I’ve got work to do. And if I’m not mistaken, you’re supposed to be with Lucien in the lab.”
“Oh, shoot! I totally forgot!” I yelped, darting past him toward the castle. Lucien was going to kill me.
I could practically feel Nathaniel’s eyeroll behind me.
As I ran, one thought refused to let go.
Why had I been able to calm him like that? Was it the spell? The bond between us and the dark heart’s power?
Whatever it was—it scared the hell out of me.
Because if Eliza was right… Nathaniel and I were more connected than either of us dared to admit.
And time was running out.