Chapter 29 Authority

Chapter 29 Authority
"And can they?" I asked, looking up at him.

Azran’s gaze intensified, his eyes darkening with that same predatory fire I’d seen last night. He leaned in, his shadow swallowing me whole.

"No," he whispered, his voice a promise and a threat. "Because I’ll burn them all to ash before they get the chance to find out."

The heavy double doors of the drawing room hadn't even fully clicked shut behind the departing guests before the silence in the room became a living, breathing thing. Azran’s hand was still a searing weight on the small of my back, his thumb tracing the dip of my spine through the thin silk of the green dress.

"They think I'm a weakness," I whispered, the words shaking as they left my lips. "Am I?"

Azran didn't answer immediately. He turned me to face him, his large hands sliding up to cup my face. His palms were warm, smelling of woodsmoke and that expensive, dark cologne that seemed to coat my lungs every time I breathed. He tilted my head back, forcing me to meet a gaze that was less like a man's and more like a predator marking his territory.

"You are a complication, Elara," he murmured, his voice a low, rough vibration. "And in my world, complications are usually eliminated. But you... you’re the only thing keeping the beast in the woods at bay. If he can't have you, he burns everything. If I keep you, I risk a mutiny from the high houses."

He leaned down, his nose brushing against mine, his breath hot on my lips. "So no, you aren't a weakness. You're the prize. And those vultures downstairs are just waiting for me to blink so they can tear you apart."

Before I could respond, the doors burst open again. It wasn't Eli or Ian. It was Isolde, her face flushed with a fury that cracked her regal mask. Behind her, Vane stood with his arms crossed, his silver-streaked hair catching the light like a blade.

"We aren't finished, Azran!" Isolde hissed, ignoring the intimate way he was holding me. "The Council has caught wind of the 'ritual' you performed last night. They know you didn't just stabilize her. They know you’ve started the binding."

Azran’s grip on my face tightened for a split second before he let go, spinning around to shield me with his body. His aura shifted instantly.

"The Council can rot in the dirt they crawled out of," Azran growled, his voice echoing with a terrifying, supernatural authority. "I did what was necessary to keep Callum from tearing the throat out of this city."

"You did what was necessary to claim a human as a mate!" Vane stepped forward, his eyes glowing with an unnatural, predatory amber light. "You’ve broken the primary Accord, Azran. You’ve brought a bloodline grudge into a house of peace. If Callum comes for her tonight, we won't stand with you. We’ll hand her over and watch him finish what he started."

I felt the blood drain from my face. Hand me over? To the man who painted headless wolves? To the monster who had carved his name into my soul with a single look?

"You'll do no such thing," Azran said, his voice dropping to a whisper that was more frightening than any shout. He walked toward Vane, his footsteps heavy and deliberate. "Because if any of you touch her, if any of you even look at her with the intent to harm, I will personally ensure that your bloodlines end tonight. I don't care about the Accord. I care about what is mine."

Vane scoffed, though he took a half-step back. "You’re losing your mind over a brothel girl, Azran. It’s pathetic. She’s probably already working for Callum. How do we know she didn't walk into those woods on purpose? How do we know she isn't a Trojan horse sent to dismantle us from the inside?"

The accusation hung in the air like a foul scent. I looked at the floor, my fingers digging into the silk of my dress. The memory of walking into the woods flashed through my mind. Was it possible? Had Callum been calling me before I even knew his name?

"She didn't know," Azran snapped, but I saw the flicker of doubt in his own eyes as he cast a glance back at me. It was a jagged, painful sting to my heart.

"Look at her!" Isolde pointed a manicured finger at me, her voice shrill. "She can't even look you in the eye! She knows. She’s a vessel, Azran. A vessel for Callum’s spite. If you keep her here, you’re inviting the devil to dinner."

"Enough!"

Azran’s eyes were no longer dark; they were a burning, molten gold. A low growl started deep in his chest, a sound that wasn't human, a sound that made my skin prickle with a mixture of terror and an unwanted, visceral attraction.

He moved so fast the eye couldn't follow. In a heartbeat, he had Vane by the throat, pinning him against the wall. The heavy plaster cracked behind Vane’s head.

"You will leave," Azran hissed into Vane’s face, his teeth bared. "You will go to the secondary estate, and you will wait for my command. If I hear one more word about 'handing her over,' I will show you exactly why my brother isn't the only Blackthrone you should fear."

Isolde gasped, clutching her pearls, her face turning a sickly shade of grey. Vane clawed at Azran’s hand, his face turning purple, before Azran let him drop to the floor like a sack of trash.

"Go," Azran commanded.

The two of them didn't wait. Vane scrambled to his feet, casting a look of pure, unadulterated hatred at me before he and Isolde fled the room.

The silence that returned was jagged. Azran stood with his back to me, his shoulders heaving, his hands curled into white-knuckled fists. The gold in his eyes was slow to fade.

I stood frozen by the window, the green silk of my dress feeling like a costume for a play I didn't want to act in anymore. "Is it true?" I whispered, my voice small. "Am I a Trojan horse? Did I go to him on purpose?"

Azran turned around slowly. The gold was gone, but the intensity remained. He walked toward me, his movements heavy and weary.

"I don't care why you went into the woods, Elara," he said, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ear. His touch was trembling. "All I care about is that you came back to me. Even if you are a weapon meant to destroy me... I think I’d let you."

He leaned down, his mouth hovering just over mine. "Now, get your things. We leave in ten minutes. And this time, if you try to run, I won't just catch you. I’ll bind you to me so tightly you won't even be able to dream of another man."

I looked into his eyes and saw the truth. He was just as terrified as I was. But while I was afraid of the monster in the woods, he was afraid of the monster he was becoming just to keep me.

"I won't run," I lied, the words tasting like copper on my tongue.

Azran stared at me for a long beat, searching for the truth. Then, he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door, his grip so tight it would surely leave another mark to add to the collection on my soul.

The war hadn't even begun, and I was already the first casualty.