Chapter 23 Ryder’s Rage
The air was full with energy, like static before a storm. Ryder could feel it, throbbing under his skin and in his veins. His chains were made of cold iron that hurt his wrists and made noise with every movement. Each drag was a reminder that he was a prisoner. But it wasn't the chains that kept him there; it was something else. Something that ran through him, threatening to break him apart if he couldn't find out where it came from. The bond. There had always been a tie between them, a quiet thread that connected them. But tonight it was too strong for him to ignore.
His heart raced and his pulse increased, each beat a drum of coming calamity. Sienna. She was in trouble. He knew it even before he knew why. He had learnt to trust the relationship and to feel it in his bones. He could also understand the rhythm of her dread, pain, and anger. And it was all there tonight. Her terror was real and strong, like a vibration in the air. Ryder's breathing was quick and rough. The chains didn't matter. The stone walls didn't mean anything. Ryder pulled on the chains with all his strength, and the sound echoed around the dungeon. His wrath, which was fueled by the relationship and the fact that she was in danger, burst out of him in a raw, primal way.
The shackles creaked and the metal screamed as they bent, as if they knew how strong he was. "Not tonight," Ryder growled, his voice low and threatening. "I'm not going to wait any longer." He twisted his body on purpose, and every pull showed how determined he was. Finally, the chains broke. They broke like weak twigs, and he was free, a beast set free. All he could think of was the danger that lay ahead. He had to go to Sienna. He had to keep her safe, even if it meant destroying this castle.
The stone walls of the palace's hallways were frigid and impossible to get through. But Ryder didn't see them. His mind was like a single tunnel, only thinking about the bond and how badly he needed to get to her. He couldn't stop thinking about her, about how she laughed, how warm she was, and how she looked at him with that gentle, trusting glance. They had battled and bled, yet there was always this pull. This need they have for each other. But tonight, there was no room for doubt. Just anger. Just the need to protect. He got to the stairs, which were the final thing in his way before the feast hall where Sienna was. If she was in danger, no one was safe. As he ran up the steps, his senses became almost too sharp, and the world around him became clearer. The sound of armor clinking, mouths softly murmuring, and silk and velvet rustling were all louder than normal, yet none of it mattered. Just Sienna.
As soon as he got to the top of the steps, he could see the huge double doors to the feast hall. They were open, and the sounds of laughter, music, and clinking glasses could be heard in the hallway. But Ryder knew it wasn't a party inside. It was a trap for Sienna that looked like a party. Ryder ran ahead without thinking twice. The guards at the entrances never saw him coming. He went through them like a shadow, and when his body hit theirs, it sent them flying. With a loud bang, the doors flew open, and Ryder walked into the hall. The music stopped, the laughter stopped, and everyone looked at him. Sienna stood at the other end of the room, her body still and her eyes wide with amazement. She had seen him before and knew how angry he was and how out of control he was. But tonight, he was different. The chains were broken, and with them, any sense of control was gone. He looked her in the eye from across the room, breathing heavily and tensing up. And for a little time, the world seemed to be gone. There was only her, standing in the middle of the aristocrats, so gorgeous and out of reach. And the tie between them, wild and unbreakable, pushed him forward. But no one was brave enough to move. No one feared to step in when Ryder came in because he was so powerful. The nobility stood there in shock, their faces pallid, not knowing what to do.
"Sienna," Ryder's voice boomed out, rough and harsh. "Leave them alone. Now. She didn't do anything. Her eyes darted back and forth between him and the throne, and her face showed that she was torn. But she didn't say anything. She didn't have to. Everyone in the room was on edge, waiting for something to happen. But none of them got it. They all had no idea what was going to happen. Then Ryder's eyes hardened, and his hands turned into fists at his sides. He muttered through gritted teeth, "I'm done being the prisoner." I'm done with waiting. And as he said them, something inside him broke, something old and deep that had been locked up for too long. The air in the room got thicker, and the temperature rose as if the walls were heating up because he was there. The start of his change.
His skin stretched, his muscles rippled, and his eyes glowed with a frightening brightness. The aristocrats gasped and backed away, not sure if they should run or wait. "Sienna!" he yelled again, his voice scarcely human now, and a savage howl came out of his mouth. But this time, she did something. Her eyes got bigger, and she couldn't breathe. There was terror, but there was also something else: recognition. She saw him for who he really was. Not the man she had known or the warrior she had fought with. But something darker, something that is out of control. Something that could hurt you. She stepped back, but Ryder moved faster. He was on top of her in seconds, his huge body towering over her and the raw force in him almost too much to handle. But when he saw her, his nemesis, his queen, the woman who had chained him with love and hate, he didn't fight. He did not hit. Instead, he took a deep breath and went on his knees in front of her. There was no noise in the room.
The nobles held their breath. "Sienna," Ryder muttered, and his voice was so deep and rumbling that it seemed like it came from the bottom of his soul. "They put a deity in a cage inside me." For a little time, everything halted. His comments weighed down the room, her, and him. He was no longer the man she had known; he was something else. Something old and scary. And he had come to take what was his.