CHAPTER 173

CHAPTER 173
SELENE

The trees closed around me like a living cage. Branches whipped across my face, roots caught at my boots, and the rogue's arm remained locked around my waist, hard enough to bruise. 

He dragged me through the forest at a pace that left no room for resistance.

Behind us, I could still hear Darius. His roar tore through the night — raw, furious, so broken it sent a painful ache through the bond. I could feel him, his panic, his rage, his desperate need to reach me.

Every step I took stretched the bond thinner, but it never broke. It stayed there between us, a painful thread connecting me to the man I'd just left behind.

I could have fought. That thought came with an almost ridiculous amount of clarity. 

My spark was stronger now — after the binding, after Morgana's training, after accidentally turning more than one rogue into a pile of ash, I wasn't exactly the helpless little fae everyone seemed to think I was. I could have burned the arm around me. 

Could have unleashed enough power to light up half the forest. Could have made these vampires regret ever touching me.

But that wasn't why I'd walked into this.

I needed Eron face-to-face. No more whispers in my head, no more sending Darius, Xander, Roxy, or anyone else to fight battles I was apparently destined to be dragged into anyway. 

If this was ever going to end — really end — I had to look the bastard in the eye and finish what he'd started.

Maybe it was suicidal. Actually, no — it was definitely suicidal. Walking willingly into the hands of an ancient vampire who wanted to drain me dry and turn my power into his personal weapon probably wasn't going to make it onto anyone's list of excellent life choices. 

Darius would call it insane. Roxy would call it stupid with impressive enthusiasm. Morgana would have hexed me before I'd made it through the first sentence explaining the plan. And, annoyingly, all three of them would have a point.

But I was done running. Done hiding. Done waiting for Eron to decide when and where he'd strike next. If he wanted me so badly, then fine — he could have me. Just not quite the way he expected.

Eventually the trees began to thin, and we stepped into a wide clearing. I stopped.

"...Seriously?"

The rogue shoved me forward. I stumbled and caught myself, staring around. 

The clearing was surrounded by towering black trees, their branches twisting overhead like skeletal fingers, ancient symbols carved into the ground and glowing faintly beneath layers of dark magic. A stone staircase descended into the earth at the far end.

Of course. An underground lair. Because apparently evil vampires had collectively decided that living in creepy castles was too mainstream.

The rogue dragged me toward the stairs. I stared down into the darkness.

"Let me guess," I muttered. "No windows, terrible lighting, questionable plumbing?" He shoved me again. I glared at him. 

"Just trying to understand the real-estate situation." He didn't appreciate my attempt at humor. Shocking.

We descended. The air grew colder with every step, the darkness thickening around us, the walls carved from black stone and etched with symbols pulsing faintly beneath the surface. Eventually the passage opened into a vast underground chamber.

A man stood at the center of it as though he'd been carved from the darkness itself — tall, elegant, utterly still. 

His pale skin contrasted sharply with dark hair swept neatly away from a face that might have been beautiful if it weren't so cold. His eyes glowed an unnatural crimson, and they fixed on me immediately. Power rolled off him in waves, ancient, hungry, suffocating. My spark reacted instinctively, flaring beneath my skin.

His lips curved. "At last." His voice was smooth, cultured, almost gentle. "The little fae who has caused me so much trouble."

I lifted my chin. "Oh." I looked him over. "So you're Eron. The lunatic behind all the dramatic threats, creepy voices in my head, and kidnapping attempts."

His eyebrow lifted. "I expected someone more frightened."

"I expected someone taller."

His eyes narrowed. I smiled sweetly. "We're both disappointed."

The rogue behind me made a strangled sound. I couldn't tell if he was trying not to laugh or trying to decide whether killing me would be worth the paperwork.

Eron merely stared at me. Then he laughed — not warm, not amused, the kind of laugh that made the room feel colder. 

"You have no idea what stands before you."

"Oh, I'm getting the general idea." I gestured vaguely around the chamber. 

"Ancient vampire. Creepy underground hideout. Lots of ominous symbols. Very dramatic lighting." I glanced toward him. 

"You went to an awful lot of trouble for little old me. You could've just asked."

His smile disappeared. 

"Had you asked nicely, I might even have come willingly."

He took a slow step toward me. "I doubt that."

"Fair." I shrugged. "But now that I'm here, I hope you have dinner ready." His eyes flicked over me. "I'm starving."

For the first time, something truly vicious entered his expression. "Do not mistake your ability to speak for power, Selene."

"Oh, I'm not." I smiled. "I'm just trying to make the kidnapping experience five-star."

A low chuckle escaped him. "You amuse me."

"Good. I'd hate to be kidnapped and boring."

Eron's smile twitched, the amusement draining from his face.

"You seem remarkably pleased with yourself for someone standing in a room full of people who could kill you."

I shrugged. "I'm trying to stay positive."

"You're trying my patience."

"That too."

His jaw tightened. "Keep provoking me, little spark, and you'll discover exactly how quickly I can make that confidence disappear."

His gaze hardened, something colder settling behind the crimson glow of his eyes. 

"But fortunately for you, I need you alive. That's the only reason you still have a tongue sharp enough to use it." He took a step closer. 

"You are a key." Another step. "A weapon." Another, close enough now that I could feel the unnatural chill radiating off him. "A doorway." His smile widened, slow and deliberate, revealing the tips of his fangs. "And now — you are mine."

The bond with Darius flared painfully in my chest. Distant. Strained. But still there. I clung to it like a lifeline. "I'm not yours."

Eron tilted his head, studying me with mild amusement. "Such spirit." His smile returned. "Darius always did prefer the difficult ones." He reached out. "It will make breaking you so much more satisfying."

He took another step, and the air around him seemed to darken. My spark flared instinctively, bright beneath my skin. His eyes dropped to the glow immediately, something hungry flickering across his face.

"Ah." His voice softened. "There it is." His gaze followed the light beneath my skin. "The wild spark. Still so new. Still so untamed." His eyes returned to mine. "Do you even understand what you carry?"

"I understand enough." I forced myself not to step back. "Enough to know I'm not letting you use it."

"And yet you walked willingly into my hands."

"I had a reason."

"Love?"

I said nothing.

His smile widened. "How predictable." He began circling me slowly. "You traded yourself for a human girl who means nothing to you."

My jaw tightened. "She means enough."

"That tells me everything I need to know." His voice was almost conversational. "Soft where it matters. Predictable. And predictability—" he stopped behind me "—is so very easy to exploit."

I kept my breathing steady. "What do you want from me?"

"Everything." The word was soft, absolute. "Your blood. Your power. Your spark." His gaze sharpened. 

"And your bond with that lovesick prince." My stomach twisted. "I will drain the light from you drop by drop until there is nothing left but what I choose to leave behind." He smiled. "And when Darius comes for you — and he will come — he'll find nothing but a hollow shell wearing your face."

My spark burned hotter. "He'll kill you first."

Eron laughed softly, almost fondly. 

"He can try." He stepped closer. 

"And in trying, he will make the mistake he always makes." His eyes gleamed. "He will put you first." A pause. "He will hesitate." His smile turned cruel. "And that hesitation will cost him everything."

He reached out. The rogue's grip tightened around me as Eron's cold fingers brushed my cheek. My spark recoiled violently and I jerked my face away. "I'd rather die."

"Oh, you will not die." His eyes darkened. "Not for a very long time." He turned toward the far side of the chamber, where the shadows gathered around a large circular platform carved with glowing symbols. 

"Death would be a mercy." His smile returned. "And I have no intention of granting you mercy." He gestured toward the ritual site. "Bring her. The ritual begins now."

I dug my heels into the stone. For half a second I resisted. Then I sent one final pulse through the bond.

Darius. My chest tightened. I'm still here. I swallowed. Find me.

There was no clear answer. Only the distant, furious throb of him through the bond. Still there. Still fighting.

I held onto that feeling as Eron's darkness closed around the chamber, because if there was one thing I knew about Darius, it was this —

he was absolutely fucking terrible at giving up.

And so was I.