Morning light had barely begun to touch the horizon as I entered the carriage bound for the Sapphire Palace. The air was still warming with late summer heat as we lurched forward and I drew the curtains shut. Normally my attire consisted of delicately constructed dresses, petticoats, and gemstones. But as the Sapphire housed the military of the empire, the stone fortress demanded strength over satin. Leather over luxury. So instead, I wore a modification of the Etheroz Empire’s military uniform.

  The Etheroz star was branded on the right of my leather breastplate, while leather bracers protected my forearms to the elbow. The boots were thick soled and laced up each knee. It had taken months to wear them in properly. It was an unnecessary level of protection for the council meetings, but for my true visits to the Sapphire Palace—a level of protection that Soren insisted I follow. I sighed heavily as I sweated inside the unbreathable layers.

  It would seem that you have also taken something from me that you had no right to take...

  The pointed threat had made it impossible to sleep. The duke could only be referring to his eidolon—to Caspian. It brought me just as much comfort as it did dread knowing that Caspian was the reason for the duke’s visit. I clenched my fists at the thought, digging my nails into my palm out of habit. A sting of pain to shoot through my left hand in response.

  When I’d decided to save Alexia from the Bridal Path this last the spring, I had thought myself untouchable to the consequences, and naive to the risks I took. My hand was crushed under the heel of a boot when I’d been caught. The duke could’ve let Caspian heal my hand, the eidolon was Essencebound, a creation of Aidil—one of the seven old gods, but my father was nothing without his lessons, so he’d forbidden it.

  It was healed now, but the tangle of nerves were irreversibly damaged, I was lucky that I could move it at all. Every pinch would serve as a reminder of that day, even when my memory failed to recall it, the pain would remain. A sharp reminder of what it cost me.

  “A Cassemir will never fear a LeMont.” I repeat Soren’s words numbly.

  It was the one true reprieve that my marriage had granted me. The one title that held more weight that my father’s. I’d become a part of the emperor’s own family, and that was a position that the duke wouldn’t dare to touch.

  Finally waking from where he’d hidden in my hair, Apollo stretched along my shoulder and onto his hindlegs with a yawn.

  “Well good morning.” I said, scratching his head with my nail, the bloodbinding that connected us coating the words with my intention. Speaking wasn’t necessary, but it felt odd having entire conversations in my mind. “And what have you been up to that would make you so sleepy?”

  “We destroyed all of shrill lady’s shoes.” Apollo squeaked enthusiastically. “Such fun!”

  Watching me from the shadows, my mischief of rats occasionally acted on their own. Last month they’d seen Selene bump into me and spill her drink over my dress, so they’d ruined her luncheon the next day by swarming the servants as they laid out the dishes. Her screams of rage were so shrill, that they could be heard from outside the Ruby Palace even after they’d l scattered and left.

  “You all truly are a mischief, aren’t you?” I shook my head worried. “You shouldn’t have done that, Apollo. If you all aren’t careful, she’s doing to get a cat.”

  “Then you talk to cat.” He said, as if it were the most simple of solutions.

  I couldn’t entirely fault his logic.

  The carriage slowly rolled to a stop just inside the gates of the Sapphire Palace, and as I stepped out, Apollo quickly scurried down undetected by the footman. I never allowed him to come further.

  The Sapphire Palace was the first of the three palaces of Ribnica. The building and outlying structures were older than the Cassemir reign, or their empire, built back when the continent had been made up of many smaller kingdoms instead. Even after months of coming here it was still impressive to see the way it had been maintained.

  The guards at the gatehouse saluted me, treating me with the same respect as the First General himself as I passed through to the inner courtyard. To the north were the barracks, and the suite I’d stayed in when I’d originally arrived three months ago. I crossed the grounds until I reached the northwest tower, slipping inside and down the spiral steps into the earth.

  Directly below the training fields connected to all six towers were a series of tunnels and small chambers that doubled as emergency storage, cells, and more hidden than those was an old abandoned chapel. Torches flickered in their sconces as I made the familiar trip, stopping at the large double doors for a moment before pushing my way inside.

  It looked different from when I first laid eyes on it. The rotting pews and split altar had all been removed. The only sign that it had ever held a large number of worshippers were the decorative pillars and reliefs carved into the walls themselves. Depictions of the old gods and their first creations now abandoned, and forgotten with chipped ears and missing limbs. Dragons, griffins, phoenixes, eidolons, and more. I’d even begun to realize that the seven gods themselves were hidden in the scenes as well, but I rarely had time to linger and search for them.

  I pried my eyes away from the walls to see Soren leaning on the edge of a table at the center of the chapel. A lazy smile already plastered across his face.

  “Good morning, darling.”

  I forced a sharp smile in return. “Good morning, husband.”

  Soren moves to stand beside me as I approach, and my eyes sweep the surface of the table. His hands grip me gently by the shoulders as he plants a kiss on my neck, right below the ear. I swallow down my discomfort at the intimacy of it.

  A collection of objects are set against the wood, the instruments of my craft. A dagger, letter opener, razor, hair comb, and an embroidery needle. Recently I’d been favoring the pointed ends of the hair combs the most, and after the incident with the hawk, I tried not to use the razor.

  As I reached for the hair comb, Soren stayed my hand. “Not today, you need to practice other items. You won’t always have your hair up.”

  I pulled my hand back from where it had barely hovered over the decorative pearls and silver flowers of the comb.

  “As you wish.” I conceded, moving my hand towards the embroidery needle.

  “Something with a blade.” Soren said firmly, his tone leaving no argument.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, biting my tongue as I picked up the thinner of the two blades. The letter opener fitting comfortably in my hand, sharper than it should be.

  With a snap of Soren’s fingers the double doors opened, and a covered cage was wheeled into the room by two soldiers of Soren’s personal guard. They saluted, not making eye contact with either of us, and leaving without another word.

  Soren’s hands move from my arms as they wrap around my chest. I still at the closeness as his teeth graze the skin.

  “What happened to Grimes and Torres?” The question escapes as I try to distract his attention.

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  “What does it matter? They’re gone.”

  And so were the guards before them... My body shivered at the thought, and at the lingering presence of his mouth before Soren pulls away to step in front of me. Lifting the cover to expose a pair of murderous amber eyes.

  The beast threw itself against the bars of its cage, growling and snapping its jaws in response. I swallow a shout, instinctively taking a step back as every part of my being screams predator. Every heightened sense begging me to run while I still could.

  There was no time to react as the door to the chapel room swung open a second time, and the same two guards brought in a man chained at his hands and feet. Pushing him forward unceremoniously before forcing him to his knees, and once he’s there, the two of them leave. The click of the lock as final as a death sentence.

  The prisoner’s eyes looked wildly around the room, landing on the same places mine had before they landed on me.

  “P-p-please milady.” He pleaded as he crawled towards me. His unwashed gray hair was matted in clumps, and his body reeked of unwashed vinegar. My eyes watered, and I looked away, telling myself it was because of the stench.

  A cry of pain and rattle of chains has me turning back, to see where the man clutched at his ribs from the ground. Soren loomed above his with a clear look of disgust plastered to his face.

  “Stop your sniveling. You had your trial. Your sentence has already been declared.” Soren said coldly.

  “What was his crime?” I asked. As if knowing it would harden my heart, but it was never enough.

  The man pulled himself onto his knees. “I didn’t mean to help them, I swear it by the gods—”

  “A village was attacked because of you!” Soren’s rage radiates off of him as he walks back towards the wolf’s cage. “And if you utter another word I will remove your tongue so that you choke on your screams.”

  My heart raced at the threat, remembering the awful gurgling sounds from three weeks ago.

  The man looked up at me with pleading eyes, not knowing why he was here except to die. Not stupid enough to speak again.

  All I could offer him was my presence. To be a witness in his final moments as if I wouldn’t be the cause of them. The knowledge settled heavy in my chest. I owed it to all of them, as their executioner, to not turn away.

  “Daelyn.” Soren’s voice is harsh and commanding, forcing my attention back to the reason why we were here.

  My heart hammered in my chest as I moved to the cage. It wouldn’t do any of us any good if I hesitated today. It would only draw out the man’s pain, and there were always consequences of my hesitation.

  The well of magic in my core began to stir as I approached the cage. Rising from where it slept to scratch at the underside of my skin. As if it possessed its own mind, it anticipated the binding that would come. Craving the blood I would offer and leash to it.

  Inside, the wolf looked half starved and afraid. I’d done this many times since arriving in Ribnica, but never with a beast of this size. Never with a natural predator. Dogs were the closest, but even hunting dogs obeyed commands. Feral wolves did not.

  With the wolf’s attention on Soren’s hand at the latch, I tightened my grip on the letter opener. Moving slowly to the backside, I kept my attention focused on the wolf as I slipped my arm through the bars and struck out at its hind leg. The beast howled, turning to snap its teeth on me as fast as lightening. I barely avoiding it’s fangs as I yanked my hand out, nearly dropping the letter opener.

  Seconds passed as our eyes met and I looked down at my hand. The blade had come away clean. The cut hadn’t been deep enough to coat the metal, but the fur of its leg was beginning to tint red.

  Soren drew his sword and beat the front of the cage with a loud clang. The wolf turned, snapping at the prince, and giving me the chance I needed to reach through the bars a second time. I touched my fingers against the reddening fur, feeling the warmth of its life leaking out.

  The bloodbinding didn’t hesitate, already spreading through my fingertips to the offered blood. Greedily latching onto the essence of the beast, threading my essence to its own. It took considerable effort to try and focus on a single point of contact. Something not so interwoven that it couldn’t be undone later, but for all of my attempts to make the binding reversible, I had never seen its success.

  The mind of the wolf slammed into me just as surely as she slammed against the bars of her cage. Her. The wolf was female, hardly more than a pup. Her rage and hunger hit me like a punch to the gut, and I doubled over at the unexpected pain.

  Soren’s eyes gleamed at me with hungry anticipation as he lifted the latch to the cage, not even waiting for me to prove that I was the one in control.

  “Hungry...” Her voice was a deep growl in my mind as she stepped a paw out. Her nostrils flared as she scented the room.

  The prisoner scrambled back, his chains dragging along the floor as a streak of urine following him across the stones.

  Disgusting. I thought, and immediately felt ashamed.

  “Relax.” I coaxed, forcing the power of my binding into my intentions and voice. “Lay down, precious.”

  She complied slowly, fighting against the compulsion with stiff movements as she finally lowered herself to the ground, her anger fading as her muscles relaxed against her will.

  “Hungry.” She whined. Eyes drifting to the trail of wetness on the floor, following it to the man. “Weak. Easy. Mine.”

  My stomach growled as her hunger continued to leak into me. The pains of a stomach threatening to devour itself in a desperate attempt to live. Soren’s smile widened.

  “Hold her still.” Soren commanded, and I lifted my hands to comply.

  I imagined that the tether between us was made of many tiny strings that spread out to connect my fingers to her muscles. I forced my will through the threads, until there was nothing that she could do without my consent.

  “Daciana.” I said, naming her.

  Soren stepped towards Daciana with a confident stride, crouching down to run a hand down her dirty fur coat. “Its amazing what you can do.” He marveled, reaching out to open her maw. Touching the sharp points of her fangs without fear.

  I could feel Daciana beginning to panic at the invasiveness of his touch. At the inability to control her own movements as I forced her to allow the intrusion.

  You are safe. I said across the bond. Communicating was slow as I learned to read her intentions, her language as I soothed her silently across the space.

  I glanced at Soren with a schooled expression as he continued his inspection. There was very little I could keep from him, his essencebinding made it nearly impossible to lie to him. But the true connection of the Bloodbound was a secret I couldn’t afford to reveal.

  I will protect you. We are pack now. I told her.

  “Pack.” She whimpered out loud, making Soren pull his hands away.

  “I think this may be my favorite yet. Such power and strength at its disposal.” Soren said, standing to circle Daciana with satisfied approval.

  Daciana’s ears flattened against her head, a growl building in her throat at his proximity.

  Relax. I commanded. Channeling more of my magic through the bond. Forcing her mind to calm. It’s almost over. Daciana's posture relaxed in response, and I felt a twinge of regret for taking away her will.

  “Now,” My husband said, turning back towards the man in chains. “Let’s test your control over a feral beast.”

  It could have been minutes or hours, I couldn’t be sure how much time had passed when my mind finally returned. I’d discovered early on that the only way I could stomach the cruelty of my training, was to leave my humanity behind. My mind returned slowly from where it had intertwined with Daciana’s, only remaining present enough in my body to command her, and prove that I could control the wolf in every aspect.

  The prisoner, once a man, was now a disfigured pile of raw meat that Daciana continued to chew upon at the far end of the sanctuary. Filling her aching belly until I could feel how sick to bursting she had become in her fervor.

  Soren sat at the table, ankle crossed over his knee while we both watched the carnage. “Today was a little sloppy, but you did well. Put the wolf back in her cage and unbind her. We’ll begin again tomorrow.”

  I nodded, exhausted. “Come, Daciana.”

  Soren snorted at the name, but I ignored him.

  She raised her head towards me, and I could feel her desire to continue eating, unsure of when she'd be allowed another opportunity.

  “Honestly, I don’t know why you name them. They’re just animals. You’re not keeping them as pets.” He criticized.

  “It helps me to bind them.” I lie. In truth, it was because they were all so much more than beasts, they’d become my only lifeline.

  With no choice but to obey my command, the wolf hesitantly left her meal and entered her cage. She looked up at me with her glowing amber eyes as I shut the latch behind her.

  “Safe?” She whined.

  Safe. I sent back, hoping that I was right.

  If she was his favorite so far, I had to believe that he would keep her cared for, at least for a little while.

  Closing my eyes, I concentrated on removing the binding. Finding the anchor point of our connection. Soren believed that I could bind and unbind them at will. He didn’t know that I didn’t know how to unbind them, or that because I couldn’t, that I was aware of every animal he killed when we were done with it. Still I tried, if for no other reason than knowing Caspian would never return if I didn’t find a way to unbind him.

  I tried to unwind the threads of my essence from Daciana’s. But like all the times before, my essence had spread from the anchor to wrap itself around the wolf, as if it were a blanket. I couldn’t remove what covered her, and with Soren watching me expectantly, there was no time to try.

  I stripped my commands from our bond, and in their absence Daciana began to growl and snap her teeth at the bars of the cage. For all intents and purposes appearing as a wild animal confined once more. Satisfied, Soren led me out of the sanctuary, leaving the mess behind us for the soldiers to clean.