The next five days passed in a haze of mental exhaustion as Callum refused to open back up to Madelynn. True to his word, he left just as the sun rose, and returned just before it dipped back below the horizon. Whenever she probed him, he sank further into himself, anger and disappointment flickering across his features before brushing her off with some offhand comment about being too tired to talk. At night, though, he buried his face in her chest as he slept, his body trembling and drenched in sweat, plagued by nightmares she couldn’t begin to understand. She tried to reach him, to ask what haunted him, but his responses were curt, dismissive, and made her feel like an intruder in her own marriage.

  Her training with Elise wasn’t going much better. She went through the motions, studied the books, and… nothing. Elise’s Essence spilled from her like water, a brilliant blue light that illuminated the room, while Madelynn’s own veins pulsed with that sickly green glow, so unlike Elise’s elegance, and fizzled out into nothing. No clouds billowed around her hands like Callum’s. No sparkling mist coiled and danced like Casimir’s. Every failure was a fresh humiliation, every attempt another nail driven into her self-doubt. Her Essence felt like a fire raging inside her, licking at her edges, building unbearable pressure that refused to explode.

  By the time Callum returned from work on his last day of the week, Madelynn had to clench her jaw to keep from screaming. At him, at herself- at the world. The fire inside her was burning too hot to ignore.

  “How was work?” she asked pleasantly, leaning against the counter as Elise stirred a stew on the stove.

  His eyebrows were drawn together as he closed the door behind him. “It was fine,” he replied plainly, and Madelynn drew her lips into a tight line.

  “Are you going straight to bed?” she asked, forcing her tone to stay neutral as the fire built inside her chest.

  Callum pulled out a chair at the small dining table and sank down into it. “No,” he sighed out, letting his face fall into his hands.

  Madelynn just watched him for a moment- the tension in his shoulders, the way his breath seemed to tremble out. Something was ailing him deeply, why couldn’t he just share it with her?

  She strode around to the other side of the table and pulled out the chair opposite him. She sat down and folded her hands in front of her. “Will you please just tell me what’s been bothering you?” she asked softly. They’d barely been married two weeks, and it already felt like he was slipping away from her.

  Callum lowered his hands to glower at her, and she resisted the urge to curl into herself. Then, he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, his shoulders sinking. “Maddie, I-” he started, then licked his lips and stared up at the ceiling, as if all the answers were written in the sky. “I don’t even know how to begin.”

  Madelynn fidgeted with her hands as she stared at him, watching him squirm in his seat under her gaze. She looked over to Elise, who was already staring at her- and she understood. She nodded and stepped outside, leaving Madelynn and Callum to their lonesome.

  Madelynn waited until the door was closed behind her, then turned back to Callum. “Is it because I didn’t…” Heat filled her cheeks as she recalled the memory, and then pushed it back down. This was a necessary conversation. “The other night.”

  Callum balked at her, then shook his head. “What? No. Oh god, Maddie- absolutely not, I wasn’t even thinking of that.”

  She frowned. Relief washed over her that it wasn’t that that was bothering him, but… “What is it then?”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “Casimir is going to be coming here today,” he finally said in a monotone voice. “He’s going to come here and he’s going to take you away from me again.”

  Madelynn’s brows furrowed. “Wait, that’s what this is about?” She leaned forward onto her elbows.

  “Yes,” he breathed out, “that is what this is about. He terrifies me, and he should terrify you, too.”

  “You say that,” she started, “and I believe you, but he’s never done anything to hurt me. In fact, he said he wants to train me. That’s more than you’ve done thus far.” The moment the words left her lips, she regretted them. She clamped her mouth shut, staring straight across at Callum, who just deflated at her words. “I didn’t mean-”

  Callum leaned forward, reaching for her hand. “He took everything from me once. And now he’s going to do the same thing to you. You have to fight back, Madelynn, or he will destroy you.”

  Madelynn’s frown deepened, squeezing his hand. “I don’t- He doesn’t seem like he wants to hurt me, Callum. He’s creepy, sure, but I think he wants to help me.”

  “If that’s true-” he pulled his hand from hers, leaning back in his seat- “then I’ve already lost you.”

  Madelynn reached for him again, but he didn’t move- staring at her like she was already laying in a casket. “Why are you acting like he’s some kind of monster?” she asked. “He’s just a man, Callum. I’m perfectly capable of resisting whatever influence you think he has over me.”

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Callum barked out a scoff, then his expression turned deadly serious. “He is a monster. Are you forgetting this?” He motioned to his abdomen, where the rune was carved into the delicate skin just above his hip bone. “Or this?” He pressed his fingers into the lingering, brown bruises around his throat and Madelynn flinched. She couldn’t look at them. “Whatever you think he could be to you- he’s not. He will never be.”

  Madelynn just stared at him. At the bruises that taunted her dreams- the sound of his throat being crushed under Casimir’s Essence- at the man who she loved more than she loved herself. He was pushing her away. Whatever Casimir had done to him- whatever they had been before- he couldn’t go through it again. He wasn’t trying to save Madelynn, he was trying to save himself.

  “What did he do to you?” she asked softly, twisting her hands in her lap.

  His eyebrows turned upward and his gaze fell from hers. He stared down at the table, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he searched through whatever memories plagued him. His head shook, just slightly, and then his eyes flicked back up to hers. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to tell you,” he breathed out, his voice barely more than a whisper.

  Madelynn’s brow furrowed as she chewed on her lip. “Is that what you dream of at night?”

  His eyes turned glassy and he took a deep breath. “Some atrocities are too terrible to be spoken out loud.” He choked on his words and cleared his throat before continuing. “I bear my own burdens, and you’ll have your own if you let him in.”

  What sort of burdens could put a man, as strong as Callum was, into such a fit at night? What sort of torment had he suffered? Suddenly, Madelynn felt like crying. “Then I won’t let him in.”

  Callum smiled tightly at her, and she could see it. She could see the lie in his smile, the disbelief in his eyes. He knew she was lying. He knew she planned on leaving willingly. Not to forsake him, but to save him. How was she supposed to explain that to him?

  Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the room suffocated. The walls pressed inward and Madelynn’s ears popped from the change in pressure, and the air crackled with shades of gold. A second later, the tension in the room snapped, and the golden mist unfolded to reveal Casimir.

  He stood with his hands in his pockets, his eyes already trained on Madelynn. He smirked, simply holding his hand out to her. “I do believe it’s that time again,” he said smoothly, his deep accent flowing like water from his lips.

  Madelynn’s stomach dropped at the sight of him. He was clad in all black, and his hair was as disheveled as she’d ever seen it. He was a horrible presence to behold- everything about him beckoned her forward even while her instincts screamed at her to run.

  Then, his eyes flicked to Callum, who stood and placed himself between herself and the man dominating the room. “Don’t take her,” he said breathlessly, though even Madelynn could hear the lack of conviction in his voice. “Please. I’ll do-”

  Casimir ignored him, rolling his eyes as he stepped forward, not even raising his hands as he roughly shouldered Callum out of the way. “Are you ready to go, Darling?” he purred, and Madelynn nearly vomited.

  She’d made herself a promise. Made Callum a promise. She was going to go willingly. She wouldn’t let him hurt Callum again. Not when he spent his nights screaming over the horrors he’d already endured.

  She blinked, fighting against the fear building in her stomach. “I’ll go with you.” Her voice wavered as she looked from Casimir to Callum, who just stared at the ground, a thunder cloud forming around his fists. “Just, give me a moment.”

  Casimir just raised an eyebrow in response, but stepped to the side, letting her approach Callum.

  He didn’t look at her when she stood in front of him, but she reached down anyway and scooped his hand up in hers. His Essence retreated from her touch, wrapping up his arm as if terrified of what she’d do to it. Her other hand came up to touch his cheek, and he finally looked at her.

  His eyes were full of tears.

  “I won’t let him in,” she whispered, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him. He remained firm, solid, unwavering against her. “But I can’t let him hurt you again.”

  Her hands dropped to her sides, and she allowed herself to stare at him, memorize his features, for just a moment longer, before turning away from him.

  “How sweet,” Casimir deadpanned as he held his hand out for Madelynn once again.

  She didn’t look back at Callum as she pulled her lips into a smile that felt like as much of a fraud as she was. She knew it, Callum knew it, Casimir knew it. Elise probably knew it, too. No matter how much Madelynn’s stomach churned or her legs wobbled in fear, a part of her was excited. She was going to be set free- she was going to learn and develop her Essence, no matter how dangerous it was.

  She hesitated before she took Casimir’s hand, her own hand lingering in the empty space between them. She looked up at him, and his golden eyes stared straight through her. He knew what she was doing, waiting for Callum to say something- do something- to stop her from leaving.

  Casimir’s eyes darted around, and he tilted his head as he mouthed the word Nothing through an amused smile.

  Nothing.

  Callum said nothing, and that was all the reassurance she needed that she was doing the right thing. She closed the space between her and Casimir, his hand wrapping around hers as he pulled her close, wrapping one hand around her waist. The tang of blood filled her mouth as she bit her lip to keep from crying out. This was a horrible, masterfully planned mistake, and she was exhilarated.

  Golden mist wrapped around them, hugging Madelynn into a warmth that felt like the hug of a lover, and the world disappeared.