The sound of his name was like a shock to the system, one I couldn’t afford to be distracted by. “No. He doesn’t call me that.”
“Hmm.” Aric folded his arms over the dark shirt he wore. “That’s what he called Siobhan. Do you know who that is?”
“No.” I kept my gaze glued to him, ordering myself to wait until the perfect moment to strike. “And in case you’re wondering, this is my I-don’t-care face.”
“She was his lover, and his would-be mate.”
I sucked in air. Another fiancée?
“’His little bird’ is what he called her. Because she was as light as air and just as constant and steady. Always perched on his shoulder when they were young. And she would sing—oh, she sang so beautifully.” Aric chuckled lowly. “I can see you didn’t know that.”
Pressing my lips together, I said nothing because there was nothing to say. The King wasn’t Caden to me any longer. Pretty sure he’d driven that point home the last time I saw him. Blood rushed to my cheeks, making the skin prick with the reminder of that humiliation. He was just the King to me now, and I didn’t care if he’d been engaged once or five times.
“Siobhan was his soulmate. His one, true love. They grew up together, were promised to one another from birth. She was groomed to be his Queen. They shared their lives and their bodies for well over two hundred years. She was beautiful. A stunning creature, tall, and full of grace. She had blond hair like you, like spun sunlight.” His lips curved into a taunting smile as my body jerked. “That’s the only thing you share in common with her. Other than the hair, you’re…pathetically, uninspiringly human.”
I didn’t care. The sting that crawled up the back of my throat had nothing to do with anything Aric was saying. “I don’t think uninspiringly is a word.”
His smile was tight-lipped. “Do you know what happened to Caden’s little bird?”
“No, but I’m betting you’re going to tell me.”
“I snapped her wings and plucked all her feathers.” His upper lip curled.
Revulsion morphed into sudden understanding. This was the loved one the King had spoken about losing. This was why he wanted Aric for himself. Not because the psycho was trying to bring the Queen back to the mortal world or because he’d stabbed him in battle. Because the bastard had killed his fiancée. And I could understand the King’s need for revenge. I totally did because of what this monster had cost me.
“It’s what led to the war between our Courts,” Aric continued. “Well, one of many, but this was the big one. We had years of peace. The Otherworld was thriving, but my Queen…she wanted this world, and she needed Caden for that. You know the prophecy.”
Of course, I did. The child of the Prince and a halfling—who happened to be Ivy—would undo the spells that kept all the doors to the Otherworld sealed. Because the ideology, the basic fundamentals of our world and the Otherworld, would be challenged, and, therefore, collapse because a halfling shouldn’t exist, and a Prince was never supposed to be in our world. It was the whole insane baby prophecy that had been hard to believe when I first heard about it.
Aric unfolded his arms as he walked away from me and moved toward the wall near the door. “My job was to goad the Prince into war, where he’d be weakened in battle. I knew exactly what would provoke him. Taking Siobhan was a part of getting the job done.” Aric reached out, running his fingers over a vine. The thick, ropey strand blanched and withered under his touch. “But one I thoroughly enjoyed.”
“You’re messed up,” I snarled. “Seriously. A one hundred percent psychopath, but I’m not the King’s little bird. I’m not anything to him, so I don’t know why you’re telling me any of this. It doesn’t hurt me.” A lie. “At all.”
“True,” Aric murmured, looking over his shoulder at me. “You’ll never mean to him what Siobhan did.”
I flinched, hating myself for it—hating him for it.
“Perhaps you don’t mean much to him. You are human, after all, but you mean something.” Lowering his hand, he faced me. “Enough that I’m sure I’ll also enjoy our time together even though you won’t last nearly as long as Siobhan.”
Nausea twisted my stomach as he took a step toward me. The chain practically hummed against my palms.
“And when I’m done with you, I’ll make sure Caden knows exactly where you’ve been and what was done to you, even if he doesn’t realize you’re missing.”
Just a few steps closer. That was all.
“And if he doesn’t care now, he will,” the Ancient continued, his voice low and taunting. “Because when I’m done with you, all he will be reminded of is his little—”
Snapping forward, I lifted the chain above my head, prepared to wrap it around the bastard’s neck and squeeze until I ripped his head right off.
Except that wasn’t what happened.
Aric was like a cobra striking, ripping the chain from my hands with such force that the flesh on my palms tore. I jerked as the burning pain shot up my arms, stumbling back. He yanked the chain toward him, and I had no choice but to follow. I slammed into him just as he placed his hand around the band circling my neck.
“What did you think you were going to do?” he asked, pale blue eyes gleaming. “Hurt me?”
“Kill you,” I gasped.
“Really?” Aric laughed, lifting me onto the tips of my toes. “Do you really have that in you? Because the last time you and I were alone, you gave up pretty quickly. Trembling and crying on the ground while that old hag bled out beside you.”
“I’m not that girl anymore.”
“Good.” He sneered. “I’d rather you fight me than give up. Weakness is boring.”
Before I could say another word, he lifted me off the floor by the band around my neck. The metal pressed in, cutting off my air flow before I even took my last breath. Panic exploded like a bomb in the pit of my stomach. Turning, he slammed me down onto the slab, knocking whatever air was still in my lungs out. The moment he let go of my throat, my training kicked in.
Don’t get stuck on your back. Don’t get stuck on your back.
Swinging out a fist, I jerked upward, but he was still holding the chain and pulled it back. The back of my head cracked off the stone as he caught my fist and then my other hand. Tsking under his breath, he pressed my wrists together as he transferred them into one hand.
“Keep fighting me,” he said. “I find it greatly amusing.”
Lifting my hips, I twisted toward him, kicking out. The heel of my foot connected with his thigh, causing him to grunt. The burst of satisfaction was short-lived when he drew my arms up over my head.
“Kicking is not nice, little bird,” he admonished. Panic choked me just as badly as the band had earlier when cool metal clicked around my wrists, securing my hands to the stone. “You wouldn’t like it if I did it to you.”
“Fuck you.” I kicked out again, catching him in the stomach.
The blow to the side of my head stunned me. I hadn’t even seen him move, but I felt the explosion of pain. White crowded my vision as I breathed through the agony.