Page 127 of Bonded Chaos

Chapter Fifty-One

Ryker

It had been six days, fourteen hours, and thirty-three minutes since Cadence had uttered a single word to me.

After I had dealt with my father, I’d returned to my chambers to find her staring out the window. When I spoke, she didn’t even look at me. It had been that way ever since.

But she didn’t maintain her silence entirely.

She gladly entertained Riordan or Malesh whenever they checked on her. She spent her days laughing and chatting with my brother and best friend as though she’d known them all of her life and their company was all she needed to be happy in this world.

Had I thought about murdering both of them and laying their heads at her feet as some kind of ceremonial offering?

Absolutely.

More than once.

But I also knew that this was my fault. I just didn’t know how to fix it.

Cadence’s silence was slowly killing me. Every second I went without her sweet voice filling my ears was like having a dull blade slice into my chest. My blackened heart, which I’d long since believed incapable of beating, now thundered madly as though it were trying to tear its way free in a vain attempt to get to her.

And it was fucking agony.

I peered at myself in the mirror over the wash basin. Dark circles colored the skin beneath my eyes, and my hair was begging for a comb. My tunic was rumpled, and I couldn’t remember changing it from the previous day.

I looked like shit.

My thoughts were too consumed with the woman who loathed my presence.

I dipped my hands into the basin and cupped some water. The cool liquid felt refreshing as I splashed it across my face, clearing my mind and sharpening my focus.

This couldn’t go on. I needed to end this impasse. Right fucking now.

I strode from the bathing chamber and found Cadence in the same spot I’d left her — staring out the window.

“Cadence,” I said, my tone measured.

When she didn’t respond or even glance my way, I released a controlled breath as I ran my hand through my hair. My gaze traced the curve of her face and the set of her jaw. She was stubborn and unyielding, my mate.

I moved across the room and retrieved a tumbler from the cabinet. I poured myself two fingers of whisky and raised the glass to my lips. The burn of the alcohol went some way to temper my mounting frustration.

“Cadence,” I tried again, softer this time. “Talk to me. Yell and scream if you want to. Call me a bastard and curse me in this life and the next. Hit me, punch me, cut me. I don’t care. Just… saysomething. Anything.”

My voice dropped to a whisper as I pleaded with her. “Please, Temptress.”

Still, she said nothing.

Cadence continued to stare out the window as though I didn’t exist.

My hands curled into fists, and shadows flowed from me without permission. My magic was restless, mirroring my inner turmoil.

I was losing my fucking mind.

I marched toward her, stopping a few feet away, and waited for her to acknowledge me as I looked down at her small frame.

She didn’t look up.

“Cadence,” I growled, my frustration getting the best of me. “I can’t…”

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