Page 135 of Bonded Chaos

Something was wrong.

I could feel a shift in the air that told me danger lurked nearby, but I couldn’t detect the source of my unease. Apprehensionwrapped around me, choking me until I felt like I was unable to breathe.

Not even the palace escaped the eerie sense of foreboding.

Instead of the usual opulence, a light fog obscured the daylight, muting everything. The crystal chandeliers hung overhead, but their soft glow did little to illuminate the space. The polished marble floors echoed louder than they should, making it seem like faint whispers were brushing against my flesh.

My skin prickled, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. As I peered around me, I noticed the corridor was completely desolate. I couldn’t recall when I last encountered a servant or a guard.

I picked up my pace and headed toward the chambers I shared with Ryker. The silence was suffocating. With each step, the feeling of unseen eyes grew more oppressive. As I rounded the corner, I couldn’t contain my sigh of relief.

The comfort was short-lived, however, as the surrounding air turned frigid. It was as though my body was trying to warn me, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t understand the sense of dread that was pulling me under.

My eyes darted around, and my pulse quickened as I searched for something, anything, that would explain my mounting panic.

“Pull yourself together, Cadence,” I snapped, but the words sounded hollow, as if my mind remembered the last time I dismissed my instincts.

All those months ago, when I had ventured home from the marketplace, I knew that danger had followed me to my apothecary. I had played it off as a trick of my imagination, and the next thing I knew, I woke to find myself trapped in the Unseelie Kingdom.

I wouldn’t be so foolish a second time.

I drew my magic around me as I reached for the door handle, but something made me hesitate. My fingers trembled as they brushed against the cool metal, and then I noticed a faint odor in the air. I couldn’t discern what it was exactly, but the smell churned my stomach.

I braced myself, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.

Unnatural darkness bathed the room, but through the bond, I sensed it wasn’t Ryker’s doing.

My attention snapped to the billowing curtains. The window I had closed this morning was now wide open.

Cautiously, I inched toward the window. I peered down at the courtyard, which was devoid of its usual hustle and bustle, and repressed the shiver that threatened to break free. I slammed the pane shut, hoping it would block out the unsettling feelings slowly drowning me.

But I was wrong.

Very wrong.

I felt their presence before I saw them, lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike.

As though they sensed my revelation, a low hiss broke the silence, and I spun around as a figure lunged from the darkness.

Dressed in black with their face concealed underneath the hood of their cloak, the figure aimed a strike at my throat. I thanked the gods for Malesh’s dedication to my training as my reflexes kicked in, and I deflected the blow with my forearm before darting to the side.

I scanned the room for a weapon but found none.

A faint throb began in my arm, and I glanced down to see that I hadn’t escaped the assault unscathed. Crimson stained my tunic, and I sent my magic racing to the site to stem the flow.

As I faced my assailant again, an unexpected kick to my ribcage flung me across the room, slamming me into the edge of the bedpost. I groaned in pain as breathing became difficult.

That fucking hurt.

I diverted my power to the fresh injury, and, as expected, I found three broken ribs. The figure prowled toward me, their movements fluid and graceful, as a feral grin stretched across their face.

“You were told to leave,” a low, masculine voice taunted me.

I stood on shaky feet, keeping the man’s attention trained on me as I worked my magic.

“Yeah, well, I’ve been told I’m stubborn like that.”

“Foolish,” the man hissed.

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