Page 92 of Bonded Chaos

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Cadence

Riordan led me down a labyrinth of stone passageways I had no hope of navigating on my own.

“You’ll be there to guide me back through this when we return, right?” I asked, giving voice to my concern.

“Cadence, sweetheart, do I look like the type of man who would lead you into danger if I didn’t have a backup plan?”

“Yes.”

“Ungrateful fiend,” he muttered before releasing a dramatic sigh.

Despite my legitimate concerns, I laughed at Riordan’s antics. He was quickly becoming my favorite person in the Unseelie Kingdom. A small flicker of guilt assaulted me when I thought about all the time Malesh had devoted to helping me train, but I pushed it aside. It wasn’t him sneaking me out of my gilded prison.

“If you need a way back in, I’ll wait by the eastern gate,” Riordan said.

“What does that mean? What other alternative is there?”

“You won’t require my help if Ryker finds you first.”

The salacious grin he sent me had me questioning my sanity for even agreeing to this.

“What will he do if he catches me?” I asked, unable to hide the unease in my voice.

Riordan stopped walking and turned to glance at me.

“I know I tease my brother mercilessly, Cadence, but I promise he is a good man.”

When I cast him a skeptical look, he added, “Good… ish?”

“Why did that sound like a question?”

Riordan chuckled.

“All right, all right. He may not be a good man, but for those he cares about, he would level any kingdom, destroy any monster, slay any villain to keep them safe.”

Sadness flickered in Riordan’s gaze, and I sensed he was referring to the same thing Ryker had hinted at in the cave.

“Will you tell me?” I asked, not wanting to be insensitive, but also finding myself desperate to understand who Ryker really was.

Riordan hesitated for a moment before he spoke. “My mother is dead. Did you know that?”

I shook my head.

“She died when Ryker and I were children. She was my father’s fated mate, so when she passed, he became…” Riordan pursed his lips as if he was trying to find the right word. “Different.”

“Different how?”

“When a person loses their fated mate, their mind soon follows.”

I knew losing a mate had dire consequences, but I had never witnessed it firsthand.

“He changed from a loving father, a kind man, and a just ruler to someone cruel, distant, and ruthless.”

“I’m sorry, Riordan. I didn’t know.”

He shrugged, but I could tell it was painful for him to speak about.

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