Page 155 of Bonded Chaos

I felt trapped.

There were very few things that frightened Ryker, and I doubted I was one of them. I couldn’t voice those concerns, however. The wild look in my father’s eyes told me I had to tread carefully or risk his ire.

“It’s not that simple,” I murmured as I gnawed on my bottom lip.

My father crouched before me, his hand reaching out as he tugged my lip from between my teeth.

“Revolutions never are,” he whispered, reminding me of the man who once read me bedtime stories.

The shift in his demeanor was startling, standing in sharp contrast to the man he’d been moments ago.

“She’s carrying his heir,” Eleanor interjected as she watched us from across the fire.

The camp fell silent, then erupted in a flurry of voices.

“If that’s true, then she can’t be trusted,” one man called. “I say we kill her now and take our chances against the prince.”

“She’s already chosen a side,” another man added.

“If we kill his mate and his heir, we will either cripple him or give him the strength he needs to end us once and for all,” an older woman reasoned.

“Enough!” my father bellowed, and all conversation fell away.

His eyes darkened with anger, and I could see his thoughts churning as he tried to decide how best to use this new information. Then he returned his gaze to mine, and something akin to insatiable greed stared back at me.

“Is that true?” he asked, his voice a low rumble.

I nodded, unable to form words past the dread clogging my throat.

A slow grin spread across my father’s face, and the sight had every instinct inside me screaming at me to run.

“Then the timing is perfect.”

My nose crinkled with confusion, not understanding where his thoughts had traveled.

“Why?” I asked, suspicion lacing my tone.

“Once we remove the royal family, you will have a claim to the Unseelie throne.”

His eyes lowered to my flat stomach, and unfettered ambition simmered in his chocolate depths as he stared at me. My hand darted forward protectively as if it could shield my unborn child from his hungry gaze.

“You will rule as Regent until your child comes of age.”

My father stood, extending his hand to me. “And I will stand at your side,” he said as he pulled me to my feet.

“Return to the Prince,” my father ordered, his voice hard and unwavering. “Earn his trust, dig deeper into his world, and when the time is right, you will launch our strike from the inside.”

The way he commanded me, as though I were merely a puppet, left me seething. Despite my better judgment, I straightened my spine as I glared at him in defiance.

“And if I refuse?” I whispered so that no one else could hear.

My father stiffened, a dangerous edge creeping into his expression.

“Then I’ll be forced to consider you a liability,” he whispered back, glancing around the camp pointedly.

That look told me everything I needed to know. I was balancing on a tightrope, and one wrong move would seal my fate.

My father leaned in closer, “And Cadence, liabilities do not survive long in my world.”

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