Page 21 of Immortal Alliance

“Was this planned?”

“I don’t know,” she answers as she takes my hand but I pull away from her. “Dragan,” she starts.

“Did you enjoy it?” I demand.

She gulps. “Dragan, please.”

“Did you fucking enjoy it?” I ask as I glare down at her beautiful face.

“Yes,” she answers and drops her attention to the ground.

“They didn’t ask me to come with them,” I say, more to myself than to her.

“Come with them?”

“They didn’t invite me.”

She nods. “Maybe they thought you’d be angry.” She takes a breath. “Baron and Pyre share a special friendship, you know that.”

“Yeah, and Baron and I fucking hate each other,” I respond. “And now I want to fucking smash his face in.”

“Dragan,” Eilish says as she reaches out and grips my hand, not allowing me to pull it away. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”

I nod and try to calm myself. “It’s not fucking easy, Eilish,” I say. “Having to share you.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

CAMBION

Oronrel

My magic isn’t what it should be, but I slip into the corridor with a simple cloaking spell. Unseelie guards, dressed in their armor, line the walls. They’re unaware I move among them. Though I wish to help my brother, I must first check on Aima. She’s my friend and former love, but most of all, she’s part of our quest to bring peace to the realms. I can’t and won’t abandon her.

The dungeon is heavily guarded and encrypted with spells strong enough to discourage anyone trying to stage an uprising. I’m tempted to slit throats and bathe in the blood of those who attacked my allies in the Veil, but I look beyond my anger and wait for one of the guards to open the door. When he does, I slip through and follow him to the dungeons.

There, I see her. Aima lays on her side within one of the cells, curled into a ball with her arms around herself. I wait until the guard finishes his business and exits the dungeon, never realizing I’m here with him.

Once he leaves, I take the steps separating me from Aima. Then I reach through the prison bars and brush my fingertips against her cheek. She immediately opens her eyes, then pulls back in shock and scrambles to her knees, fear in her pitch-black gaze. She can’t see me, just as the guard couldn’t.

“Aima,” I whisper as I remove the concealment spell. “It’s me.”

“Cambion?” she says as recognition settles over her.

“What have they done to you?”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” she assures me. But I know the truth. She’s close to breaking, even if her pride keeps her from admitting as much. “What are you doing here? If they catch you—”

“They won’t.”

“You don’t know that! Go back to wherever they’re keeping you! So long as you’re obedient, Theren won’t kill you. Especially if he thinks you’re valuable to Morrigan.”

“I won’t leave you, Aima.”

“You have to!”

“No, we can escape—together. I’m working on pulling together a plan. It’s dangerous, but I’m confident it will work.”

“Cambion,” she sighs. “Stop trying to save me. I’m not your responsibility.”

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