Page 116 of Severed Heir

Damien’s smile curved slow. “You sure about that? I am a mind reader, remember.”

I stepped forward, voice raw but steady. “Fight for me. Please… fight for us.”

Archer’s eyes locked on mine, fierce and aching. “Sev, I have fought for you every damn day since the moment you became my heir. I fought when they threatened to break you. When they tried to silence you. When I severed my bond just to keep them from tearing you apart.” His voice cracked, but he didn’t move. “But if I fight now, Ravensla will declare war. And you’ll be the first casualty.”

Damien leaned against the doorframe, a smirk tugging at his mouth. “He’s showing you the truth, Severyn. He’s not enough.”

Archer didn’t flinch. “You think I’m letting go? I’m not. I’m holding the line. I’ll find another way. I’ll burn kingdoms if I have to. But I won’t risk your life on a battle I can’t win. Not yet.”

I stood there, unraveling. In the silence, the last breath of our bond drifted away like smoke, though part of me knew it was already gone back in the prison.

Chapter Twenty-One

I wondered how many times a person could break. If the pieces could ever fit again. But Damien’s pieces? I hadn’t just broken them. I’d burned them. Turned them to ash and scattered them to the wind, hoping Giesel was right, that the wind always carried what needed to be heard.

I whispered to the birds perched in Ravensla’s trees, praying at least one was a songbird. “Peck his eyes out, please,” I told the morning flocks. “Or shit on his tunic during one of his big speeches.” But when they took flight, I found myself wishing they carried more than curses. Maybe, somehow, they’d reach someone. Anyone who might still come for me.

I glanced out at the porch, the same one I had watched Kian and Archer spar on. In the week since my capture, I had avoided the backyard like it carried an infection.

“You’ve hardly eaten since you got to Ravensla,” Damien said, “Veravine’s gown is delicate… it can only be taken in so many times.”

“I don’t care,” I said flatly.

His hand hovered near mine but never touched. He knew better than to try. “Veravine would’ve wanted this,” he said. “Us. You and I, together in her land. She was beloved. The people ofRavensla will rejoice when they learn her blood is marrying the future heir.”

“Forcing me into a marriage isn’t what she would’ve wanted.”

The estate felt emptier without Archer or Kian. Larger. Lonelier. The only comfort was Victor’s absence. But Damien kept inching closer. Three days ago, he’d brushed my shoulder when he turned. Today, he hovered so close I could feel his breath.

I considered eating a dozen cloves of garlic just to keep him away. He knew better than to enter my mind, but there was some twisted comfort in knowing he struggled to shield around me.

“We’ll be good together,” Damien said. “I’ll make you happy.”

That was the twelfth time he’d said it this week.

I turned away without a word.

My eyes landed on the portrait above the fireplace. His father’s hand clutched his mother’s arm, not with affection, but with control. Her skin looked almost translucent, her smile brittle. I’d seen Damien’s idea of our future. He called it a fantasy. I called it a prison.

“You’ll have to kiss me at the wedding to seal the marriage bond,” he said from behind me. “Then, if you want, we never have to speak again.”

“I want to go home,” I snapped, heat rising to my fingertips. “Maybe I want to kill you.”

Flame kindled, hovering dangerously near his jaw. It took everything in me not to burn him where he stood.

“Home?” he barked. “To Bridger, who took your title? To a father who never believed in you?” He stepped closer. “You want love—real love? I’m real. If it’s a bond you need, I’ll give it. But for gods’ sake, Sev, look at me!”

I slapped him hard.

And Gods, it felt good.

“You died,” I snapped. “You lied. You tricked me into believing you were someone else. And then you shattered everything.”

“I never stopped trying,” he whispered. “Let me show you. Let me allow you in.”

“You’ll let me in your mind? After weeks of pushing me away at the academy?” I stepped back. “Maybe I don’t want to be trapped with your thoughts.”

His jaw flexed. “Can’t you see I’m trying?”

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