Page 21 of Branded By Shadow
I turned back slowly, my eyes locking on hers. She stood her ground, her hand still raised slightly between us, trembling from the impact.
This fire was the very thing that made her valuable. It was what Stormwright wanted to break, and what I would own.
“You have spirit,” I told her. “But that was a mistake.” If I hadn’t played along, she’d have shattered her own bones.
Maybe Cora was beginning to realize that, because she lowered her hand. “The mistake was ever letting him see my research. I will not make another by letting you stop me from fixing it. But…”
“But?” I prodded. For the first time since this disastrous conversation had started, I sensed promise.
“I will never thank you for this cage,” she began, her gaze flashing as the brilliant mind behind the terror found its footing. “But I am not a fool. I know I can’t save him alone.” She took a breath, steeling herself. “If you protect him... If you truly keepTheo safe... then I will cooperate. I will stay here. I won’t fight you. Not again.”
There it was. An offer of submission, wrapped in the language of a bargain to make it palatable. A slow, grim smile touched my lips. She was finally beginning to understand the reality of her situation.
“Your cooperation means you accept my protection, for yourself and for your friend,” I clarified, my words low and absolute. “You will not interfere with the measures House Hades takes to ensure his safety. You will trust that I am handling it. Do you agree?”
Cora gave a single, jerky nod. “Yes.”
I leaned in until my lips were almost touching her ear, the heat of my breath a physical presence on her skin. “It also means the defiance ends. The arguments, the physical resistance... It’s over. You will be mine, in action as well as in fact.” I pulled back, my eyes boring into hers. “Is that the cooperation you are offering me?”
She held my gaze, refusing to flinch as she processed the true nature of my counteroffer. “Yes. That is the deal.”
“Excellent.”
As afternoon light slanted golden through study windows, illuminating dust motes and family portraits that bore witnessto our fragile alliance, I recognized the truth of what had shifted between us.
Cora Ellis hadn’t stopped running from what we were building. She hadn’t accepted the claiming or forgiven me for taking her choices. But she’d found a reason to fight beside me instead of against me.
It wasn’t complete. It wasn’t perfect. But the claiming had truly begun, and every moment she spent here would bind her closer to me whether she acknowledged it or not.
She was mine. She just didn’t fully understand that yet.
9
Secret Weapon
Cora
One week later
Beauty thrived in the depths of the harshest terrains. I’d learned that the hard way, on journeys through the Amazonian jungles or lost African deserts. But never had I understood it more clearly than the moment I stepped into Damon’s underground greenhouse.
From the main Blackwood compound, I entered a maze of rare, incredible plants. Towering ferns that should have required blistering sunlight grew next to bioluminescent fungi that pulsed with a soft, ethereal light.
The ecosystems were wrong, a chaotic mingling of species that had no business coexisting. And yet, they thrived. It was a beautiful, living violation of every botanical law I knew, and a current of recognition hummed through my veins.
I would have enjoyed the discovery more without my constant guardian by my side. “Amazing, isn’t it?” Damon asked, a low rumble that seemed to vibrate in the heavy air. “From the beginning of time, House Hades has kept an underground garden. An ancient tradition, in honor of Hades and Persephone. I’ve never been fond of them myself. Not until now.”
I forced myself to smile, preserving the warm and approachable demeanor I’d put up so far. A week of this, of carefully cultivated obedience, and Damon had brought me here, had welcomed me into a space so clearly valued by his House.
“It’s lovely, Damon. I almost can’t believe my eyes.”
“Some of these specimens are quite rare.” His gaze narrowed, a predator assessing its territory as he watched my reaction. “I thought with your background, you might find them interesting.”
“I do,” I replied, and I didn’t need to fake the wonder in my voice. “Thank you.”
As I moved deeper, ferns bent toward me, their fronds turning like subjects acknowledging their queen. “They sense your Demeter blood,” he said, a possessive note coloring the words. “They recognize what you are.”
“I’m not denying anything,” I protested. “I’ve simply been... adjusting.”
