Page 111 of The Bound Mage
“Broken,” Araya said flatly. “And Hale dislocated my shoulder.”
“Well, he’s dead now.” Jaxon clicked his tongue, stepping back. “Maybe if you start cooperating, we’ll see about getting a Healer in to see you. You don’t have to suffer, Starling. Not if you’re willing to be reasonable.” He held out a hand to her, nodding his head toward the waiting table, where three cups steamed beside a porcelain teapot. “Come sit with us.”
Araya didn’t move. If they wanted to pretend this was some polite conversation over tea, they’d have to do it alone.
Jaxon huffed out a sigh, dropping his hand. “Well I tried,” he said, taking one of the cups. He poured milk into it, adding two lumps of sugar and giving it a stir. “You’d think after everything you’ve done, you’d be grateful to be here at all instead of rotting in a dungeon. We’d have executed anyone else.”
“Jaxon is right, Araya,” Garrick said softly when she didn’t say anything. He didn’t sit, standing behind his chair instead. “You’ve made quite a mess of things here. The only person you hurt by being stubborn here is yourself. We’re trying to help you.”
He paused, giving her a chance to respond. But Araya pressed her lips together, clenching her shaking hands in her lap. Whatever they wanted from her here, she wouldn’t give it to them.
Garrick sighed, his expression resigned. “You had everything,” he continued. “Comfort. Protection. A bond to a powerful mage who would have given you anything—if you’d been smart enough to just tell Jaxon what you wereexperiencing…” he shook his head. “We wouldn’t have hurt you or Loren—those children would have beenveryvaluable to us.”
Araya stared at him, her stomach twisting at the picture he painted. But Garrick wasn’t finished.
“You’d even have been allowed to raise them,” he said, adding a few cubes of sugar to his cup and stirring. “If only you’d held on to a single shred of loyalty.”
“You’re sick,” Araya rasped, her voice thick with fury. “You’re talking about breeding me like livestock—aboutowningmy children.”
“Don’t be dramatic.” Garrick poured the milk into his tea, setting the silver spoon aside. “You already agreed to it once. You know where your value lies, Araya. Even if Jaxon did indulge your curiosity.”
Araya stared at him, biting back the fury that boiled under her skin. She buried it deep, refusing to let it show. If she did, they would use it. And they already had too many ways to hurt her.
“But that was before.” Garrick raised his cup to his lips, taking a slow sip. “Now you’re not just some pretty halfblood stray my son has taken a liking to. You’re the mate of the fae king—thequeen. And that makes you a valuable resource. With you, we could open the Eldergreen in weeks instead of years.”
“I’d rather die,” Araya snarled, baring her teeth.
For the first time, Jaxon’s smile slipped. “Don’t say things like that.”
“Why not?” Araya glared at him, hissing at the pain that radiated through her chest. “You don’t get to act like youcareabout me, Jaxon. Not after the way you drained me. You almostkilledme.”
“Youmademe do that,” Jaxon snarled. He stood too quickly, his hands clenched into fists. “I’m giving you another chance.You should be grateful I even still want you after you lethimtouch you?—”
“Grateful?” Araya bared her teeth. “I would ratherburnthan let you touch me again.”
Jaxon lunged, but Garrick caught his arm before he could close the distance, dragging him back.
“She’s tired, Jaxon,” he said, his voice clipped. “She needs time to adjust—to understand the severity of her circumstances. Go make the arrangements for her transport. I’ll close things out here.”
Jaxon hesitated, practically vibrating with unshed fury—but this wasn’t a suggestion from his father. It was a command from the High Magister. He cast one last venomous glare at Araya, his lip curling.
“I always did like your fire, Starling” he spat. “It makes your surrender that much sweeter. I’m looking forward to making you beg.”
Araya flinched, her heart pounding. But Jaxon turned his back on her, slamming the door behind him hard enough to rattle the glass in the window. She clenched her fists in the blankets, trying to calm her heartbeat as she listened to his footsteps fade into silence.
“You should be more careful not to antagonize him, Araya.” Garrick said mildly. He crossed back to the table, taking his time pouring himself a fresh cup of tea. “We’re being generous, offering you a way to make amends. But we don’t really need your cooperation. What just need your body—your connection to the fae monarchy.” He turned back to her, stirring his tea. “And we’ll have it. One way or another.”
“I’ll never help you,” Araya spat.
Garrick smiled, but there was nothing comforting about it this time. “No,” he said. “I don’t think you will. You’ll fight us tooth and nail until your spirit cracks. It’s what your kind does.”He took a slow sip of his tea, savoring the taste. “But you were stupid enough to complete that bond with Loren. That makes any child you have a candidate for the fae throne—regardless of who the father is.”
Araya’s breath caught, the room tilting around her as his meaning sank in. “You wouldn’t,” she said, her voice shaking. “You wouldn’t dare?—”
Garrick chuckled.
“Of course we would,” he said. “This has always been about power, Araya. Bloodlines. If you refuse to help us, we’ll breed you and use the child you produce to open the Eldergreen for us.”
“I won’t do it,” Araya said. “I’m fae. I won’t conceive if I’m not willing?—”
