What Lurks Between the Fates (Of Flesh & Bone, #3)(70)

He stepped around the table, coming to a stop in front of me as the room stayed quiet. I felt every pair of eyes fall upon us as Caldris ignored Malachi entirely and grasped my hand within his. He leaned down, pressing his mouth to the back of my hand.

“You are more beautiful than all the stars in the sky, min asteren,” he said, his voice dropping low as he held my gaze.

It was only after I smiled up at him that he let his gaze travel down my gown, taking in the subtle curves that had only begun to fill with more access to food.

Even though Mab liked to torment me, she fed me well. It was the first time in my life that I had more food than I could ever eat, and my body began to show the signs of ample nourishment. Even my face had begun to fill out, my cheeks looking less hollow when I glanced into the mirror.

“Min anam,” I murmured, drawing his gaze back to mine. I raised the hand he gripped to cup his cheek, watching as his eyes shuttered the moment I touched him. My soul.

Being separated from him was more than just an emotional toll. My body felt the loss of his presence the moment he was drawn away, the moment his skin left mine. As if my body needed to spend every waking moment wrapped within his embrace. If he felt even a fraction of that, then I understood the pain.

And the relief that came when the touch finally returned.

“Bring her, Caldris,” Mab ordered.

My mate tensed in place. The grip on his heart made his body physically react as he turned, using my hand to guide me to the vacant seat between his and the end of the table where Mab had placed herself.

“We’ve saved you a spot, Little Mouse.”

“I wouldn’t presume to take a seat that surely should have been given to a court royal,” I said, glancing around the table to find any who might desire the place of what Mab doubtlessly considered an honor.

“Nonsense, you are the guest of honor. All the courts are curious about you,” Mab said, waving her hand dismissively.

She dropped her gaze, pausing at the sight of the embellished fabric covering my throat. Her lips twisted into a smile as she stood, approaching me and stopping directly in front of me. She dragged a black nail over the front of the fabric, tearing one of the gems from it so that it fell to the floor in a sound that echoed through the silent dining hall.

“Let them see you for what you are.”

With those words, she pulled the fabric from my neck to reveal the iron collar and the raw skin peeking out from beneath it. She tossed it to the side, sending the glittering teal fabric fluttering to the floor. I thought she meant to remove the collar itself as well, to put my oddness on display for all to see as the evening’s entertainment, but she left it.

She didn’t mean for them to see me. She meant for them to see me as her prisoner.

I raised my chin as surprised gasps filled the room, turning my stare toward the table and the watchful eyes.

“Sister, what is the meaning of this?”

A male stood on the opposite side of the table, pushing his chair back as he glared at Mab. I knew who he must have been just from the things Caldris had said about Mab and where she’d come from.

Rheaghan stepped around the side of the table. “Why would you need to torment a human mate in such a way?” he asked, stopping beside his sister. He reached up to touch the iron, as if he needed the confirmation that it truly was made of iron and not a deception.

“Who said anything about her being human?” Mab asked, grasping her brother by the wrist. She pulled his hand away as he studied her in anger.

“She’s afraid to play with me when she doesn’t have me under control in one way or another,” I said, smirking at him as the hush in the room went entirely still.

Caldris shifted behind me, trying to wedge himself between us as Mab lashed out with a clawed hand. Her hand bounced off his armor as he shielded me, tucking me behind him as Mab met his rage-filled stare with the hollowness of hers.

“Aside, now,” she commanded, sweeping a nail across the front of his throat.

Blood trickled free from the wound as the bond forced him to step back, his chest sagging forward as his legs obeyed against his will.

The moment he was clear, Mab latched a hand around the front of my throat. The sound of her skin sizzling as the bottom of her hand touched the collar was loud in the silent hall. Her nails dug into the side of my neck, breaking through the skin as I grimaced up at her and fought for the breath she kept me from taking.

“You would do well to remember that you are nothing,” she hissed, leaning in to speak the words as venomously as a snake. “I have lived for centuries. I am a Goddess who rules over other Gods. Whatever you are is insignificant compared to that.”

I smiled through the pain burning my lungs, wheezing as I spoke the taunt that would push all the limits. “Then prove me wrong.”

“Estrella,” Caldris barked, the warning in my name nearly making me regret my outburst. I could survive my own suffering and pain, but I didn’t want to him to suffer with me.

Mab stilled, glancing at her brother from the corner of her eye. He watched me, his brow quirking as he studied me for a moment before leveling his sister with an expectant glance.

“The girl does have a point.”

Mab released my neck as suddenly as she’d grasped it, letting air fill my lungs once more. Caldris heaved a sigh of relief when I was freed, his chest moving as if the air being trapped outside of me had affected him as well.