His hands fisted at his sides. Would he ever cease craving this woman?
He scanned the area. No sign of Graves or the swamp creature. “We’ll rest here.” He jumped from dry ring to dry ring until he reached the bed, where he dropped the satchel.
Thinking to remove his soaked boots, he perched at the edge of the stone. Lifted a foot. An image shoved its way inside his mind, and he shot to his feet, a harsh denial choking him.
The image remained. He saw Vee, wearing her collar and blood-soaked rags. A troll held her unconscious body. Not just any troll, but their king, Ragdar. A male Micah had nearly died defeating. But the result had been worth the injuries. Ragdar had become clay in his hands, fully moldable. With strength of will alone, Micah still held the powerful male immobile in the underground tunnels, as helpless as his people, forced to remember the pain he’d caused so many others.
His companions reacted to his sudden aggression, a chorus of questions ringing out.
Elena: “What is it?”
Sabot: “Majesty?”
Vee: “Remove this collar this instant!”
He shook his head hard, the mental picture dissipating. His tension lingered, a snarl rising from him. The oracle had done this. Someone had given Fayette the pain antidote, and she’d pushed the grim future into Micah’s head. But had he seen a glimpse of the truth or a manipulation of it?
There was only one reason Fayette would reveal something like that to Micah. She had learned his weakness, his greatest vulnerability; she knew the slightest amount of fear severed his control over his opponents, giving the creatures control over him. She hoped to make him afraid, thereby freeing the trolls of their immobility and dividing his focus, aiding Kaysar. Putting Vee in danger.
“Freeing the oracle might cost you your life,” he snapped at her. “I hope you’re happy.”
She made a crude hand gesture. “I told you. I didn’t free her.”
Truth or lie? If not her, then who had betrayed him?
Foreboding sparked, but he maintained his calm with a reminder. Trolls couldn’t flitter. Even if they escaped the shackles of his control, they would be stuck in their doorless prison. Unless a traitor provided transportation. But only he and Norok knew their exact location, and Norok would never turn on Micah. No matter what Vee believed about the male.
Another possibility was Elena. She’d visited the dungeon often. Except, she’d never entered the chambers with trolls.
Not to his knowledge, anyway. As a spy well able to hide herself...
No. No! The Adelina siblings wouldn’t work against him. They just wouldn’t. In the entire realm, they were the two he trusted above all others. Vee must be wrong about them. And aid Warren’s killer? No. Not for any price.
The image punched its way into his mind a second time, and a tattered moan parted Micah’s lips. Ragdar. A bloody Vee. Trepidation swelled as he tugged at hanks of his hair. If his wife died...
“Micah?” she asked softly, agitated and apprehensive rather than defensive.
Concerned? For him? Did a part of her care? He thought maybe...yes. His feral kitten had saved him food. She hadn’t run off after the expiration of their bargain. Constantly leered at him.
To lose her...
Losing his grip on his composure, he focused his thoughts on her. On their future. I can have a life with her. Taste joy and satisfaction daily. He had only to let go of the past and grab hold of her, despite the obstacles between them.
Shouldn’t he try? He was miserable without her. Not guaranteed a tomorrow. Should go down fighting, all right—for better. His family. Vee, Micah and their terror of children. Somehow, they could make it work; the alternative was intolerable.
Instincts and desires converged, and defenses crumbled. Lingering fears doused, making his new—and final—plan crystal clear. Claim her. Today. Tomorrow. Always and forever. Mark her so completely all others would know: she belongs to Micah the Unwilling. From the beginning, he’d been drawn to Red. An eternastone to its mate, always pulled in her direction.
Fated. No way around it, over it or under it. Only through it.
For so long, he’d held on to his kingdom with little payoff. He had fought, sacrificed, protected, expanded, but he had never enjoyed the fruits of his labors. He’d never had something all his own. Until Red. She was his, their connection undeniable, and he was keeping her. Whatever the cost. That was that.
The war in his head ended between one heartbeat and the next, the picture of her demise dissipating once again. For the first time in...ever, he felt settled. Right.
Trembling like a lad, he studied his wife’s lovely features. She studied his right back. No longer did he see hatred in her eyes. No, he saw concern. But that could change in a blink, and he could lose her for good. Without the troll king’s help. Micah had only to leave her collared, keeping her vulnerable and incapable of flittering. Proof she shouldn’t trust him to have her best interests at heart. And if she could not trust him, she would not stay with him willingly. But no bonds, no Red.