"You’re... alive?!" The question flew from his lips the instant his gaze landed on Es, as if his mind struggled to register her presence as real. His expression wavered between disbelief and shock as his eyes searched her face, wanting to confirm the impossible.
But Es barely flinched at his reaction. She stood unmoved, her silence fueling his bewildernt, but then Leonardo leaned in, his voice soft but laced with a hint of annoyance as he whispered.
"I can get him to shut up if you want." His offer was undeniably tempting, but Es shook her head with a slight smile.
It had been far too long since she last faced Dahr, and she wasn’t even aware that he was part of the victims who were drugged.
In their ti apart, he had heaped countless cruel words upon her, and his scorn was a reminder of the bitter fate she narrowly escaped. She was supposed to have married Lennox that day — a sour fate Dahr would have ensured without rcy. Her freedom had been on the line of being snatched away, and her path would have forever been sealed in the cage of him and Lennox’s making.
But then, Donovan intervened, tearing her from a life of tornt she might never have escaped alone. She knew that his presence that day saved her from an unbearable future.
Approaching Dahr, Es didn’t wait for him to utter another word before her hand struck his face with a swift, resounding slap. His head snapped to the side, but the small, almost taunting smile never left her lips. She watched as anger ignited in Dahr’s eyes, clearly not expecting to be slapped by her, but Es folded her arms over her chest, projecting a calm defiance that only made a vein pulse on his forehead.
"You... you’ve got so nerve!" He growled in a low, venomous tone, but Es humd thoughtfully in response.
"Do you rember?" she asked, her voice steady. "You used to strike far worse, never stopping until you saw blood or sensed I was close to death. But here I am, just a single slap, and you’re like a volcano on the brink of erupting." she clicked her tongue, her voice laced with mock disappointnt.
Bound tightly in cursed ropes, Dahr strained against them, his desperation flaring as though he couldn’t wait to get his hands on Es right there for daring to slap him in the face.
"Don’t bother," Leonardo interjected, watching Dahr struggle as though he were a mad man. "Those ropes are cursed; they’ll only tighten if you resist. Try to break free, and you’ll only end up harming yourself. Best save your energy for whatever lies ahead."
"The both of you..." Dahr growled, letting his resentful gaze settle first on Leonardo. "For years, you had everyone fooled. You are infected! I don’t think you were infected... you’ve probably been one of the enemies all this ti! Does that also an Irwin is infected? Could it be that he was never sick, but pretending to be so he can hide the fact that he’s a demon all this ti?! I won’t be surprised if your entire family were a pack of liars!"
The words barely left his lips before a powerful punch landed squarely on his jaw, snapping his head to the side again. Blood trickled from his nose as he tried to steady himself, and he coughed from the force of the blow.
Leonardo calmly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his knuckles, as though ridding himself of sothing very distasteful. "I’m not a violent man," he said, his tone low yet steely. "Call what you like, but leave my parents’ nas out of your filthy mouth. Continue testing , and you’ll find yourself regretting every word.
Dahr chuckled at the underlying threat in his voice. He had always hated how Leonardo got in his way in the past, but now he had an even more valid reason to hate him. His gaze then shifted between Es and Leonardo, and he laughed again, straining against the right ropes as he leaned forward.
"Listen, the both of you may assu you’ve escaped judgnt, but I promise you it’s far from over. Do you have any idea the ss you’ve landed yourselves in?" His eyes glead wickedly as he sneered. "The king won’t spare either of you for working with the enemy. You just wait and see what happens! I have ruined your pathetic excuse of a life once, Es, and I can do it again!"
"Oh, no... I’m absolutely terrified," Es murmured, her tone dripping with mock fear as she feigned horror. "What should I do if the king finds out? Perhaps I should throw myself off a cliff for betraying a god like Lennox so gravely. Leonardo, we’re both guilty on this one. Should we make a run for it while we still can, or should we drop to our knees and fast for a hundred days in the hopes that he’ll forgive us? Tell , what’s the wisest cause of action?"
Es’s sarcasm was on point, drawing a chuckle from Leonardo, while Althea pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle her laugh. Their reactions only deepened Dahr’s fury, and his face flushed red at the indirect mockery, his eyes blazing with a desire to strike Es like a bull charging at its target.
Under different circumstances, Es might have felt intimidated; in fact, those sa troubling questions had crossed her mind just monts before. But now, none of that held weight. To her, nothing mattered more than ensuring the safety of those she cared about.
They had stood by her when no one else did, even rescuing her when others watched her endure Dahr’s cruelty and submit to a marriage where she was valued only as a tool. She owed Donovan and his people this much, including Leonardo, and unlike the others, they had shown her respect, and treated her with a kindness she’d only ever known from Finnian and Vivienne.
"How about you leave us to worry about the king, hm?" ca Es’s calm retort, her voice edged with warning. "Because you, on the other hand, might want to focus on your situation– and that is the fact that you’re not escaping this anyti soon."
She then leaned close to his ear, her voice dropping to a chilling whisper. "You tried to kill , sell , shatter my confidence and spirit. You even tried to force yourself on ... Every single one of those acts demands atonent."
Straightening, her expression hardened, and Dahr flinched involuntarily from the intensity of her gaze, as though her eyes were like shards of ice stabbing him in the chest. For a fleeting mont, he was unsettled by the fierce resolve in her gaze. To mask his fear, he scoffed loudly.
"What are you going to do, huh?! You’re just a wolfless whore! What makes you think I’m scared of you? You should be the one terrified, not ! I own you, Es! So, free before I make all three of you regret it. I don’t hesitate to hit won, I’d beat you both to a pulp!"
"You an you had to live with this your entire life?" Althea asked, her tone softening with sympathy rather than fear. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been for Es, enduring such a psychopath’s presence for so long."
"Yes," Es replied with a soft dip of her head before facing Dahr. "I’m wolfless, and I don’t have a wolf. I’ve accepted that. But... What about you?"
The unexpected question seed to throw Dahr off balance, and before he could react, two familiar warriors stumbled in.
"We heard the lady was in need of serum," Orion announced, holding up a vial of Lycobane serum. Es and Althea exchanged surprised glances before letting their gaze settle on the warriors.
"How did you even know we were here?" Althea asked, curiosity lacing her words.
"Alpha’s orders," Atticus replied simply.
"Donovan?" Es murmured, barely hiding her awe. Before anyone could say anything else, Donovan stepped forward from the shadows, where he had been silently listening.
His presence commanded silence from everyone in the room, and he crossed his arms, "What? Can’t a man be available to support his beloved in tis like this? Go on... kill his wolf if you want. No one will stop you."
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