Chapter Six

CAIDY ELLIS POINT OF VIEW

I should have felt relieved.

My father is gone. Corbin is gone. For the first time since I ran away, neither of them stood between me and my freedom.

So why did I feel like I had just fallen into another trap?

My father's final words kept replaying in my head. “Keep her for now... because very soon, Caidy will return to me of her own free will.”

I stood near the doorway, unable to move. My stomach twisted as fear settled deep inside me. None of this made sense. My father was not a man who backed down. He never chose peace when violence could get him what he wanted . He had burned entire border towns over insults and killed his own allies for questioning him. To him, compromise meant weakness.

So why had he walked away?

He simply stood there while Malakai claimed me under Great House law, then simply fixed his coat and smiled. He had given me up without a fight… As if he already knew how this would end.

“You will return to me.”

Why was he so sure?

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?"

Knoxx’s voice broke through the silence. He stepped forward, his face tight with anger. "Why was he so damn sure of himself? A man like Magnus doesn't just bow his head and walk out unless he knows something we don't."

"Is it really that hard to figure out?"

Lucien folded his arms and looked straight at me. His pale eyes narrowed. I swallowed the lump on my throat as I met his gaze.

"Look at her. She isn't even surprised."

My chest tightened.

Lucien took a step closer. "What if this whole rescue was planned? What if Magnus handed you over on purpose?"

I stared at him.

"You come here, we take pity on you, and you stay inside our house while you feed him whatever information he wants." His voice grew colder. "Is that what this is, huh, Caidy? Did he send you here to sabotage us before the Ascendant Trial?"

I wanted to answer but I couldn't. His accusations barely reached me. My mind stayed fixed on my father’s smile and the confidence behind his final words.

My father never gambled without a reason. He never walked away from something he wanted unless he already had another way to get it.

He didn't need to fight Malakai today. He believed I would leave this place on my own. He believed I would go back to him.

But why? What could he possibly have over me?

The thought hit me so suddenly that my breath caught. My hand moved before I could stop it. My fingers reached for the back of my neck, right where my skin had begun to burn.

No.

My heart dropped.

No. He couldn't have.

A sick feeling rose in my stomach.

I already knew there was something there. Something my father had made sure I carried with me when I left. I had never understood exactly what it could do, but I knew enough to fear it.

He wouldn't try... right?

Not here. Not while I was surrounded by the Volkaris heirs.

My father was cruel, but he wasn't careless. He knew these men were his enemies. He wouldn't expose something like this in front of them, especially when they were already watching my every move.

He wouldn't risk letting them find out. Whatever my father had planned, he wouldn't use it now. Not here. Not when one wrong move could expose him.

He wouldn't do that… right?

"Caidy?"

I froze on my spot when I heard Sylas call my name. Sylas stood a few feet away. His eyes had followed my hand to my neck.

"What is it?" he asked. His voice was calm, but his expression had changed. "You just realized something. What is it?"

I looked at the others.

Malakai. Knoxx. Lucien. Sylas. Evren.

All of them were watching me. The room suddenly felt too small.

I lowered my hand and curled it into a fist. "Nothing."

"Caidy."

"I'm fine." I forced the words out. "He was just trying to scare us. That's all."

Lucien scoffed. "Does that look like nothing to you?"

I glared at him but he didn’t back down.

"The moment Magnus left, she froze." He looked at Sylas, then back at me. "You touched your neck, then suddenly you couldn’t even look at anyone. Don’t insult us by pretending nothing happened.”

“I said it was nothing,” I argued.

“And I don’t believe you.”

His answer came so quickly that my jaw tightened.

Lucien took another step toward me. I quickly stepped away. “You expect us to believe that your father just threatened to take you back, walked out without a fight, and somehow that doesn't bother you?"

"Of course it bothers me."

"Then why are you hiding what you realized?"

"I'm not hiding anything."

"Really?" He gave a humorless laugh. "Because from where I'm standing, you're doing a terrible job of looking innocent."

"Lucien," Sylas warned.

"No. I'm serious." Lucien's irritation was clear now. "We just watched Magnus walk into our territory, make a threat, and leave with that smug look on his face. Then Caidy suddenly realizes something and refuses to tell us what it is. How am I supposed to ignore that?"

I clenched my hands at my sides.

"I don't owe you an explanation for every thought that crosses my mind."

Lucien's eyes hardened. "Maybe you don't. But if that thought has something to do with Magnus, then we have every right to know."

"I told you. He was trying to scare you."

"Then why are you scared?"

The question hit too close.

I opened my mouth, but no answer came.

Lucien noticed.

His expression darkened. "That's what I thought."

"Enough, Lucien."

Malakai's voice cut through the room.

Lucien looked at his brother, clearly annoyed. "I'm only asking questions."

"And you've made your point."

"I'm not convinced she's telling us the truth,” Lucien spat back.

"You don't have to be convinced." Malakai's tone remained calm, but there was a warning underneath it. "You only need to remember where you are and who you're speaking to."

Lucien's jaw tightened. "She's Magnus Ellis's daughter."

"And she is under our protection."

Malakai turned his attention toward his brothers. "I already told Magnus that Caidy is my mate. He knows exactly what that means. He also knows that whatever claim he thinks he has over her no longer gives him the right to take her from this house."

His gaze shifted to me but I couldn't look away.

"Whatever Magnus thinks he is planning does not matter inside these walls," Malakai said. "Caidy is under the protection of House Volkaris now. No one will take her from here without my permission."

Something in my chest loosened at his words.

But Malakai wasn't finished. "If Magnus has another plan, we'll deal with it when it comes.”

Lucien frowned. "And what if she isn't giving us the truth?"

Malakai's eyes moved to him. "Then I'll deal with it."

There was no hesitation in his voice. Lucien held his stare for a moment before he finally looked away. "Fine."

Malakai faced me again and I immediately gulped.

"But if you are playing us..." His voice hardened. "You will learn that my patience has limits."

I nodded slowly. "Understood."

I wanted to believe him.

I wanted to believe that I was finally safe.

But as that faint burning returned to the back of my neck, fear crawled through me again.