The winking lights of the Stone Court flickered on the horizon as they pulled over for the last night of camping under the open sky.

"Why won't she come out?" Lazuli's concerned tone grated on Sylvie's ears. Confliction swirled in her head as she tried to hold onto her empathy despite the betrayal she felt.

It wasn't her fault, Sylvie reasoned.

Lazuli loved Kian too. If anything, it was Kian's responsibility not to cheat, and he failed.

Considering his 'kind' nature, it was hard for Sylvie to hate him. But replaying the free erotic audio in her head helped reignite her inner fury.

"Just give her space," Kian said. His tone sounded sad, and Sylvie's face scrunched, imagining his stupid perfect face with a downturned smile.

"Let me," Elias growled low in his throat before rattling the handle on the carriage door.

After tearing the gown to shreds, Sylvie had tied the hem of her dress from the door to a strong beam support behind her seat. It had kept the door locked pretty well and stopped any unwanted conversations.

It held for about one second before Elias ripped the door off its hinges and scowled at her through the darkened doorway. "What are you doing?"

Rolling her eyes, she turned away and curled her knees to her chest.

"Answer me, Sylvie." He leaned into the doorway and pulled her across the plush seat until he could grip her chin and force her to look into his eyes.

"Go away." Her voice came out in a defeated sigh, and she noticed his jaw ticking before closing her eyes. "I'm not coming out until we get to the Stone Court. So unless we're there, kindly, get the fuck out."

He moved her from the carriage quicker than she could take a breath.

Her whole body flinched, expecting a punishment, but his arms wrapped around her and pulled her into a nearby field, flitting up the rolling hillock until the small camp Kian and Kerensa were tending looked like a speck on the dark landscape.

He dropped her onto the damp grass and crossed his arms. "Kian told me what happened."

The plainness of his words shocked her, but it wore off quickly, and she laughed angrily. "Oh, did he? Well, I don't need you to rehash it, thank you very much."

Standing, she tugged on the new hem of her dress that kissed the crest of her knee and started marching down the hill back towards camp.

"She's holding something over him, Sylvie."

Her eyes rolled, and she spun, staring at the giant shadow blocking out the light of the two moons. "Bullshit."

"It isn't. He's been charmed so that he can't say what it is, but-"

"How fucking convenient! What did he say happened then? How do you know she's the problem when he won't tell you?"

"Sylvie," he warned. "I have known him for centuries. And have you forgotten she sent her handmaid to kill you?"

"We don't know the truth about Zephrinah, and I don't care right now, okay? I'm hurt! I'm pissed off actually, and I don't want to hear you making excuses for him, Elias. Honestly, I just want to get out of here and go back to my life before all this mate shit."

She knew she had gone too far when Elias' hands clenched at his sides, and a vein in his forehead appeared.

"Is that so?"

Swallowing, she gnawed her lower lip and backed up.

His voice held frigid iciness. "I gave you space, but now I think it's time you told me what Lazuli spoke with you about in the forest. You haven't been the same since that night, and I need to know. Now."

Backing away slightly faster, she turned to run from him when his hand darted out and gripped her bicep. "You aren't going anywhere."

"Stop it, Elias."

His hand cupped her face, and she squeezed her eyes shut against the tears. "I can't tell you," she cried. "It isn't my place."

Sudden flashes of a buried memory resurfaced— a drooping face, gibberish words and begging.

She slammed her fist into her scalp. No, no, no, this was not happening. Opening her eyes, she blinked until her unshed tears dribbled down her face and stared up at him with fear churning in her gut.

If he saw her at her worst, he'd leave her.

No one wants a broken plaything.

He searched her face, a guarded look hiding his emotions.

"This isn't about her, is it? Or even Kian."

"Don't."

Elias pulled her bunched fists into his hands and smoothed them against his chest. "Tell me what she said, kitten."

"I can't!" Choked sobs escaped as he held her steady, despite her frantically trying to pull away.

The way he watched her, like a predator toying with its prey, made her heart thump painfully in her chest.

"You don't need to keep her secrets. She wouldn't do the same for you."

Sylvie's legs buckled, and she dropped to her knees, their height difference forcing her to hover awkwardly above the ground. "Let me go."

Her voice cracked, and he did as she asked, lowering her slowly until her shins kissed the earth.

Elias crouched and kept his hands off her as he raked his gaze across her shaking frame.

"Tell me," he whispered gruffly. Sylvie was surprised he knew how to speak so softly, the urge to spill every secret threatening to overcome her.

He shifted until he sat beside her, the air between them sizzling with electricity. Without a second thought, she leaned into him and felt her fury melt.

It wasn't Elias' fault.

He was the only one always there for her no matter what, while Kian went off fucking Lazuli any chance he could.

Maybe that was what Fern meant about 'nice guys' being the worst.

It pained her to think of Kian that way, but he proved himself to be a cheater yet again.

"Her father," Sylvie croaked, smearing her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. "He's abusive."

She paused.

"Sexually," she whispered.

Sylvie shuddered, suppressing the images of a bearded face with white hairs growing along the cheek like a broken crescent moon.

Elias's growl broke the silence, and he quivered at her side, rage trickling from him to her.

"Something happened to you, didn't it?" he asked, voice thick and gritty.

A ripple of pain and terror sent shockwaves from her body, and she pulled away from him, her head shaking violently. "N-no, I-I never said that..."

"Sylvie." His glowing red eyes followed her as she tried to make herself look small. "Who hurt you?"

She shook as more sobs clutched her body. "It-it doesn't matter anymore-"

Elias was in front of her in an instant. "Of course, it matters! Tell me a name, and I'll-"

"It doesn't matter anymore," Sylvie hiccoughed, interrupting him before revealing the terrible truth.

Or maybe it was the perfect retribution.

Nobody else saw it that way, though.

"It doesn't matter," she tried again, "because he's dead."

Elias stroked her cheek and pulled her into his arms, still trembling with rage. "How?"

"He - he had a stroke," her voice cracked, and her face contorted in pain. "On top of me."

The night grew silent around them; no creature or gentle brush of wind interrupted her.

"They said if I'd called for help, the doctors could have saved him, but I- I didn't. I got away from him and watched him suffer for a few hours. Then- when I... I got my pillow, and I- I."

"Shhh, Sylvie. You don't have to say anymore." Elias held her against him, his rage ebbing as his soft touch calmed her panic. "It's not your fault."

"It is."

He stood and started walking with her back to the camp. "He deserved far, far worse, my love. He's lucky he's dead."

Sylvie felt Elias' muscles tensing as he tried to hold her gently. She was so grateful to him right then. "So you don't hate me now?"

He pulled her back to see her face, his own twisted into a look of disbelief.

"What? I could never hate you or think any less of you because of things that happened to you. When I told you I was yours, I meant it. No matter what, Sylvie. Forever."

Her heart thudded in her chest, and she buried her face into his neck. She never thought the man she wished to dominate her could be the one who brought her so much peace.

Maybe she didn't need Kian after all.

"Don't be so hard on Kian," Elias murmured into her hair as if reading her mind. "We'll find out the truth about Lazuli soon enough."