Maddox smirked at my visible discomfort, but it was clear to me that he didn't want to be here either, I don't know how I know, but I do. He was scared, and if something scared the fierce hellhound king, I should be afraid too.

Darax was taller than Ryker, and three times as muscular, his eyes a deep violet, they were gorgeous, but also terrifying. It was like they were calling to me, whispering that I should go to him.

But I didn't dare move.

The tension in the room was thick, Darax was not a friend. That much was clear.

"It's nice to meet you." I stammer, my eyes widening when he rounds the table and approaches me.

He was scrutinising me, sizing me up. But I wasn't sure why. Maybe he was going to kill me, Ryker and Maddox seemed nervous enough that it was certainly a possibility.

He takes my hand as brings it to his lips, his eyes watching my every move. "The pleasure is all mine, Fae." He turns to Ryker, "How much?"

Ryker shifts, growing angry. "She is not for sale."

Darax hums, turning back to me. "That's a shame, I would have liked this one all to myself. She's a beauty."

My stomach churns, bile rising in my throat, I couldn't think of anything worse than being tied to this creature in any way. He clearly didn't see me as a person, just an object he could obtain.

Ryker says nothing, neither does Maddox.

Darax laughs at their clear anger. "Do not fret, I am not going to take her by force, not yet anyway." He looks down at me, "Where have you been hiding all these years? I thought I had ordered the destruction of your kind after the war started."

My heart thunders in my chest, my body trembling, I could fell the power radiating from him, and it was making me want to curl into a ball and hide. Whatever he was, he was powerful, more so than Ryker.

I force myself to speak, my voice surprisingly strong. The opposite to how I feel. "Out in the woods. Plenty of places to hide out there."

He laughs, releasing my hand and going back to his chair, his eyes flickering between

us all. "Well, you are certainly lucky, now that you have been claimed and marked, I can do nothing to you. You belong to Ryker and Maddox, and regardless of the past, I cannot interfere with destined mates."

I release a sharp breath and slowly move to stand beside Maddox, his dark presence making me feel a little less like a fly caught in a trap. My muscles ache as I stand there, the tension in my bones almost crippling. He could kill me if he wanted to, or if I acted out of line. I needed to be careful.

"I'm glad to hear it." I smile, taking Maddox's hand in mine.

Darax looks at our entwined hands and smirks, "You don't need to fear me, fae, I am not here to harm you, not today anyway."

Ryker sits, "Then why are you here?"

Maddox and I quickly following his movements, but I perch on the edge of my chair, reading to move at a second's notice. If he was going to attack, I couldn't let myself be surprised, not when I didn't have my powers to protect me.

"i am here to ask when you are coming home, I am afraid your kingdoms are falling into ruin." Darax laughs, "You should have employed better staff to protect them."

Maddox visibly tenses, anger radiating from him. "We were told that our people would be kept safe whilst we were gone."

Darax shrugs, but I can clearly tell he is enjoying himself. "I cannot control what all the races do, I am afraid protecting land is the owner's responsibility, not mine."

Ryker growls, steam blowing from his nostrils. "Then we will have the return straight away to get our houses in order." he glances at me, "We will be bringing our mate of course, she is exempt from the rules now that she is ours."

I didn't like the sound of that, where were they going to take me? What rules were I exempt from?

I would have to ask once Darax was gone, I couldn't show Ryker or Maddox up whilst he was here, I had no idea what kind of danger that would bring me, or them.

If they faced this creature's wrath, then so would I.

"I was hoping that you would say that I better be going then, got a lot to prepare for your coming home ceremonies." Darax sighs dramatically and stands, "Though I am curious how your land disputes between one another will turn out now that you share one mate."

Maddox frowns, his hand tightening on mine. "We have yet to discuss permanent plans."

"Regardless, I look forward to seeing you both again on home soil." He turns to me. "It was nice to meet you in person, fae, I do hope we can meet again."

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Once he is gone, I allow my shoulders to sag, my mind racing over everything that was said, and again I am left with even more questions that I doubt my mates will answer.

Ryker waits until Darax is completely gone before he turns to me, his eyes softening, "well done Elora, you handled that very well."

I shiver, unintentionally moving closer to Maddox, "what is going on? Who was he? Where are we going?" I ask all at once, fear slicing through me.

I didn't want to leave this world behind for something completely unknown. And I especially didn't want to go anywhere where Darax was. He scared me more than anything else.

His words were a clear threat, and I know for certain he was going to do his best to get

to me, whether that be to own me himself or kill me.

Neither seemed like good choices to me.

"We have a lot to discuss." Ryker says, glancing at Maddox, "let's go to my office, it'll be easier to explain there."

Finally I may get the answers to the questions I have been asking, but then again, do I really want to know?

What if I couldn't handle the truth?

But in reality, I had no choice but to handle the truth, they have thrown me in their world headfirst, and now I must either sink or swim.

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