The Sacrifice (36 page)

Vind
called Soren to escort him down to Cy
’
s cell. In the past,
his victories over his brother had never left him with this much satisfaction.

They
entered Cy
’
s cell. His limp body hung from manacles attached
to the wall. His head jerked up and blue eyes focused on Vind with a deadly
glare.

“Good,
you
’
re conscious. Today is our birthday, or have you
forgotten. I wanted to make sure you were awake to watch as I open my present
tonight. Sorry,” Vind said with feigned regret. “I didn
’
t
get you anything. But I
’
d like to personally thank you for the special
present you
’
ve given me.
”

Cy
’
s
brows lowered. “Why are you babbling about presents? I
’
ve
given you nothing.”

“Oh,
but you have. You
’
ve given me your life-mate.”

Cy lunged at Vind. The chains around his
hands and ankles rattled violently throughout the cavernous cells. “If you lay
a hand on her, I will kill you.”

Vind
crossed his arms over his chest as if regarding Cy
’
s
threat. “I
’
m going to make you a promise, brother. I will not
do anything to Riana that she doesn
’
t ask me to.
”

“She would never ask you to touch
her.”

“Under
normal circumstances, she probably wouldn
’
t. But tonight, you
’
re
going to watch her beg me to
fuck
her.”

“You
evil son of a Haagon whore! I
’
m going to rip you to shreds.” Blood rolled down
Cy
’
s arms from his futile attempts to pull the chains
from the wall. “Don
’
t do this, Vind. It
’
s
me you
really
want, not her. Torture
me
. Kill
me
. I don’
t care…
just don’
t hurt
her
.”

Vind
erupted into laughter. “Cy, as much as I love hearing you beg, if I continue to
physically torture you, you
’
ll die before I
’
m ready. So, I found
more constructive means of torture. By the time I
’
m
finished, you will take begging for death to a whole new level. However, I
’
m
not going to end your pathetic life just yet. You
’
re
going to watch as I take everything from you. The same way you took everything
from me.”

“You
are delusional. I
’
ve never taken a thing from you,” Cy said,
breathless from his onslaught with the chains.

Vind
shook his head. “No, brother, you
’
re wrong. You took what was
most
important
to me. You took my birthright.”

“What are you talking about? Father
named me successor because I was first born.”

“Ding,
ding, ding, wrong again.
I
was first born.”
Vind studied Cy
’
s stunned reaction. “
What,
after all these years mother never told you? I should have known she would
still be protecting you. Well, let me enlighten you. This all started before
the war, when Alpheus accidently told me I was first-born. Once he realized
what he
’
d done, he pretended to be confused. I
’
ve
known him my entire life, and he
’
s never confused a single fact. I went to Mother
and, of course, she wouldn
’
t admit it. She
’
d never betray her
precious husband
’
s decision—you know her motto, stand by your man
and all that crap. To make a long story short, I captured the doctor who
delivered us and beat the truth from him.”

“I
can
’
t believe this,” Cy said. “
This,
is the
reason you tried to kill me before my coronation, and then started the war? Let
me tell you something about our father, Vind. He was a smart king, who knew
exactly what he was doing by not choosing you. He always saw through your
suck-ups, and pretentiousness. Every time you tried to convince him you were
the, ‘
good son,
’
he
knew what you really were. So if you believe the reason he chose me was due to
anything other than you
’
ve been an evil, self-centered, prick since the
day you were born—” Cy stopped, took a deep breath and blew it out. “You know
what, I don
’
t care what you think, because regardless if you
feel our parents betrayed you, it does
not
give you the right to prey on
others the way you have your entire life.”

The
chains creaked as Cy leaned forward and pinned Vind with a cold stare. “I
’
m
going to give you some ‘
brotherly
’
advice,
” he said, spitting the word as if it left a bad
taste. “You need to go ahead and kill me now, because I
will
get out of
here. And when I do, I
’
m going to send you straight to hell where you
belong.”

Vind
stood with his arms crossed and placed one hand up to cup his chin, as if considering
the advice, “Nah,” he said with a zealous flair. “I cannot end your life,
yet
.
I
’
m enjoying myself
way
too much. I haven
’
t
even told you the best part. I
’
m taking Riana to a fertility site tonight. And
when she begs me to take her, she will become pregnant with my child. I may
even put a monitor down here so you can watch your lovely life-mate give birth
to my first born.” He walked out the cell door and motioned to the guard at the
end of the hall.

“I
’
m
going to kill you for this, Vind,” Cy screamed. “If it
’
s
the last thing I ever do. I. Will. End. You.”

Two guards entered the cell. One held
a ball gag in his hand.

“Shut
him up.” Vind shouted the command over Cy
’
s screaming threats.

Vind
looked at Soren. “You and the men go ahead to the site and make sure no one
’
s
around. Place them two thousand feet from the fertility pool, circling the
entire area. Soren left to follow his orders.

He
watched Cy fight to keep the ball-gag from entering his mouth until he hung
limp from exhaustion. Fresh blood ran from his wrist down his torso, stopping
at the waist of his jeans. “I
’
ll return with my present soon, brother.”

Cy cracked one eye, a weak roar
emitting from his muffled throat.

Vind
left the cell and headed upstairs to Riana
’
s room. He unlocked
the door and looked around her empty bedroom, but the low hum of a blow dryer
came from inside the bathroom. He sat in the chair beside her bed and waited.

Five
minutes later the bathroom door opened. She wore the gown he
’
d
instructed Ms. Rizzo to put on her earlier. Her skin looked like porcelain
beneath the lace, and her auburn hair flowed down her back in loose waves. But
the huge smile on her face surprised him most. For the first time, she looked
at him without her usual loathsome expression.

“Cy.” Riana ran to him, climbed onto
his lap and kissed him like he really mattered. Her tongue slipped between his
lips and she explored his mouth. She tasted fresh, and as sweet as a spring
breeze in full bloom.

I
’
m going to enjoy this more than I thought.
He pulled back and looked into her eyes.
Man,
that witch did a number on her.
“I have a big night planned. Are you ready
to go?”

“I
’
m
more than ready.” Her voice held a sultry tone he
’
d
never heard from her before.

Vind
stood and sat her feet on the floor. He walked to her closet and pulled a long
white fur coat from the hanger. “Here, let
’
s take your necklace
off so the minerals in the water don
’
t ruin it.”

Her
hand went to her throat, and for a fraction of a second, confusion flitted
through her eyes. As fast as it appeared, it left. “You
’
re
right. I definitely don
’
t want to ruin it.”

Vind deactivated and removed the
choker and placed it inside a drawer. He slipped her coat on, then picked her
up and transported them to the geothermal pool located near Reykjanes in northwest
Iceland.

When
they materialized, Riana
’
s eyes widened as she looked skyward. “Wow, this
is amazing. I can already feel the magnetic pull throughout my body. It
’
s
the most incredible thing I
’
ve ever felt.”

Vind
looked toward the sky. The view of the Aurora Borealis made him homesick for
Sivadia. Various shades of blues, greens and white swirled through the air,
displaying Mother Nature at her finest. He could feel her energizing pull deep
inside his cells, too. The atmospheric pressure was as close to Sivadia
’
s
as any place on Earth, and the reason a lot of Sivadians lived close to these
regions.

He
sat Riana on her feet. “Are you ready?” he asked. They needed to make this
quick. Henley told him the spell would last until she slept and woke in the morning.
If the witch knows what
’
s good for her, it had better be the truth.

Riana
let the coat slip from her shoulders, and pulled the satin ribbon on the gown.
It fell to the ground, revealing full breasts and the feminine curve of her
hips. She was a pain in the ass when she wasn
’
t cursed, but he
couldn
’
t deny her beauty. He walked her to the edge of
the Olympic-size geothermal pool. She pulled his hand as if expecting him to go
into the water. He shook his head and turned her hand loose. “Go on,” he urged.
“This is for you. I
’
ve been told it
’
s quite energizing
for females.”

She
eased further into the steaming pool. A look of pleasure came over her as she
slipped beneath the warm water. She remained under for a few minutes before
surfacing. Her skin took on a faint, silver glow, accompanied by a look of pure
bliss. She fell back and floated atop the water. The longer she stayed and
absorbed the combination of electromagnetism and centuries old minerals from
deep within the Earth
’
s core, the brighter her body glowed.