The stunned, collective silence of the Grand Hall was a heavier crown than any title I held.
For a moment, the only noise was the faint, hissing catch of breath from the glorious, frightening creature standing before me.
Silas.
His gold, slitted eyes never wavered from me, and in that long second, it was as if the whole world—the chandeliers, the silks, the snobbish Marquesses and their simpering daughters—was holding breath.
The bonding collar, a thin platinum band, was cold and heavy in my hand. I stepped on ahead, my trained demeanor never wavering, tuning out the clamorous shouting of the Fates Tracker in my head.
"Lady Vane is being a fool!" someone breathed, loudly enough for half of the hall to overhear.
"She's gone mad. The Fox is the only one!" another voice spat.
Then, there was a snarl—a tone of raw, hurtful entitlement—split the room. Caspian was shaking the bars of his cage, his golden coat standing on end, his handsome fox-face contorted into a face mask of shock and frantic, begging fury. He wasn't merely losing a Pet Shifter sitting; he was losing his golden ticket to power and wealth.
I didn't give him so much as a glance. I was fixed on Silas, who stood watch of my coming with an unblinking stillness that was more troubling than any overt threat. He was huge, coiled around his stone pillar, a beast of primal, black danger.
I came to his cage, the chilled metal a jarring contrast to the soft, velveted others. I knelt, holding up the collar.
"I have selected you, Silas," I announced, my voice sounding with an authority I had not realized I had in my previous life. "And you, as bond-mate to me, shall have carte blanche. I merely ask for your loyalty to my vengeance."
His lips hardly moved. "And what does the little bird of a Marquess need revenge for?" His voice was a low, dry rasp, like scales rasping over stone. It wasn't charming; it was raw, horribly real.
I smiled, the diamond-hard core of spite in my chest a solid comfort. "For being stupidly in love with a liar and a thief," I said, the words clipped and final.
With a fluid, liquid motion, Silas's hand reached out between the bars. Cool against my fingers, his skin was slicked with fine black scales as he removed the collar. His gold eyes met mine, and I glimpsed that simple, ancient ferocity. He did not desire my fortune; he craved anarchy.
The hall air seemed weighted, ozone-rich.
Snap.
The collar was secure, tied about his neck. A blazing, white light exploded, a magic that only noble families and bound Shifters might perceive, binding our fates together. The physical feeling was a surge of power—a cold, vast, ancient flow that exploded through me. I was no longer simply the daughter of a Marquess; I was the Mistress of a killer.
A victorious, but still frustrated, chime rang in my head.
[ MINI-QUEST: PREPARATION COMPLETE ]
[ Reward: 100 Vengeance Points (VP ) ]
[ STUPIDLY IN LOVE DEBUFF AVERTED ]
[ NEW SKILL: Viper's Focus Unlocked ]
I stood tall, my eyes scanning the room. Seraphina's face was absolute horror—she watched her inheritance and her future lover fade away. And Caspian. he was a broken image of a Golden Fox, his desperate snarls devolving into a high-pitched, plaintive whimper.
I proceeded to the entrance of Silas's cage, pulling out the tiny, silver key. The bars swung open with a loud clack.
"Welcome to my life, Silas," I whispered, backing away.
He stood, coiling to his full, looming height. He was stunning the way a flawless predator is stunning: frightening, perfect, and completely merciless.
He nodded slowly, evaluatingly, the kind of nod that said everything.
The anarchy was his.
"The anarchy begins now," he said, a small, hard smile flitting across his lips.
I put my arm through his, and we stepped out of the hall, prepared to tear down the world that had suffocated me.