My Dying Screams Went Unheard

Chapter 3 Blocked Agony

At midnight, the bond began to tear.

Pain hit the center of my chest and ran through every vein. The bond fought to keep its century-old hold while the pact tore it loose.

I fell against the bed, missed the edge, and struck the stone floor. My scream carried down the empty hall.

The severing had started.

For a hundred years, pain had sent me toward Cassius. I reached through the blood-bond before I could stop myself.

【Cassius, help me. It hurts.】

The connection opened.

Victoria’s moans flooded the link. Skin slapped against skin, followed by Cassius’s low growl. They were tangled in the bed where he had once sworn the bond made us eternal.

Victoria sensed me. Her pleasure sharpened, and she moaned louder.

Cassius answered at last.

【Stop this ridiculous charade, Eve. Your jealousy is pathetic.】

The link snapped shut.

I called his name once more, but the bond returned only silence.

The world went black.

Pale dawn filled the room when I woke in my bed. Elena, the Royal Physician, pressed a damp cloth to my forehead.

“Your Majesty,” she whispered, “Your life force is dangerously low.”

I looked at the gray mark above my collarbone. The night’s pain had burned through the last hope I kept making excuses for. Cassius had heard me. He had chosen to close the link.

The door swung open.

Cassius came in wearing his black leather traveling coat. His hair was neat, his skin spotless, untouched by the night that had left me unable to stand. He ignored Elena and looked down at me.

“Is your performance over? That display last night was embarrassing.”

Elena’s hand stopped above the basin. I said nothing.

“I’m leaving for the southern border. The inspection tour will take three days. Use the time to reflect on your duties as my consort, and get your dramatics under control.”

Exactly three days.

I turned my face toward the window so he would not see me smile.