Her husband floated in midair above her, at least ten feet tall.

The ice in her blood expanded, ripping at her skin and clawing at her chest.

It’s not real. It’s only a hologram.

She tried to tell herself to calm down, but her body wouldn’t comply. Her shivers turning to full-on shakes, her lungs heaving. The monster from her nightmares had emerged during waking hours. And all the time, the heat twisted higher and higher, preparing her just the way he liked.

“After all this time,” the image glided closer, floating eerily through the drones buzzing overhead, “I could hardly believe it when my men told me.”

Perfect white-blond hair still framed an elegant jaw, long thin nose, and pale grey eyes the color of barren winter.

Two years later and Hollisworth hadn’t changed at all. He was still eerily beautiful, his features so symmetrical and sharp he appeared almost a perfect statue.

But she knew well he was flesh and blood, and rotten to the core.

Her mind screamed to run, but her muscles refused to obey. Every tendon locked in place by fear and loathing—and a conditioning she thought she’d upended.

“Scan her face and body.” The sharp command made her flinch.

Three drones glided downward, circling around her as the ugly black eye on each clicked and whirred.

It dawned on her then that the fighting had stopped. Everyone in the room but Valdus and his team skittering back, pressing their bodies into the rocky walls, their stunned faces turned upward, the stink of their fear so strong she could scent it in the air.

Or maybe that was just her own.

It didn’t take the machines long. With a flurry of clicks, the droids flashed green.

“So, it is you under all that red dirt and filth.” The hologram expanded in size, as if the man himself had moved closer to the screen, his lips twisting upward in a small, satisfied smile. “Finally.”

A wave of nausea crashed through her.

His image drifted closer to the ground, undulating as it flickered, making it appear as if he loomed directly over her, a serpent about to strike.

“You look…different.” The happy flush of his pale skin looked a lot like love. But obsession was different than caring and she had the scars to prove it. “You’ve been a very naughty fifth bride, Ayanna.”

A gurgling sound strangled in her throat.

“Why don’t we talk about it when you get here?” Valdus’s voice thundered through the room, a bracing slap that jolted her spine straight, cutting through the panic and the unwelcome heat to help her regain some clarity.

There was no fear in his voice. Only contempt.

“I don’t confer with worthless prisoner scum.” Unlike her, Hollisworth sounded less than impressed. The full force of his cold gaze still locked on her as if the man at her side mattered not at all. “Bride, step forward. Present.”

The command, so familiar, wrapped around her heart like chains, tightening until she could barely breathe. As if no time at all had passed. As if she was still exactly who she’d once been.

All that was left was to appease. To try and survive as best she could. Just like before.

Sucking down a shuddering breath, she lifted her foot to move forward—and was snapped back into place by a sharp tug at her wrist.

“I don’t think so.” Valdus’s words were a near growl as he held up the tether. “She’s with me now.”

The oddest swell of relief ran through her.

“You? A criminal? Covered in scars and blood and bruises. With her? No.” Contempt shaded her husband’s tone. “I’ll take care of that delusion very soon. But first…” His alabaster robe billowed behind him as he drifted closer. She recognized the damn thing as another one of his toys. Supple and light, the non-Earth material was actually stronger than Kevlar and laser-resistant. It had, unfortunately, enabled him to survive several assassination attempts.

“Ahh, fifth wife, my little butterfly.” His gaze roamed over every part of her like an oily touch. “Trapped once more. How I’ve missed our little back-and-forth. Everyone else makes it so easy.”

And that was the crux of it, wasn’t it? None of the other brides had been engineered as she had. Yes, he punished them. Controlled them. But he hadn’t strapped them down and shoved his toy inside their brains. Likely because he hadn’t had to do so. They were compliant, doing exactly as he said without question or hesitation. She’d never been like that, even when she’d believed in her role as breeder, even when she surrendered and appeased. There’d always been a tiny flicker of resistance that remained. But the more she nurtured that flame, the more she resisted, the more he’d focused on her. The more obsessed he’d become—until she was the only one he saw or wanted. Until breaking her was all he craved.

“I knew you’d return to me, and I’ve been busily preparing.” His voice slipped into conversation mode, as if it were just the two of them having a private chat, as if the other man’s claim meant nothing, and—though it couldn’t be real—the suffocating stench of heavy oak cologne and cruelty that had always clung to her husband’s skin burned through her lungs as if he were truly there. “You won’t believe the advances I’ve had my scientists working on since you…left.”

He was close enough now that she could make out the subtle lines around his mouth and eyes that hadn’t been there before, as if the ugliness inside was finally starting to rub its way outward.

“I’ve got more than a few surprises, but one in particular seems worth mentioning now. Thanks to that very mine you’re working in, and a little personal, painful motivation at their expense,” his robe lapped at his feet as he finally stopped moving closer, “those once-useless scientists have been able to do what I wanted from the start. Hone my little toy so that it only responds to me.” His gray gaze glittered with twisted excitement. “You understand what that means, fifth wife?”

Her breathing hitched.

“Once I put the latest version of the heat technology in you,” he continued, “I’ll be the only one who can keep you alive. You’ll be entirely dependent on me. Unable to run. Unable to leave my side for more than a few short hours.” Hunger flared in his stare, the same consuming, dark need she’d seen so many times before. “You’ll spread those legs for me alone—until you die.”

Frost coated her skin, her horrific future stretching before her—barren, hopeless, and agonizing.

“She doesn’t belong to you anymore, you sick fuck.” Hard steel blazed against her skin, a shock of warmth that revitalized her stalling heart—and amplified the heat.

Her captor had hauled her close, shoving her protectively half-behind him while still keeping his arms firmly around her waist.

“Remove your hands from my property at once.” This time more than simple irritation bled into Hollisworth’s tone, his voice warbling with a jealous rage she remembered all too well.

Valdus’s grip tightened. “You want her? Come and get her. I’ll be waiting.” His expression hardened further. “And just in case you need it spelled out, the female will be at my side until you arrive. As close as can be. So I’d think twice before sending your droids to shoot at my men or me. Same goes with trying to send inmate enforcers like Draeke and his gang. It would be a shame for anything to happen to her before you arrive.”

Her emotions ping-ponged in the other direction. The bastard wasn’t protecting her. He was using her as a human shield.

“You’ve had her, haven’t you?” Hollisworth’s voice was deceptively casual as he took in the tether around her wrist and Valdus’s stance. “Your dirty non-Council, criminal hands have been all over my property. Your cock inside my bride.” Her husband’s voice rose to a mocking taunt. “Or maybe you’re too gutless to have tried to fuck and claim what’s mine?”

Valdus’s low growl echoed through the room. “What do you think?”

She hated them both.

Her husband purpled. “I would have thought your time in the mines would have taught you some humility. But clearly you have no idea how foolish it is to cross your betters. Apparently, I was too lenient in letting you live. I should have wiped you from the universe along with those pathetic barrack-mates and family members who begged so loudly to be spared the consequences of your crimes.” He flicked an imaginary piece of lint from his pristine robe. “Good thing I didn’t listen. No one remembers any of you anymore. Nor your pitiful Resistance.”

The veins in her captor’s neck bulged.

Off to the side, Ryker let out a pained howl.

It was a cruelty she couldn’t let pass. Even after what her captor had done. “You’re lying and you know it,” she shouted. “The Resistance continues and those you killed have become inspirations to the cause, bolstering their numbers and their commitment. None of them have been forgotten, including these men.”

Her husband’s wintery gaze locked on her once more. “Switching sides to slum with those beneath you? You think you belong to him now because you’re tied in his ropes? That’s a foolish mistake, Aryanna. You’ll always be mine.”

“I don’t belong to him. Or you.”

Hollisworth’s nostrils flared wide. “You’ll regret that declaration.” His lips tilted upward in a menacing smile as he turned more fully toward Valdus. “As for you? I think it’s time you and my breeder learned exactly how insignificant you are.”

“You think your droids can catch us? Good luck.” Having taunted her husband once more, her captor lowered his voice and spoke under his breath. “The instant his droids start humming, I’m going to grab you and run. My men and I were expecting this. We’ll dodge their fire like before. I’ll keep you safe. Don’t worry. Just be ready. That bastard isn’t getting near you again.”

She started. His tone so different than the disgusting one he’d used to taunt Hollisworth. Was there a chance he’d just been posturing? Provoking her husband to rash behavior to ensure he’d come no matter what?

For the first time, she wondered if her captor’s plan might actually work. If he might just be able to save himself and his men—and her.

A small ember of hope sparked.

“Actually,” her husband’s smug voice shattered her optimism. “I have another idea in mind.”