The witch was coming.

Don’t show fear. Sue-Ellen knew better than to let Anastasia see. Like most predators, Anastasia would leap upon any sign of weakness and exploit it.

In many ways, it reminded Sue-Ellen of Uncle Theo. Her dead uncle Theo. Good riddance. She’d worn a veil at the funeral so no one would see that she didn’t cry.

Why would she? At least now her brothers were free. Her whole family was. So why was Sue-Ellen still here? Still dancing to someone else’s tune?

Because Samael is here. Because he needed her. At least, he used to. Of late, she wondered if he really had any use for her at all.

What are you talking about? He wanted you here tonight.

The request for her presence was the first in a while. Pride screamed at her to say no. The same pride that kept her from calling her family to say she’d made a mistake and was coming home.

But where Samael was concerned, she had no shame. The call to join him came, and Sue-Ellen ran to be with Samael.

I am so pathetic. So pitiful that she didn’t leave while he made her wait. Like a good girl, she bided her time in a room to the side of the stage, with hands clasped, the picture of demure obedience as Samael was paraded in front of a crowd.

How he must hate it. Sue-Ellen certainly hated all the times Parker had used her for the cameras.

“Smile,” Uncle would say, the subtle threat in his tone clear. She smiled and pretended.

And no one ever noticed.

It was how she knew Samael’s grin must be fake. He was just as much a prisoner as she had been, and his incarceration had started even younger.

According to her late uncle, Samael had been under the priestess’s control since he was a child, whereas Sue-Ellen had been taken hostage by her uncle Theo only about six years ago.

Six years.

Six years of her life. Gone.

And for what? So Parker could use Sue-Ellen to keep her brothers in line. So he could dangle her in front of a wild-eyed Samael, who looked so hopeless in his restraints.

All those years, wasted. I was used. Used by an uncle who claimed she gave him the appearance of legitimacy. The doting uncle and his loving niece. Parker especially needed that image boost since his own children had stopped visiting after his wife suffered an unfortunate incident—also known as crossing Uncle Theo. They never did find her aunt’s body. The car had sailed off that cliff into the ocean and had never been recovered. They had only a single eyewitness to tell the story—and the last known GPS coordinates of the onboard navigation system that confirmed it.

Now, with her uncle gone, shifters and dragons outed to the world, Sue-Ellen stood at a crossroads.

From this point on, everything will change. She knew it from the hush that suddenly settled over everything.

Creeping closer to the door, she peeked out to the larger room outside this one. The silence hung thickly in the air. She dared a peek. Samael stood before a small crowd, chin lifted with a haughtiness she didn’t recognize.

Where had that come from? When?

He appeared tall and proud. A golden god for the people. A puppet for the evil priestess.

The man she’d fallen for six years ago.

He was also the one guy she could never have. Anastasia had made it quite clear that Samael was destined for greater things than the daughter of a swamp gator.

It didn’t stop Sue-Ellen from dreaming.

It doesn’t have to be a dream. The voice she heard wasn’t hers. Funny how optimism sounded just like him.

She sighed, and Samael’s head turned as if he’d heard it. His gaze caught hers. Green fire danced in the depths of his eyes. Most of the amber glow was gone now. Perhaps Parker had siphoned off too much with his experiments.

A lip quirked, and she could swear she heard a whispered, “Soon we’ll be together, my precious.”

She should have been excited. Samael wanted her. He showed it every time they stole a kiss. Because of who and what he was, they had to hide their love for each other. Could only indulge in brief moments.

It kept her pure.

And very frustrated.

Did he feel the same frustration?

Sometimes, she wondered. They weren’t together a lot, just the rare times when he visited, and those were closely guarded.

With your uncle dead, we won’t have to hide anymore.

That was the message he’d sent less than a week ago, smuggled to her by the maid. A very nice note and yet he didn’t explain how they’d get around Anastasia.

The priestess would fight hardest against them being together. Samael was too important to sully himself with a gator girl.

Given he was the only Gold dragon left of his kind, a Golden who was in his twenties now, there was pressure on poor Samael to reproduce. But his guardian didn’t want just anyone to get his seed. Rumor had it Samael was about to get engaged—and not to Sue-Ellen. Even worse? She had a sneaky suspicion he would do nothing to stop it.

At times, it seemed like she knew everything about Samael, and yet, more and more, she felt as if she didn’t know him at all.

Was everything he told me a lie? Once Parker had released him from the medical dungeon, Samael began meeting her in secret. He told her, as they hid in abandoned rooms of the house, that he was the one foretold. Some big-shot dude in the dragon religion.

But this was where it got confusing because he often claimed he didn’t know if he could handle the pressure. And yet, at other times, he bragged about how one day he would rule the world.

“I will make the decisions. I will set the rules, which means”—and he turned to her with an ardent gaze—“we can be together in the open.”

When she was still a girl with rose-colored glasses, she believed it. But now, looking at him on stage, shoulders back, head held at a proud angle, she had to wonder.

Wonder if she ever really knew him at all.

Why do I stay? Parker wasn’t here anymore to threaten her family. Brandon and Wes, actually everyone she still loved, had scattered when news of shifters existing came out. They saw which way the wind might blow and preferred to stay out of its reach.

Full humans had a tendency to overreact, and when that happened, people got shot, and shifters were susceptible to bullets, even the plain metal ones.

Sue-Ellen had remained for only one reason. For the boy she’d met years ago. The one she’d thought they tortured.

As it turned out, the one being tortured was her brother, and sometimes, at night, she still cried at what had happened to Brandon. And then she’d made it worse. When he’d come to save her, she’d sent him away. Turning her back on him had broken her heart. But Sue-Ellen’s brother needed to move on. He deserved a chance at happiness when he escaped his curse of being a monster.

Now Sue-Ellen’s dilemma was hers alone.

I should get out of here.

There was no reason to stay.

If she wasn’t around, then Samael would be free to marry the right person. His people had waited so long for a Golden and an heir. A true heir. The only thing in the way was her.

The news conference ended abruptly, Samael bidding the media people a curt, “We’re done,” before turning and heading for her.

Sue-Ellen backed away from the door and clasped her hands, wishing she’d had this epiphany sooner and had practiced a speech. Then again, she’d thought about this before. She’d just lacked the guts to do it.

Not this time.

Samael entered, his smile wide. “Did you see how rapt their attention was?”

“Yes. You did well. But I am surprised to see you announced your existence. What happened to keeping it secret because of the danger?”

He waved a hand. “I don’t fear danger. Besides, it was time. My enemies have begun to move against me.”

“How can you have enemies when no one knew you existed?” That part of his conspiracy mindset never made any sense.

His smile lost some of its shine. “I thought you would be happy for me.”

“I am.” She sighed. “But don’t you see? Now that you’ve told everyone, it’s more obvious than ever. We can’t be together. It’s time for me to leave.”

“No.”

She’d expected him to argue. “I know this is hard, Samael, but it’s for the best. You need to move on. We both do.”

“I plan to. However, I’m not done with you.” The words emerged flat and hard.

“Well, I am. I’m leaving. And I’m going to ask that you not try and stop me.”

He leaned against the door, blocking her exit. “You will go when I say you can go. I’m the one in charge here.”

“Excuse me?” She’d seen Samael turn cold before, just never with her.

“I was really looking forward to our time together. Perhaps that will still happen, although I can’t see the guards letting a prime piece like you go to waste.” He shook his head. “And I can’t stand sullied women.”

“You’re not making any sense.” Sue-Ellen backed away from him, retreated until her back hit the wall. She needed it to hold herself up. “Just because I’m breaking up with you doesn’t mean you get to punish me.” Said with all the bravery she could muster, and yet fear soured her stomach. Samael did have the power. The power to do anything he liked it seemed.

“We can’t break up because we were never a couple. You were never even a real choice.”

“But those things you said…” The times he’d kissed her. Told her how he felt.

The laughter said it all. “You really are a gullible swamp girl, aren’t you?” He opened the door and snapped his fingers. His ever-present bodyguards, with their disturbing lack of scent, approached, and the priestess followed them in.

Sue-Ellen aimed a pleading look at Anastasia. “Let me go. I did everything I was asked.”

“Do you really expect me to release you?” The arched brow was carved perfection. “You know too much, girl. Just count yourself lucky that no one did this earlier. I’ve been advocating for your imprisonment for years.”

“Take her below.” Samael gave the order, and his guards closed in on her.

“Samael!” She turned a beseeching gaze on him. “Don’t do this.”

For a moment, his expression softened. “I won’t let you come to harm, my precious.”

She smiled, a wobbly expression, and managed a choked, “Thanks.”

She shouldn’t have wasted her breath. Instead of freeing her, he’d cemented her fate. “Take her, but I don’t want her hurt.” Hands grabbed at her arms. “Place her in one of the solitary cells. No one is to be allowed in but me and Dr. Michaels.”

The Dr. Michaels? Samael hadn’t gotten rid of him?

But he said he did. Said he killed him.

And she’d plastered him with kisses.

Rough fingers gripped her tightly, bruising her skin.

“No. You can’t do this. Please, Samael.” She couldn’t help but beg, beseech the boy she’d fallen in love with. The one she’d stayed for. The one she’d given up everything for.

The one who now betrayed her.

He held up a hand. “Stop.”

The guards carrying her halted, and Samael approached. Sue-Ellen bit her lip—too hard judging by the coppery taste of blood. Better she hurt than sob aloud in relief. She knew he couldn’t hurt her.

Like Uncle Theo, he just wanted to scare her. It worked. She was terrified.

His fingers threaded through her hair, gripping the strands tight. “I never could resist you from the moment I first saw you.” His mouth came down hard on hers, almost bruising her lips with the forceful mashing. She tried to find some measure of passion or thrill in his embrace, but all she felt was all-consuming fear.

Sharp teeth nipped at her lip, and she cried out at the pain. He shoved her away from him.

“This is how you beg for your life? Take her away.”

Samael kept his word. He had her placed in a solitary cell, a prison where no one came to visit. Twice a day food would arrive, pushed through a slot.

A part of her wanted to ignore the sustenance, to curl into a ball and cry in a corner, but she wouldn’t give in that easily.

She’d survived her uncle and his games.

She’d survive Samael, too.

By her reckoning, she had been imprisoned five days before he made an appearance.

It seemed unfair that he looked as handsome as ever. The tall, golden icon that all the dragons had been waiting for. Little did they know that they’d waited for a jerk.

She snapped at him when he entered her cell. But her human teeth didn’t instill any fear.

She would have dearly loved to change shapes and really give him a good bite. But Uncle Theo had long ago suppressed her beast side. Something in the food made her other half slumber.

“Is that any way to greet me?” Samael chided. “I would have thought you’d have had time to rethink your attitude by now.”

“My attitude?” She couldn’t help an incredulous lilt. “Attitude is exactly what you should expect given that you locked me up.”

“The cell was unavoidable, but you could show some gratitude that I didn’t let the guards rape you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Actually, the words I’m looking for are ‘thank you.’”

“Thank you? Are you that delusional?” Sue-Ellen gaped at him. “I don’t believe this. I don’t believe you. To think I stuck around with my abusive uncle so that I could stay close to you.” Her voice rose as her shame at her own actions tumbled out. “I stayed even though I knew Uncle was using my captivity against my brothers. I stayed for you!”

“And in return, I made sure nothing was done to you. I told Parker you were mine.”

Which sounded so good on the surface. So perfect. And yet, when Samael said it, she knew the dragon in him saw her only as a possession. Not a person. Not even a living thing. Just another trinket for his hoard. That was, after all, what dragons lived for, their treasure trove.

Her chin lifted. “I am not yours.” She sneered. “I never will be. So you might as well kill me now if you don’t plan to let me go because I won’t be raped or used.” She’d die first.

“It won’t be rape. You’ll be begging me for it soon enough. How long do you think it will take? How many days of staring at these walls before you’re spreading your legs for me and pleading for me to take you?”

It would never happen. “For a supposed king, you’re a douchebag.”

Slap. His hand connected with her cheek. It stung, but she’d grown up with rough brothers and cousins. It might have been six years, but the tough bayou girl was still inside. That girl fought back.

Crack. The sound reverberated in the small room. She could almost hear its echo. It sounded an awful lot like, stupid girl.

Whack. His fist hit her, and she reeled from the blow. She knew the smart thing was to duck her head and apologize. She knew how this game was played.

But she was done playing nice.

So freaking done.

She wiped the blood from her lip and glared at him through her messy hair. “Is that your best shot? My little cousin hits harder than you.”

“Arrrrrrrgh!” His scream of frustration bounced off the walls, and before she could blink, he’d grabbed her by the thin gown she wore and slammed her against the wall. He slammed her again and again, enough that her head rattled. Enough that she couldn’t see straight. Her ears rang, and blackness crept.

Soon, soon she’d die, and she wouldn’t have to worry about any of this anymore.

As if reading her mind, he stopped. He leaned in close and murmured, “Dying is too easy, my precious. I should leave you here. Forever. But that wouldn’t be any fun. There’s also the matter of your attitude. Disrespect won’t be tolerated.” Still holding on to her, he turned and dragged her to the door of her cell.

He yanked her through, ignoring the fact that she dragged her feet. Disregarded the pounding of her hands on his grip.

Where is he taking me?

She didn’t like the angry set of Samael’s jaw or the determined stride. She especially didn’t like that he was dragging her the wrong way. Not toward the elevator and the freedom of the floors aboveground, but deeper into the place, to a door that required a palm print scan.

I lied. I’m not ready to die.

The hissing of seals breaking didn’t reassure. Samael dragged her through, and the door slid shut, and she could hear the bolts sliding home.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

Samael kept dragging her, and she stumbled as best she could, but that task proved hard when he maneuvered the rough stone steps. The jagged rock that she scraped going down dug into skin as her thin robe—the medical kind that flapped open at the back—did little to protect her. As for her bare feet? Nothing covered them at all.

The stairs descended for a long time, lit by nothing, and yet Samael had no difficulties maneuvering.

Eventually, Sue-Ellen, too, could blink and see in the darkness. A faint luminescence let her discern things. Such as the soldiers ringing the outer walls. Armed with big guns. She saw a pit, a dark crater a few meters across.

A chasm crisscrossed with laser beams.

The type of pit that you threw bodies in if you never wanted them coming back out.

Sue-Ellen struggled in earnest, pulling and tugging and screaming.

“Samael, don’t. Please. Don’t do this.” She wanted to be brave, but certain death had a way of destroying a person.

“Release the grid.”

The beams over the pit wavered, and she noted that metal orbs, placed around the crevice, stopped glowing. What kind of shield was in this place? And was it to keep people out, or something in?

“Please.” She begged one last time. “If you ever loved me, don’t do this.”

“Love is for the weak. Respect is everything. You should have heeded that lesson.” Samael held her out over the empty space, his hands on her waist the only anchor to the world.

When he removed them, gravity accepted his offering. She plummeted with a shriek.