A Trust to Follow

Published by: eXtasy Books

ISBN :978-1-4874-1965-3

Page :53

Word Count :17081

Publication Date :2018-05-25

Heat Level :

Available Formats : A Trust to Follow (prc) , A Trust to Follow (mobi) , A Trust to Follow (epub) , A Trust to Follow (pdf)

Category : Erotic Romance , Fantasy Romance , LGBTQIA+ Romance , Historical Romance , Editor's Choice

Product Code: 978-1-4874-1965-3

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In a world where magic is hated and feared, sometimes the bravest thing a man can do is trust.

Daymon is the second prince of a kingdom in which Evokers—those who possess intuitive magical abilities—have long since been treated with fear and mistrust. Marked as an Evoker himself, Daymon is captured by those who wish to take advantage of these powers. Now, the prince must put his faith in Rhyder, the captain of his guards—and the man Daymon has claimed as his own—to free him.

“You! Wake up!” Something was being held under his nose.

Daymon gagged, his body jerking back to life. His eyes slid open, feeling gritty and heavy, and he could see he was in some kind of cell. The light was dim, and it took him several moments for the figures in front of him to steady.

“Good, you’re awake. Drink up.”

“Wha—”

There was no time to say anything else. A man, different from the one who had captured him, held Daymon roughly as he tried to struggle, yanking his hair back so that his face was jerked toward the ceiling. The man spoke again, this time to his companion. “Make him drink. No need to be gentle about it.”

A second figure, lean and scrawny-looking, took the cup and held Daymon’s nose. Daymon pressed his lips together, but his head was pounding, and his vision was already growing fuzzy at the lack of air. The need for oxygen made him gasp against his will, and in an instant, the foul-smelling liquid was being forced down his throat. Daymon managed to spit some of it back out, but the hard grip on his hair prevented him from going anywhere. His eyes watered as he choked but swallowed the rest, hating himself for it.

“That’s enough,” the first of them said finally. “Too much of that and he won’t be waking up at all.” Without further comment, both of them turned to walk away.

“Wait! What did you make me drink?”

The first man kept walking, but the second stopped to smile at Daymon in a way that made his skin crawl.

“Just a little something to keep you good and quiet. Can’t have you turning into a monster and destroying the place, can we? No, you’ll stay put until we’re ready to hand you over to someone who’ll be able to take proper care of you.”

“Shut up and keep walking,” the other growled, and his partner shrugged and obeyed. The gate crashed closed behind them, followed by the sounds of a heavy lock being closed with a sharp grating.

Daymon tried to stand as he heard their footsteps echo away, but instead found himself on hands and knees without knowing exactly how he had gotten there. In fact, he couldn’t even seem to see straight ahead anymore, let alone stand. The room wavered before his eyes, looking for all the world as though it was leaning to and fro. Could he be on a boat? But no, that couldn’t be right. Daymon had been on plenty of boats before, and this was not the same sensation he felt while on the water. Besides, the floor beneath his hands was not wood, nor was it stone. The floor seemed to be made of densely packed, unyielding earth.

Magic. He needed to use it now before his body could give out completely. He might be lacking in physical strength, but this was the one thing he still had some shred of control over. He could still sense it, somewhere deep beneath his skin. If he could just manage to reach it, draw it out—

But like water through his fingers, it slid from his grasp the more he attempted to hold onto it, and Daymon’s eyes were trying to close on their own. He had failed, not only himself but Rhyder as well.

He registered the muffled thump his body made as he fell on his side, but felt nothing more than the vague coolness of the earth beneath him. At least there was no pain, he thought distantly. Lapsing into unconsciousness, he began planning his escape route. He would summon all of his magic to bring the place crashing down, he decided, and nobody would be able to stop him then. When I wake up… yes, as soon as I wake up again…

It grew dark for a time, and when Daymon opened his eyes again, he was alone. All was quiet. His head continued to throb unmercifully, but the cold, the dreadful cold, was worse. He glanced down and saw that he had been stripped of his clothing. His breath hitched in his throat. Surely not—they would never—no.

“Calm down, just calm down,” Daymon told himself under his breath. He was eventually able to make himself stop shivering by drawing his knees up to his chest and winding his arms tightly around his legs. No. He would have known if they had… there was pain, yes, but not that kind of pain. They were just trying to frighten him. Intimidate him. Scare tactics, which Daymon was smart enough to recognize and ignore.

Less easy to ignore was the gaping silence that exposed his own weakness. Guilt at his shortcomings which had led him here in the first place and nameless fears threatening to overwhelm him set Daymon’s heart pounding. He attempted to distract himself by wondering what would happen to him next.

In the eyes of these people, he was worth something—obviously. So Daymon was sure he would not be killed anytime in the near future. He would probably not even be seriously harmed. Had they wished, his captors could have easily already done so, which likely meant that he was being kept whole for something, or someone, else. He was well aware that any number of people, or even whole kingdoms, would pay handsomely for a young Evoker of royal blood.

The thought was not exactly reassuring. More comforting were thoughts of Rhyder. Even now, the heroic soldier was likely putting those famous skills of his to work, tracking Daymon down and coming up with a plan to get him back. The use of Daymon’s magic seemed ill-advised in light of that. There was as great a chance of bringing this whole place down on top of him as there was of freeing himself.