The moment the door was open, Selma rushed through it as if she was going to jump at him. But she stopped short, looking his bruised and bleeding body up and down with horror in her eyes.

“Oh, Kain.”

The scent of her anguish pulled the rumbling hum from his chest before he closed his arms around her, shackles and all, and pulled her soft body against his. His lashes hurt when she pressed against them, but the soothing comfort of her already familiar weight far overshadowed any discomfort. Lost in the sensation of her, he buried his face in her long hair to inhale her intoxicating aroma, never pausing his deep rumble.

His mate. His beloved.

“Could you guys maybe wait with the reunion shit until we’re out of here? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re in a fucking dungeon underneath one of the queen’s residences. If we want any chance at getting out, it needs to happen before they manage to call for reinforcements.”

Selma pulled away at his brother’s snide comment, her brown eyes filling with worry instead of joy.

“He’s right,” she said, her voice tight. “Kirigan is trying to contain the guards upstairs. We have to hurry.”

His father was there? Kesh had taken her to their father?

Through sheer force of will, Kain pushed away the worry clenching in his stomach. He could have words with his brother about putting his entrusted mate into danger—which damn well included bringing her here—later.

He glared at Kesh over the top of Selma’s head, but the other demon was too preoccupied with examining his chains to care.

“Resistant to our magic,” he muttered as he gave the lock an experimental prod with the tip of his knife. “It’ll take forever to pick this. They sure didn’t want you getting loose, eh? Selma, give it a try.”

Kain frowned as his mate grabbed the shackles around his wrists and stared intently at them. His unasked question was soon answered when pure white light burst from her palms and into the metal, cracking the lock open as efficiently as a rock to a walnut.

“What the fuck was that?”

Kesh quirked a sardonic eyebrow at him. “Oh, that? Yeah, turns out your Breeder is capable of killing even the strongest among us. And may I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your choice of mate? Well-picked. She sure is worth the shit-ton of trouble your claiming has caused.”

A defensive growl rumbled from his chest even as he eyed Selma with some hesitation. Had she always been capable of this? Had she somehow manipulated him into believing she was defenseless?

Her face contorted under his scrutiny, giving way to lines of anxiety and exhaustion.

“I didn’t know, Kain,” she whispered as if the questions were plain is his eyes.