Aldus didn't sleep.
The night passed in suffocating silence, each second dragging painfully slowly as the bond inside him thrashed and screamed. He hadn't moved from where they'd chained him — not because he couldn't, but because there was no point.
She was gone.
And no matter how many times he tried, no matter how deep he inhaled, her scent was nowhere. Not on the wind. Not in the room. Not even faintly lingering on his skin where her essence should have been.
It was as if Livia had vanished from the world.
A low growl rumbled in his chest, dark and feral, vibrating against the walls of his chamber. The chains around his wrists clinked with the movement, each sounding like an insult. The iron burned against his skin, but he didn't care.
