Ryder’s POV

Darkness came first. Heavy, pressing, laced with the stink of rust and damp stone. My head pounded when I blinked awake, the taste of iron thick in my mouth.

A cell. Narrow walls, a barred door, and chains biting into my wrists. I didn’t need the stink of smoke curling faintly in the air to know who had dragged me here.

Jasper.

The bastard leaned against the far wall like he’d been waiting for me to open my eyes. A grin slashed across his face, all teeth and ...