Buried in shame. Rising in power

CHAPTER SIX — The Patriarch’s Shadow

The chamber pulsed with dim red light, each beat echoing Ethan’s shaky breaths. Mia held him desperately, feeling the unnatural heat radiating off his skin. His eyes still shimmered faintly with red—the last traces of whatever the Blood Oath had awakened inside him.

Jordan stood nearby, perfectly composed, though a flicker of awe betrayed him.

“Congratulations, Young Master. The Patriarch will be pleased you finally accepted your lineage.”

Ethan didn’t answer. His silence was a shield—weak but unbroken.

Jordan gestured to the guards.

“Escort them to the Upper Wing. Separate—”

“She stays,” Ethan rasped.

“Young Master, the Patriarch specifically—”

Ethan lifted his head. His eyes flashed. The air trembled.

“She stays.”

Jordan swallowed and nodded stiffly. “Very well.”

Ethan leaned heavily against Mia as they walked down the metallic corridor. Every step drained him. His pulse throbbed beneath her fingers, his breaths shallow.

“What did they do to you?” Mia whispered.

He didn’t answer. Couldn’t.

They reached a vast hall, colder and darker than the rest. The moment they entered, a suffocating pressure filled the air. Mia stumbled, almost choking on the heaviness.

And then she saw him.

A tall, white-haired man stood at the far end, back straight, presence immense. He didn’t speak. Didn’t blink. Just watched them with eyes as sharp as cracked ice.

Ethan stiffened.

“Father.”

Mia’s blood turned cold.

The Patriarch of the Dominion.

He stepped closer, each footstep an unspoken command.

“So. My son returns.”

His gaze slid to Mia.

“And this… is your wife.”

Mia straightened despite her fear. “Yes.”

The Patriarch studied her like an insect pinned under glass.

“Ordinary.”

Ethan’s jaw clenched. “She is not.”

The Patriarch ignored him. “Child, do you understand the bloodline you’ve married into?”

“No,” Mia admitted, “but I know who Ethan is.”

A faint, cruel smile.

“Courage. Useless, but admirable.”

He turned sharply to Ethan.

“You defy me already. Your mother’s softness still rots inside you.”

“Don’t talk about her.” Ethan’s voice was low, dangerous.

Mia stepped in front of him without thinking.

“Stop speaking to him like that. You don’t get to break someone then pretend you’re owed respect.”

Jordan inhaled sharply. The guards tensed.

The Patriarch lifted a hand.

Ethan’s eyes widened. “Father, don’t—!”

An invisible force crushed around Mia’s throat. She gasped, clawing at her neck as her knees buckled.

“STOP!” Ethan roared.

The Patriarch tightened his fingers.

Ethan’s aura surged—red, violent, unstable.

The room shook. The lights flickered. The air turned razor-sharp.

For the first time, the Patriarch paused.

He lowered his hand. The pressure vanished.

Mia collapsed, coughing, tears in her eyes.

Ethan rushed to her, barely keeping himself upright.

“Mia—look at me. Breathe.”

She grabbed his shirt, trembling. “Ethan… what is this place?”

He didn’t answer. He couldn’t look at her.

The Patriarch observed them with chilling calm.

“Your power awakens quickly. Good. You will need it.”

He turned away from them, hands clasped behind his back.

“You will remain here under Dominion supervision. Training begins at dawn.”

Ethan lifted his head.

“And if I refuse?”

The Patriarch didn’t blink.

“Then your wife dies.”

The words sliced through the room.

Mia’s breath hitched. Ethan stopped breathing entirely.

“No…” he whispered. “You won’t touch her.”

The Patriarch tilted his head slightly.

“You’ve forgotten your place. Allow me to remind you.”

He gestured.

Four elite guards entered silently, spreading out around Ethan. Their movements were precise, professional—predators surrounding prey.

Mia clutched Ethan’s arm.

“No—Ethan, don’t go with them!”

His hand tightened around hers.

“I’ll be okay,” he whispered, though his voice trembled. “Just stay alive. And Mia… don’t trust anyone here.”

His strength finally gave out. The guards grabbed him, holding him upright as they began to drag him away.

“Ethan!” Mia screamed, reaching out.

His fingers slipped from hers.

“Mia—stay—”

The doors slammed shut.

Mia staggered forward, but a guard blocked her path, expression blank.

The Patriarch didn’t spare her a glance as he walked past.

“Put her in the Observation Wing. The Prince’s obedience depends on her safety.”

Safety.

A lie dressed in silk.

Mia was escorted away, heart breaking, body shaking. Ethan was gone. The Dominion swallowed him whole—again.

And she had no idea how to save him.

Ethan has been taken for brutal “training” under the Dominion command. Mia is isolated, watched, and treated as leverage. The Patriarch controls everything—and Ethan’s life now depends entirely on obedience.