Reba''s eyes burned with seething rage as she watched Asher casually raise the Whisper Stone in his hand towards his lips.


    "No! Don''t you dare!" Her vehement outburst made Asher pause as he looked at her with a smile.


    "If you dare me not to, then the more inclined I feel to do it. Perhaps you might want to reiterate what you really want to say." His voice was silk, smooth, and mocking, each word a barbed hook that wrapped around her pride.


    Reba gritted her teeth as her face flushed in anger and frustration, knowing that he was indirectly demanding her to beg. "You don''t want to?" Asher asked with a tilt of his head and added as he activated the whisper stone, "Fine then."


    "Please...don''t..." The words barely escaped her lips, a whisper torn from the very heart of her being, each syble a piece of her pride crumbling to dust.


    The very idea of her son in pain, or worse, the image of his lifeless body, was more than she could bear. Knowing how Oberon kept calling out for her while he was tortured only made her feel like she had failed him. She wasn''t there when he needed her the most.


    Tears of frustration, pain, and helplessness clouded her eyes, yet she held them back, for she could not make herself appear weak before this scum.


    Asher''s amusement was palpable as he toyed with the whisper stone, his thumb hovering over its surface, "That''s more like it," he whispered, "Now, let''s discuss my terms."


    Reba raised her head, her eyes burning with fury, "You bastard," she hissed, "What do you want from me?"


    Asher coldly smiled as he chuckled, "Don''t tell me you already forgot what I demanded from you in exchange for saving your son''s life. It''s not like I am running a charity here, especially not for someone like you and your son."


    Reba''s left hand clenched into a fist until it turned a sickly white, "If you want to kill me…I will let you kill me, or I will just kill myself…as long as you rescue him," Reba felt that the worst thing that could happen to her was bing this rascal''s ve.


    He might even use her to hurt Oberon for revenge, and that terrified her more than anything. She would rather die than let anything happen to Oberon because of her.


    At least once he gets rescued, she can send him off to a safe ce, far from this bastard, and Oberon will be safe for the rest of his life.


    Asherughed before he shook his head and said in a mocking tone, "Aw, how motherly of you to try and sacrifice your life for your son. But no. You don''t get to escape your fate that easily. Death is thest thing I want for you."


    Reba''s face became taut upon realizing that he was far more obsessed with making her and Oberon pay.


    Asher''s eyes burned with an eerie, cold fire as he added, "All those years, you let me suffer andughed while your son tortured me to his heart''s content while plotting to make your son marry my woman. This is ignoring the fact that you tried to kill me just a couple minutes ago and threatened to hurt my women. You think I am going to forget all that and let you die that easily? I am the one going to make you suffer, and even if you shed tears of regret or beg me to stop…I won''t."


    Reba''s pale red eyes shook upon feeling the intensity of his resentment that sent a shiver down her spine, "You are a monster…a fiend…" Asher clutched her face firmly as he leaned forward to whisper, "It takes one to know one. It''s pathetic to make yourself sound like a hypocrite."


    He then took a step back and shrugged, "So what is it going to be? As they say, a mother should also be responsible for their son''s crimes. I will let off Oberon as long as you take his ce and ept punishment on his behalf as well."


    Reba blinked her eyes upon hearing his words. Will he really let off Oberon? She lowered her head as she contemted what she should do for Oberon.


    "Or do you want to let him rot away and die miserably? I don''t think he is going tost more than a few days under such cruel treatment or...maybe even a day. You know how the draconians are. I will also give you back your hand, and you can reattach it once you return home." His offer,ced with a faux benevolence, was a venom masked as a remedy, a salvation wrapped in ultimatums.


    Slowly, Reba raised her head, the chains clinking softly in the oppressive silence. Her gaze, once a tempest of red fury, now simmered with a hatred so pure it threatened to ignite the very air between them. Each word she spoke was a dagger wrapped in velvet, "Only on two conditions."


    Asher raised one of his brows, "How bold of you to make demands in your pathetic state. Still, let me hear what those conditions are first.."


    Reba harrumphed before she narrowed her eyes and said, "You can''t ever make me hurt Oberon or hurt him…not more than what you have already done to him." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Asher shrugged and said, "I can put up with that. That traitorous rat is quite lucky to have a loving mother like you. What''s thest one?"


    Reba furrowed her brows and answered, "Myst condition is that you can never demand me to reveal any of my memories to you or anyone. I don''t care if you order me to clean your feet, but I don''t want you poking in my head."


    Asher''s lips curved slowly beforeughing, making Reba frown and add, "If you can''t agree to that…you better kill me now."


    Asher''sughter slowly died down as he looked into her eyes and said with a look of suspicion, "You are that desperate to protect your memories? I wonder what little secrets you are hiding in there which are more important than your son?" Asher truly found it surprising that she wasn''t willing topromise on this condition despite Oberon''s life hanging in the bnce.


    "That is none of your business. These two are the only conditions I have, and I won''t give in to your demands if you refuse even one of them," Reba said in a cutting tone, her gaze frigid.


    He never expected her to care about something more than Oberon or…could it be rted to him as well? Perhaps it is the secrets of her house, though she didn''t strike him as the kind who cares about her duties and responsibilities towards her house, unlike her sister.


    Asher could only guess, though he felt it was a bummer since he nned to make her show him her memories and see if she had anything to do with Rowena''s mother''s death. He was also hoping to find out the weaknesses of House Thorne and any other secrets she might know.


    But he could see it in her eyes that if he refused any of her conditions, she would definitely choose death above all.


    He couldn''t think of anything else to make her bendpletely...not now.


    Still…he wasn''t prepared topletely give up. Nothing was set in stone. "Fine. It''s not like I care about your little secrets more than whatever I have nned for you," Asher said with a casual shrug, making Reba slowly release her breath as if in relief.


    She had prepared herself for the worst, though even if he did ept her conditions, it was not like her situation was that much better.


    "I want a Blood Oath Contract to be signed between us. Your words can never be trusted," Reba said with a scowl.


    "Speak for yourself. But if that is going to make you feel better…" Saying so, Asher took out a Blood Oath Contract, quickly inscribed the conditions, and signed it with his blood before showing it to Reba, who carefully read every word.


    To her surprise, he listed all the conditions just as she said without leaving any loopholes while she was expecting him to be cunning with the words.


    Feeling reassured by the conditions, she reluctantly and grudgefully let a drop of her blood pierce out of her skin and drop onto the contract, finalizing the contract before it disappeared into nothingness.


    Asher said with a cold smile, "Now that your conditions have been agreed to...it''s time to make you my ve."


    Just what was he going to make her do as his ve?


    Her heart thudded against her chest as a hundred scenarios poured into her mind.


    Before Reba could react or say anything, he moved with blinding speed, appearing behind her back in an instant. With a rough tug, he tore the fabric of her ck dress from her back, revealing the shapely and smooth skin of her back.


    "You!" Reba gasped, her face flushing with shame and anger upon feeling her back getting exposed to the cold air.


    Even though she wasn''t physically hurt, she felt like he tore open a part of her dignity.


    Asher''sugh was icy, "Don''t act so surprised. You must know better than anyone how a ve seal is applied," Saying so, he mmed his palm onto her bare back, and a dark green light engulfed her, making her wince in pain as her cries echoed through the hall.


    "Don''t bother resisting. You signed the contract, and now…you are mine," Asher whispered beside her ear as she gritted her teeth.


    Dark green lines spread over her back, making Reba wince harder in pain while feeling her body get hotter. She could feel scorching chains wrapping around her body and mind, making her realize that her freedom and dignity were being stripped gradually.


    Not long after, her painful grunts gradually began to die down.