“Wolfgang said he’d negotiated,” Aurelius said. “It has to be Kingdom of Claws. Roan is their shaman.”
“What of Maddie?” she asked.
“Lyric mentioned she was the friend of the Dire wolf’s mate and of Callon’s mate,” Aurelius reminded her.
“Dammit,” Athena spat. “That means we will have two powerful kingdoms knocking at our door, sooner rather than later. And where the hell is Lyric?”
“She would not be a part of this,” her mate insisted.
“I know that, and I would never think that, especially when she was the one with suspicions,” Athena pointed out. “But that begs the question, did Cassia do something to her?”
“She would be a fool to hurt two shamans,” he said. “She must have a death wish.”
“And it will be granted.” Athena’s blood boiled at the thought of her long time friend’s treachery and betrayal.
Chapter Fifteen
“Once love is lost, it cannot be replaced. My heart was broken long ago and it never healed. The only thing I know is death and destruction. Apparently it will not be for others, but for me.” ~ Cassia
Her world was not supposed to end this way.
Cassia had lived her whole life tangled in webs, some of her own making, and some beyond her control. Those done by her, each thread spun with ruthless precision, each strand a promise of power and protection. She was the advisor to the queen and powerful in her own right, the shadow at the heart of the Kingdom of Silk, and she had never once considered that the sun might rise without her permission. But now—now the very foundation of her world was shaking, the walls of her home groaning beneath the weight of something vast and uncontrollable.
The tremor began as a subtle vibration, a shiver in the air that set her teeth on edge and sent spiders skittering into the darkest corners. But then it grew—an earthquake of magic thatrolled through the halls, rattling crystal, cracking marble, and shaking loose the ancient tapestries that lined the corridors like the skins of fallen enemies. Cassia staggered, her silk robes tangling around her ankles, her composure fracturing with every step. Her power—once effortless, once as natural as breathing—now felt brittle and thin, a gossamer shield against a storm she could not name.
Neru was next to her, his dark eyes wide and feverish, his smile twisted with a hunger that frightened even her. “Do you feel it?” he breathed, voice trembling with awe and something close to ecstasy. “Power like that is unheard of. And we could take it. We could control it.”
Cassia could barely hear him over the roar of blood in her ears. She reached for her magic, for the venom she’d wielded like a whip, but it writhed in her grasp, slipping through her fingers like water. “This wasn’t supposed to happen,” she hissed. “The wards—my web—it was supposed to hold.”
Neru laughed, a sound like breaking glass. “Power like this doesn’t care for wards. It’s the end and the beginning, Cassia. You should be honored to witness it. Strive to possess it.”
“You’re a fool if you think this kind of force can be controlled by anyone other than the one who wields it.”
Dax, her brother, was frozen on the steps entering the chamber, eyes wild, hands trembling. For a moment, Cassia saw him not as the fierce, reckless man he’d become, but as the boy she’d once sheltered behind her, with the promise to provide everything he’d need in life, all the things that had been ripped away from her. The memory cut through her like a knife.
“Mei!” Cassia snapped, her voice sharp enough to slice through the mounting panic. The loyal spider appeared at her shoulder, silent and grave. “Take Dax. Get him out. Now.”
Dax’s protest died on his lips as he met her gaze. There was terror there, and a kind of pleading, but Cassia shook her head, final and certain. “Go, Dax. Please. For me.”
Mei nodded, his long fingers wrapping around Dax’s arm, pulling him into the shadows. Cassia watched them disappear, her heart breaking and hardening all at once.
Neru straightened, rolling his shoulders as if preparing for a dance. “I will remain,” he declared, his voice ringing with pride and madness. “Let the royal couple come. Let the shaman come. I am not afraid.”
Cassia stared at him, pity and contempt warring in her chest. He was a fool, but he was her last ally. She took a step closer, lowering her voice. “You should be afraid, Neru. What’s coming is beyond any of us.”
But there was no time for more. The spider warriors poured into the corridor, their bodies shifting and contorting, fangs gleaming, limbs twitching with anticipation. They filled the air with the scent of venom and silk, a living wall of fury and fear.
And then, from the far end of the hall, came the footsteps—steady, unhurried, impossibly confident. Roan. Maddie. Lyric. They strode forward, light pooling around them, shadows flinching away from their path. The three of them were a vision—a storm given form, wrapped in flesh and fire.
The air thickened, every spider and shifter in the mansion falling to their knees, overcome by a power that bent the very laws of the world. Cassia tried to stand, to draw herself upright, but her legs buckled beneath her. She felt her web—her glorious, intricate, perfect web—rip with a soundless scream. She was nothing. She was prey.
Roan had felt many things in his long life—rage, sorrow, hope, despair. But he had never felt this: the world itself bowing,the ancient stones and the very air recognizing the power that surged through him, through Maddie, through Lyric at his side. It was as if the universe had been waiting for this moment, holding its breath for a thousand years, and now—now—it exhaled.
He walked forward, each step a declaration. Maddie’s hand was in his, her magic a sun burning in his veins. Lyric’s presence was a shield and a beacon, the old wisdom of the shaman humming beneath their feet. Together, they were unstoppable.
The spider warriors parted before them, terror and awe written large on every monstrous face. Cassia was a ruin, her beautiful cruelty crumbling as she knelt amid the wreckage of her ambition. Neru knelt at her side, still defiant, but Roan saw the truth in his eyes—fear, raw and naked, for the first time in centuries.
Roan met Cassia’s gaze, his own eyes cold and bright. “Your duplicity ends here,” he said, his voice a thunderclap in the silence. “The false loyalty you wore like a precious cloak is ripped apart, and you are left standing naked, disgraced, exposed for the despicable thing you are. These are the consequences, a summation of all you’ve done.”
