“It’s a fortress. A prison. You don’t get out of there unless you’re dead,” Hollis explains patiently. I’m still waiting for him to be his usual self and snap at me. Tell me to shut up. Tell me I’m a failure and that he hates me, but he doesn’t. What is wrong with him? “I suspect it is where your biological father is being held. Your mother told me he was taken by the king after you were conceived, and he disappeared.”
My biological father could be alive. I pocket that information for now. “I thought the Vian king just killed everyone that he didn’t get along with.”
“Maybe he keeps them there ready for backup in case his army fails. What better than a whole prison load of monsters to seek revenge across the world and their payment beingfreedom?” Hollis looks at me. “The king likes his monsters. Even the ones he cannot control.”
“Oh, how proud you must be that your king has it all worked out.” Sarcasm drips from my every word.
“One, he is not my king. I follow one person, bow to one person in this world, and it is not him.” He looks pointedly at me. “And yes, he’s always had it all worked out, but that’s the problem with well-calculated plans by smug men; they tend to be too arrogant. Arrogant men are easy to kill.”
As we continue walking and I think of what he has told me, suddenly I start to feel it. Almost like a whisper of wind blowing past me. Something different. Something strange. I tilt my head to the side as my Nexus stretches out our senses and tries to figure out what it is. Hollis reaches out and stops me, his hand just brushing my stomach. “The ward is a step away from us. You’re half Vian and your blood will allow you to pass through the wards. You only need a touch of Vian blood to get through. When Nexus are brought into the city, they are given blood to swallow so they can pass the wards.”
He takes hold of my hand, fire burning from his touch, and he yanks me through it. It’s like falling through mud, every bit of it smothering my body, and it’s horrid, but within a second it’s gone. When I open my eyes, I can barely believe what’s in front of me.
It’s a city bigger than any other I’ve seen before. “Holy Gods.” There’s a vast river cutting right through the middle of it, more than a dozen bridges, with towering buildings on the one side, and on the other it’s more cosy, quaint, almost ancient. Cottages and houses all woven together in patterns. Thick forests hang round and parks in between the houses, and I can hear the chatter and commotion of people. Sunlight echoes across the tops of the building, making all the gold on them glitter and shine. This city’s huge, if not one of the biggest cities in theworld. It goes on further than I could possibly see, and I’m speechless, even as I take in the massive gates in front of us and walls that must go all the way around.
Hollis waits, but his eyes are on my face. “When we go in there, don’t see them as your enemy. One ruler does not make a hopeless race. You were taught Vian are all evil, cruel and dangerous. Yet you know me, Rhodes and yourself. We are none of those.”
“Dangerous describes me perfectly, Hollis,” I answer. “Look at all of this. We were never going to win the war. The Vian have been playing with us.”
“I see another way the war can be over. We need a ruler.” Hollis breathes in the air and he looks sad. “I’ve watched both races for hundreds of years, mate, and if we continue like this, then no one wins. Everyone dies.”
“Maybe all we deserve is death,” I whisper.
Hollis squeezes my hand. “You don’t. You deserve more.”
I don’t know what has happened to Hollis, but I don’t like it. Where is my grumpy asshole tutor? The mate who hates me. Gods, he is confusing me. I turn to stare at the gate and the twenty or so guards outside. They are dressed in black, blending in with the stone walls and black gate. They don’t even look at me as Hollis leads me through, and another feeling of that muddy horribleness washes over me.
We’re in the city in the blink of an eye, and it’s busy, even in the early morning. The smell of breakfast has my stomach rumbling, but I focus on the pots of flowers, the bunting hanging up, the sweet little doors and fences. It’s homely and normal. Everything is laid out in carts on either side of the road leading into the city, but Hollis makes us turn to the right, swirling through paths between alleyways that are bright with lamps on the walls. I cover us with my power after a moment, and we file through the city unseen by anyone. Hollis keeps me close, andI’m glad for it as we pass so many Vian. They are nothing like the Vian I’m used to. They look…normal. A group of children run by, talking about school. I don’t know why I didn’t expect there to be children here. Of course there’re children here, but it’s weird to see and know.
The houses get bigger the longer we walk, until eventually we come to a town house with a green door. It looks like it’s almost embedded in the wall. But the two soldiers on the towers behind are looking the opposite way. Hollis opens the door and steps inside, shutting it behind him. “Where is Severi, then?”
“We need to get someone else. I asked if you could hide three because there is someone here who has to come with us,” Hollis tells me, only just now. I knew he had to be helping me for more than just some mate loyalty.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Who’s that?” Rochelle shouts, and I hear her walking across the floor.
“You have to be kidding. I’m not taking your fiancée with us!” I snarl at Hollis. “She was there with Georgina! She betrayed me, Hollis!”
Hollis looks down at me. “She is your gift. Kill her if you want. She isn’t who we are here for, and she means nothing to me.”
Shock has me silent as Rochelle, in a pretty purple dress, comes running down the marble stairs. I lower my hood, and the look of terror on her face is very satisfying. Using my speed power, I’m across the room in a second, my hand wrapped around her throat. I throw her straight onto the marble floor and climb onto her, holding one of my daggers at her throat. “Is my sister here? I want a word with your best friend.”
Rochelle pleads. “Please don’t kill me! I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have blackmailed your mate and helped Georgina, but I don’t deserve to die for it!”
“I decide if you do,” I snarl at her. My Nexus takes over, and the ground around her begins to drain of life, but she doesn’t drain her. The dagger falls to the ground by her head as I strangle her with my sharp nails, blood pouring under my palm. I hold her neck in my grip, and I want it to snap.
I barely hear Hollis over the ringing in my ears, but he cuts through in a way only he can demand of me. “Let her go, mate. Your rage lies with me, with the truth, and I want all of it. I don’t share, and I’m done pretending and lying. Look up.” I tilt my head up and see someone else here on the stairs. A familiar-looking boy with blond hair and piercing green eyes. He looks scared in his pyjamas as he clings to a black dragon teddy. Shock freezes me to my bones as everything clicks into place. Rochelle was blackmailing Hollis, and now I know why. I’m looking at why. “You know my truth, you know why. Give me your anger, your fury, and I won’t falter. I want you for myself, and when I claimed you to the stars above when we first met, I meant it. Turn around and face me. I was created for you, and you are mine. Let’s not begin our new life with her death. She should live in fear of us returning for the rest of her pathetic life.”
I look down at Rochelle. “If I ever see you again, I will let my Nexus hunt you for sport. Stay away from my mates and my family.” I push off her, and she scrambles to her feet, half crawling out of the room. Hollis holds his hand out and stops her escaping, holding her in the air. A kitchen towel slams into her mouth and stops the scream she was about to let out. Rope comes floating through the air next and spins around her. When he is done, he opens the closet under the stairs and throws her in it, slamming the door shut. He is far more powerful than I thought he was. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. I look at the boy again, who must be around four or five years old.
“Come here, Franklin. You know I promised I would come and take you away from here? We are going now,” Hollis sayssoftly to the boy, offering him a hand. Franklin walks to him, taking his hand, but he keeps his eyes on me. He has a Nexus I can sense, even as young as he is right now. “This woman is my mate, and you can trust her because I do. With you and my life. Her name is Gwenieve.”
“Nice to meet you, Franklin,” I manage to say, and I keep staring at his face, my mouth dry and my heart racing. Franklin is silent, and I don’t blame him, but he doesn’t look scared. He clearly wants to come with us and trusts Hollis.
Hollis watches us both before nodding at the door. “We need to get to Severi now. We’ll have a few hours before anyone finds her. She lives alone, but he will be reported missing from school in two hours.”
“Let’s go then,” I quietly answer. Hollis picks up the cloak off the hook by the door and gently slides it on Franklin’s shoulders. I’ve never seen him be gentle like this. After he puts on his little shoes, he tucks his dragon teddy under his cloak. “Don’t let go of his hand, and I will be able to stretch it to you both. He is smaller than I was expecting.”
“I know,” Hollis answers, and the unspoken hovers between us. Now is not the time, but there will be a time we need to discuss this. We all slip out into the city, and using my power is as easy as breathing as Hollis leads us both. The walk through the city feels like it goes on and on before we get to a gated building set away from everything else. There are high walls around it and only one metal door, which has many guards in front of it but none standing nearby. They line the walls instead, watching ahead.
