My heart is pounding harder than it should.
“No more running,” I murmured.
To her.
To myself.
To the curse.
To the past.
I know how to fix this.
Transporting them was effortless. The ability that rendered people unconscious also let me move through space—not teleportation, but a slipping between shadows that bypassed physical distance.
One moment, I stood in the camp. The next—stone, cool air, and the soft hum of the wards I’d created years ago.
My stronghold.
My sanctuary.
Her prison. At least for now.
I placed Reverie gently on the cot in the center of the room. Her hair mixed with mine, falling like dark fire on her pillow.
Tanya, Razor, and Malik, I arranged in the adjoining chamber—close enough to control, far enough that they couldn’t interfere.
I activated the sigils on the floor.
Light spiraled around the room—soft blue, locking them in, locking us in.
I felt the curse thrumming beneath my skin and realized it had always been there. I just hadn’t understood exactly what it was.
I felt Kratos whispering,“You failed her before. It’s time to redeem yourself.”
Torren sighed,“This isn’t the way.”
My own voice muttered out loud, “I won’t lose her again.”
I sat at the edge of the bed and brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “Reverie,” my voice cracked. “When you wake, you’ll hate me. But I promise this is the only way.”
The bond pulsed painfully—no, not hate.
Fear.
Confusion.
Grief.
I closed my eyes and bowed my head. “I don’t want to be him.”
Kratos.
The man who chose love so fiercely that he destroyed everything.
I’m smarter than he was, and I believe I can break this curse. Restore Aurathions to their former glory without the evil my brother spread through our people like confetti. I wasn’t ignoring my part in it; this would make everything right.
Make me worthy of a queen.
