Celeste shrugs, still smiling. “It took you so long to figure it out. All this time, you never knew who I was. But I knew who you were even before you were born.”
She takes another step forward, and I shift my weight, ready to act.
“Having a seer as a prisoner is really useful, you see. In every life, I knew exactly where you were going to be born. Of course, magic has some rules, so I couldn’t kill you at birth. But I made arrangements for you to be watched.” Her eyes gleam with cruelty and satisfaction. “Each time, I watched you meet Kieranand fall in love with him. And each time, I waited for you to conceive.”
Behind me, I hear Astra and Selene gasp, but I don’t turn around. Can’t turn around. If I take my eyes off Celeste for even a second…
“You took me from my real family,” I say, and my voice is steady even though my hands are shaking.
“I had no choice.” Celeste spreads her hands as if this is all perfectly reasonable. “You were born too close to gypsy witches. They would have protected you. I couldn’t have that. So, I sent you far away, to the Silver Stone Pack, where nobody would know what you were. Where nobody would suspect a thing.”
“But why?” The words rip out of me. “Why do all this?”
Celeste’s expression transforms as she bares her teeth at me. “Do you even know who I am? Who I was? I was the queen! And then some witch came along telling me the kingdom where I had maintained purity for decades was going to revert to those hybrids because they give birth to some son.”
The venom in her voice makes me flinch.
“There was no way I was going to let that happen. My ancestors had seized power to protect the Wolf Kingdom from tainted blood. We were not about to let half-breeds sit on the throne.” She circles closer now, and dark energy begins to crackle around her fingers. “So, I made the sacrifice. I cursed you and that mate of yours.”
Everything goes still. The world narrows to this moment, this revelation.
“Then, the attacks on Kieran and me—” I start.
Celeste hisses, her composure cracking for the first time. “It was Theodore, the fool. He could never follow instructions properly.”
“Theodore?” Her father!
“It doesn’t matter now.” The dark energy around her hands intensifies, and the rage in her voice says everything. “The curse has weakened enough that I can get rid of you myself this time. And I will make sure you stay dead.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Selene helping Astra toward the other exit. I have to buy them time. Have to keep Celeste’s attention on me.
“You can try,” I snarl, and then I shift.
The transformation rips through me in a heartbeat, and I launch myself at Celeste with every ounce of speed and strength I have. My wolf form is built for killing, built for tearing apart threats, and right now, she is the only threat that matters.
Celeste sidesteps impossibly fast, and before I can correct my trajectory, magic slams into me like a battering ram. I hit the ground hard enough to crack stone, the impact driving the air from my lungs. Pain explodes through my ribs.
I shift back, gasping, one hand pressed against my side. “How can you use magic?”
Celeste looks down at me as if I am to be pitied. “Because I had to taint my blood to keep my kingdom clean, you stupid girl. I am also a hybrid.”
The revelation should shock me, but I don’t have time. I roll to the side as black fire scorches the ground where I just was. I scramble to my feet, my ribs screaming in protest.
Celeste advances, magic swirling around her like a living thing. “Did you really think you could beat me? I’ve had centuries to perfect this. Centuries to plan.”
I dodge another blast of dark magic, feeling the heat sear past my face. The herb garden erupts into chaos around us, plants withering and dying where her magic touches them, wooden posts splintering.
“Astra, go!” I shout, not daring to look back.
Celeste’s eyes track toward where Astra and Selene are trying to escape. “Oh, no, I don’t think so.”
She moves toward them, and I throw myself in her path. She backhands me with a bolt of pure force, and I crash into the table. It collapses. Food scatters. My vision blurs.
“You’ve always been persistent,” Celeste says. “In every life. Always so determined to protect everyone. It’s pathetic.”
I push myself up, spitting blood. “Better than being you.”
Her face twists with rage, and she lifts both hands. Dark energy coalesces between her palms, building to something massive, something that will level everything in its path.
