Darian thrashed violently, his body arching as if he were being ripped apart.
“STOP.” I screamed, fighting against the iron grip of the guards.
Shaelith struggled wildly, tears streaking her face as she yelled, “Please—please, stop!”
Ashterion’s expression was blank, his attention fixed somewhere above us. But I saw the way his fingers curled into fists, the way his shoulders tensed.
Xyliria watched him for a moment.
“Better.” She nodded. “Much better.”
With a simple flick of her wrist, Xyliria commanded Ashterion to halt. The shadows vanished instantly.
Darian collapsed to the floor, his body trembling violently, a raw, ragged groan tearing from his lips. Blood pooled beneath him, dark and glistening, the remnants of the shadows’ torment carved into his skin.
Xyliria descended the dais with effortless grace, her features lit with sadistic delight as she twirled a slender blade between her fingers. The edge caught the light, glinting with promise.
Her boots clicked against the marble as she closed the space between us.
“You need a reminder,” she purred, crouching in front of us. “A lesson. One that’s permanent. So Darian doesn’t forget the cost of his defiance.”
Darian let out a weak growl, his body too wrecked from the attack to do anything more than lift his head. “Go to hell.”
Xyliria chuckled, reaching out with unnerving tenderness, brushing a hand down my cheek.
Shaelith’s breath came rough, pained, but her voice remained steady when she spoke. “What do you want?”
Xyliria’s gaze flicked upward to where Ashterion stood motionless. “Shield the others.”
I blinked.Shield?
Before I could even piece it together, Shaelith let out a furious, wordless snarl. And then they vanished.
Shaelith and Darian disappeared behind a sudden wall of shadow—smooth and impenetrable, cutting them off completely from view. I lunged again, panic surging, but there was nothing to reach for. Nothing to fight.
Just me.
Me and Xyliria.
She turned her attention back to me with all the slow, poisonous focus of a viper curling for the strike.
“What I want,” she said sweetly, crouching in front of me again. “Is simple. Your friends. Even your precious High Lord. They can walk free at any time.”
My chest rose and fell in ragged gasps. Blood pounded in my ears. I didn’t dare speak, didn’t trust myself not to scream.
“You stay,” she continued. “You serve me. You bend that fire tomywill—and they all go free.”
I stared at her. A flicker of disbelief passed through me. Then fury. “Bullshit,” I spat. “You don’t just wantme.You want control of Luceren.”
“I said they’ll beallowedto leave,” she replied. “I never said they’d have peace. But freedom? A chance at it?” She tilted her head. “Not much of one. But better than nothing, right?”
My hands curled into fists, nails biting into my palms.
“No,” I said, each syllable carved in steel. “You’ll have to do better than that.”
Xyliria’s smile didn’t falter. If anything, it deepened. “I thought so,” she murmured, straightening to her full height. “I’ll ask again soon.”
I spat at her feet. “Fuck you. You and your pathetic, leashed little lord.”
