I glare at Kasper, hatred pouring out of me, but he merely gestures around the room, his blade still pressed to Draven’s throat. “Now you and Draven have been up to a lot in the shadows. Not surprising for you, Rune, but a little for the prince who stands to gain everything by just waiting for his throne. But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, for the son of the rebel king.”
“What do you want, Kasper?” I snarl.
“Your mother. The Darkstone. And you.” Kasper gives a cruel grin at the boxes of unwrapped gifts. “Your mother will undo the Curse. The Darkstone will grant any who hold it unfathomable power. And you will provide a great hostage for not only your mother but your boyfriend, too.”
“Not if he dies, I won’t.”
“He’ll be fine, as long as you move quick and don’t fight me,” Kasper warns.
“How the hells did you know about any of this?” I demand.
He just nods to the little frog at my bedside.
“It’s a spying crystal. Ember mentioned you liked frogs, and she didn’t ask questions. I had to improvise when you kept throwing Magda’s away.” Kasper sneers down at Draven when he flinches, looking up at him with death in those changing eyes. “Oh, that’s right, you thought Magda worked for yourfather. She wasn’t the best of spies, yet you never seemed to find that suspicious. No, she did exactly what I wanted, had you looking over your shoulder at dear old Dad instead of your true enemy.”
“Who do you work for then? The Ascension?” Draven snarls but Kasper only laughs.
“No. I was sent by someone far more powerful to gather intel, my father. He will claim me at the end of the year.” He shakes his head. “I knew what the Ascension were up to, but I was only ordered to keep an eye on you, nothing more. But after you were asking about an enslaved woman in Alfheim, my orders changed.” His lip curls and it strikes me all at once who he looks like. Who his father is.
“You’re the bastard son of the seraph king?” I ask Kasper, and Draven blows out a disparaging laugh.
“Last year the seraphs Selected in Shadowfell. He knew exactly who I was.” Kasper swallows down rage. His jaw clenches, hand trembling as he holds that knife against Draven. “My mom had just died, I hadnothing. He gave me this mission, to prove myself to him. And I’d rather die, and kill the two of you, than fail.”
“We’ll cooperate.” I try to keep my tone level. “Just think this through—”
He ignores me and rolls on, hissing in my prince’s ear, “King Altair knows you value the lives of those precious mortals … too much. Now that we know you’re collecting the Arcadian Artifacts behind your father’s back, we see what you’re really trying to do. Rule all the realms. My father wants the same, but keeping mortals alive … less so. And Sedah isstanding in the way.”
“Kasper,you’rea mortal. I stood on the same side of the Wall as you,” I growl at him.
“Iam the son of a seraphking,” he spits, his face practically purple. “Iam more than a mere mortal, and they’re going topayfor what they did. That wand will help Altair ensure their destruction. And Rune’s mother, the Curse Maker, is our greatest bargaining chip to guarantee the other immortals bend the knee. Which is why you’re coming with me.” Kasper nods at the crystal frog and I realize they must be actively listening on the other side. “My father is on his way right now to collect her at the palace. It’s my job to get you and the wand.”
“Why does he even need it?”
“Probably to keep it from you two.” He glowers at Draven and me. “Get moving.”
“You really think you’re going to make it out of here? Past everyone?” I demand. I’m not even sure anyone’s still here. If they are, then I could raise my voice and they’d come running, but not before Kasper kills Draven.
“You’re going to help me.” He holds the knife flush against Draven’s seething neck as he snarls to him. “Youbroke your oath to the seraphs, scorned Princess Reva, and made your own father an accessory to treason by harboring Reina the Ravager in your halls. We have every right to take her, even if it means breaking down your front doors.” Kasper keeps Draven pulled tight against his chest. “And Rune is not a citizen of Sedah until she undergoes the Descent, nor is she actually your fated mate, is she?” His eyes flash to me. “Get me the wand. Or I kill him.”
“You hurt him, and you’re dead. That’s a promise.”
Draven keeps a hand pressed tight around the wound in his side, but the blood pools between each finger. I don’t know how much time I have before he bleeds out.
“Just bring it to me,” Kasper demands. “And don’t go trying to alert anyone mentally or otherwise. I swear if anyone comes through that door, I’ll cut him to the bone.”
I race to the loft, grasping the box at the back of a bookshelf. I open it, the zenith wand glinting in the soft lights. With my cards scattered below, I can’t try to fool him with a replica. I force myself not to scream.
I return with the box, and Kasper’s eyes light up. “Good, now let’s go.”
“Leave Draven.” I raise my hands up. “He’s not going to make it past the Forge. He’s bleeding too much.” His usually golden skin has tinged closer to gray and I’m sick with fear. If he dies … I will dig my thumbs into Kasper’s fucking eyes and tear him apart. There would be no place safe for him in this world. “You need me to convince my mom, right? And if you want me to also be a bartering chip to Draven, then you need him alive. But youdon’tneed to take him. So, leave him.”
Kasper nudges the bloody pool gathering at his feet, trailing down Draven’s side. He grunts, “Fine. But you come with me, now.”
“Rune.” Draven’s eyes flutter, the color flaring, settling in a wavering yellow green.
No goodbyes. Warn everyone. Keep Oathbreaker safe. Raise your army to fight him. You survive. Then find me.I push the thoughts to him, our shields between each other nonexistent. A roar fills my head at the pain he’s in, the fury and fear building within him that I will leave with Kasper. That I’ll do anything, to save him.
“Come on then, wand first.” Kasper holds his hand out to me, eyes on the Darkstone gripped in my hand. His fingertips grasp the box, Draven still pressed against his body.
