Fuck her and her perfection.
“I had your stone,” she continued.
Shadow sat straighter. “Why did you have my stone?”
Her big, blue eyes did a lot of blinking at that one. “Well, I was going to be the one to bond it to your mist mark. Right?”
Shadow didn’t look convinced of that, but he also didn’t argue.
“And when it was clear you were in trouble,” Ixana hurried to add, “I rushed off with the stone so Cristell wouldn’t get it as well.”
What the fuck had she been doing running like a coward when her mate was in danger? If I’d held any respect for her, it would be gone now. I mean, there was a decent chance that the rules here were protect-the-power-first or some shit.
I’d never be that person.
Shadow looked around. “And you ended up here? Creating… your new world?”
If he was angry about her story, he wasn’t showing it.
“I’ve gathered a lot of power over the years,” she said, and her smile was a touch creepy as it tilted up her pale-ass lips. “Experimented where I should not have, using power from the creatures that walk this land, and the few followers I managed to take with me. I was determined to build an army that all would fear.”
All the while her mate had been locked out of this realm and she’d done fucking nothing to try to get to him. Bullshit if you asked me.
Clearly the ice queen was not worthy of the beast.
31
“Tell me what my family have been up to.”
Not a surprising question. Shadow had been waiting a long time to destroy his sister and information from Ixana might give him an advantage.
She straightened even further if that were possible. It was either a steel rod down her spine or a stick up her as—
“That is why I pulled you out so suddenly,” she said in a rush, interrupting my super importantpetty as fuckthoughts. “Cristell has ruled with complete control and fear since you left, and in that time, your family has amassed a lot of power in their corner. The other kingdoms are so weak comparatively, giving yours the ultimate control. There’s no fairness or justice any longer, and since your sister has been on the throne, they have gathered so many creatures that it would be next to impossible to defeat them without help.”
Shadow shot to his feet, the solid table shifting with the movement. “Return my stone to me, and the power I should have always had is what I’ll use to defeat Cristell.”
I had no idea where the staff—and Shadow’s stone more importantly—even was. It had disappeared from sight the moment we’d followed her into this room. Ixana was a smart little witch, concealing her one reason to hold the beast here. I mean, outside of their true mate thing.
Yeah, whatever.
“Here’s the truth,” Ixana said, her voice softer than ever. “I can’t give you the stone.”
Shadow’s flames filled the room, so red against the white landscape. “You are very good with illusion, Ixana, I remember well, and I can’t take it from you without you showing it to me, but I can destroy the foundation of the world you’ve built here. Don’t test me.” She was getting the same warning as Cat-man, and it was not an empty threat.
Ixana swallowed but didn’t back down. “It’s the only power I have right now to keep my people safe from The Grey Lands,” she got out in a rush. “And honestly, as much as I’ve prayed for this moment with you, I cannot sacrifice them all for our bond. Not yet at least.”
“So… what is the plan?” Shadow bit out. “How do we amass this power you think I need to best my sister?”
Wishful thinking that she had one. Well, one that didn’t involve Shadow moving in here, lots of boning, and a bunch of fire-ice babies.
“We must gather even more creatures,” she said.
Well, color me fucking surprised. She did have a plan.
“If we gather enough, combined with your power and the bloodstone, you will have the means to take them on. Once the royal family falls, I have nothing more to worry about, and the stone is useless to me. Your family has hunted me since you were taken, and only here do they not touch me. Once they’re gone, I can return to The Concordes.”
Shadow’s face was calm. His eyes were not. I wondered if she knew the signs since it had been a damn long time since they’d been together, and I would have bet everything I owned—except my library—Shadow had been a hell of a lot kinder before he’d been booted out into the universe and forced to survive.
