“I suppose until Blood Moon wanes at dawn.”Rune’s chest heaved as he turned to Alora, his breath unsteady. “We must send word to your people. There will be no war, and my court will return to the Netherworld.”
He had tried to sound relieved, but his voice betrayed him.
Alora rushed into his arms.
Closing his eyes, Rune pressed his forehead to hers, whispering the same vow he had spoken before this story began.“No matter our fate, we will find one another again.”
A low mocking laugh unfurled from the dark, echoing across the cavern walls.
Steel flashed.
Alora was torn from him as manacles snapped around Rune’s wrists, biting deep. The force hit like the atmosphere exploded. His glamor tore. Wings burst from his back with a violent snap. Horns curved from his brow as he dropped to his knees, shackled and dragged forward.
His divine chains.
Ira and Balgor held on each end.
A furious scream pierced the ringing in his ears. Morvenna forced Alora to her knees and flung a cord of Hellstones around her throat. The instant it settled against her skin, the bond between them was severed.
A hollow ripped through Rune’s chest.
The Harbingers surged to defend their queen, but silver webs snapped through the air. Deimos dodged. Hadeon threw himselfin front of Calla. The webs slashed through his back and he went down.
Sal’vathar stepped into the torchlight, his smile as sharp as broken glass.
“How poetic,” he murmured, watching Rune strain against the chains. “The king bound before his own Gate.”
Rune’s lips peeled back in a snarl.“You dare?”
Sal’vathar spread his arms, his web trailing like silk. “Commit treason? I never swore myself to you. I merely waited for the right moment tostrike.”
His fingers flicked.
The chains lashed around Rune’s neck, divine fire searing his flesh like brands. He didn’t cry out, but his body convulsed, smoke spilling from his lips.
“Stop it!” Alora cried, clawing at the dirt for him, but she had not strength to move.
The chains slipped away from his neck and he dropped, gasping. Rune barely took a breath before they jerked again. The stone beneath splintered as he was hoisted into the air, strung up before the glowing Gate.
“Oh, he makes such a pretty puppet,” Morvenna sighed dreamily. “A pity.”
Calla rose with a hiss, her eyes flaring red. “My Lady?—”
“Be still,” Morvenna sneered. Compulsion struck like a hammer. Calla froze mid-step. “And be silent. I have allowed your loyalties to deviate for far too long.”
“Hold,” Ira commanded next when Hadeon lurched to his feet.
So long as they belonged to their court, their will was tied to their Dominion. They had no choice, even as Rune saw their faces tense and body shake with the urge to move.
“Ah, we are all here,” Sal’vathar announced.
Rune clenched his teeth as two more entered the chamber.
Lady Nexia swam through the air, her gaze shifting around nervously. Segrith moved like a silent phantom in her black robes, white hair moving on windless air.
“So…” Rune growled. “All of you have decided to betray me.”
He had never trusted the Dominions. Loyalty had always bowed to power. They scented weakness quicker than blood. But he had underestimated the precision of their strike—and their unity.
