I step through without hesitation.
And Severin, commanded through dragon steel, follows me.
My heart clenches when I step out onto the dragon field, as we call the grasslands outside Golden Gate where the dragon shifters always land when they come here. Mabona’s tits, I hate this place. I never want to come back here again.
But that doesn’t mean that I want to see it destroyed, so I turn towards Severin and channel magic through the dragon steel again.
“Raise wards like the ones around the Unseelie Court around this whole area as well,” I order. “Everything from Lake Andun to the Golden Palace, and partway into the thorn forest on all sides. Then tell me all the command words to let people in and out.”
Cold fury burns in Severin’s golden eyes as he glares at me. But he can’t disobey my orders, so he summons his magic and does exactly what I told him to do.
It will trap the members of the Red Clan who are currently in the city inside these wards as well, but that’s a problem for another day. At least they can’t shift into dragons in here anymore. And there shouldn’t be too many of them. Gremar Fireclaw and his entire clan hate fae, so he never keeps more soldiers here than he needs. The vast majority of the Red Clan still lives in their own homeland.
Once Severin is finished raising the wards and explaining the passphrases to me, he falls silent and then just stands there and stares at me with indignant eyes.
Anger sparks inside my own chest, and I flash him a cold smile. “Congratulations, you just prevented the genocide of an entire race.”
He just glares back at me in silence.
After one last look at the Seelie Court, I start back through the portal. Severin follows me.
“You’re no better than them,” Severin says, his voice low and sharp and full of accusation.
I don’t know if he means that I’m no better than the Icehearts or no better than that group of entitled fae who enslaved Bane and Jessina six thousand years ago. But I don’t care.
The old me who lived inside this city and was so worried about whether people liked her or not is long dead now. So I keep my spine straight as I stride back into the Unseelie Court while Severin’s accusation still ripples through the air behind me.
“I know,” I simply reply.
Because if I have to be a villain to win this war, then a villain is exactly what I will be.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
By the time Draven and I leave our room after a quick bath and a change of clothes, I’m exhausted, apprehensive, and really craving a boost of that wonderful pleasure from my magic. I used it a lot during the battle, which always just makes me want to use it even more.
I discreetly scan the area around us while Draven and I walk through the elegant hallways of Orion’s castle and towards the garden where we are all meeting. There are a few guards stationed close by. That incessant voice inside me is urging me to use my magic on one of them, just to get a little boost.
Squeezing my hand into a fist, I force myself to ignore that impulse. If I don’t create emotions and feel that pleasure for a while, that terrible need to feel it again eventually gets less intense. So I need to try to hold out. But it’s difficult not to crave that sense of comfort when my entire body is currently vibrating with tension.
My gaze slides to Draven while that storm of emotions continues twisting in my chest. “Are you… angry?”
He blinks, as if he was deep in thought, and turns to look at me. “Angry?”
“With me?”
His brow furrows in confusion. “Why would I be angry with you?”
“Because I used dragon steel on Severin.”
“So?”
“The Icehearts used to controlyouwith dragon steel.”
“And we used dragon steel on Gremar that day when we captured Bane.” He holds my gaze with serious eyes. “You did the right thing.”
Relief washes through me. Drawing in a long breath, I unclench my hand again as the tightness in my chest eases. I might not care about anyone else’s opinion of me anymore, but I do care what my friends think of me. WhatDraventhinks of me. And since dragon steel is such a sensitive topic for him, I was worried that it might have made him feel disgusted by me.
“So you don’t think I crossed a line?” I ask.
