For a breath, no one moved.
Then she dropped into a curtsy so fast she nearly lost her balance, linens tumbling from her arms. "F-forgive me, Your Highness. I didn't— I thought the room was?—"
"Get. Out." I didn't raise my voice. Didn't need to.
She scrambled backward, snatching up what linens she could reach, and fled.
The door slammed shut behind her.
I released Dreynthor and stepped back, my hands still trembling with the urge to finish what I'd started.
He coughed, one hand going to his throat, but that fucking smile never left his face. If anything, it widened.
"Careful, nephew," he rasped. "Looks like you’re losing control."
Motherfucker.Luck was on his side again.
I didn’t answer. I took a step back, then phased out of the room, leaving before I did something I’d regret.
I was always on the verge with my uncle.
But the shitty thing about what just happened was I didn’t have an answer. I didn’t know what I was going to do with Elariya.
I phased into the courtyard. Bastian and Alaric were waiting ahead by the water fountain.
And so were Garrick and Arielle.
The moment I saw them, my heart lodged in my throat. They were supposed to be back at Vyrenth Hollow with Elariya. What were they doing here?
My steps quickened, but the somber expressions on their faces reached me long before I got to them.
“What happened?” I blurted, raw panic twisting my insides.
Arielle stepped forward, her eyes glassy. “It’s Elariya. She’s escaped.”
Everything inside me went cold—my blood, my thoughts, my fucking soul.
My hand went to my shackle on instinct, searching for the pull, the connection that always hummed beneath my skin, tethering us together.
Nothing.
I searched again, deeper, reaching through the bond with everything I had.
Merciless Gods, nothing.
Cold dread slithered down my spine.
She wasn't just gone.
She'd vanished completely.
I couldn’t feel her anywhere.
Chapter 27
Elariya
“The Price of Freedom”
