“They conspired against me!” he roars. “And you helped. You were the one to put the poison in my food, fucking poison, in hopes that my powers would weaken enough to allow that traitorous cousin of yours to kill me.”
“He was born first!” I shout. “Your father’s blood runs in his veins, and he was born first! My aunt had your father’s childlong before she met her fated mate. Which means my cousin, Resshan, was the rightful king. He always was. I’m sorry but…” A sob bursts forth. Sorrow consumes me. Why did I do it? Why did I listen to my cousin? Why did I put him above my fated mate? Shudders wrack my body, and I scream in terror as King Theron steps closer.
He’s going to kill me. I know it. Not that I can blame him. I betrayed him. After learning from a priestess that he was my fated mate, I approached him so he would recognize me as the one soul the gods designed just for him. Then I allowed him to claim me. Yet even as the bond formed, I kept him at a distance, locked away in a secret corner of my mind, clinging to loyalty to my cousin and to the plot my family had laid out.
I scramble to my feet and take off at a run, icy branches pelting my face as I rush through the snowy forest.
Another roar sounds behind me. It shakes the trees and the very ground on which I’m running. King Theron, my fated mate, is closing in. And when he catches me, he will take my life.
Then I fall through the icy abyss, jolting back to awareness with a gasp. I’m back at the castle in Braemar. The bedchamber is dark, the fire in the hearth burning low. Theron’s arms are still wrapped around me. I press my lips shut and go very still, holding my breath as I try to discern whether he’s awake. Oh, gods. What if he’s lying here awake holding me as he witnesses my vision, my window into the dark, awful past?
But his breathing is steady. Rhythmic.
Slowly, I move out of his arms and lean against the padded headboard. His eyes are closed, and he looks peaceful. Tranquil. I envy him for it. I wait for several seconds, but he doesn’t move other than to breathe. He’s truly sleeping. Thank the gods.
I slip out of bed and quietly but quickly find some clothes. I dress in one of the warmest dresses Mama made me, and I hurry to put my boots on.
Somehow, I will escape this room. I must.
Before Theron awakes.
He killed me once. If he learns the truth—I am Elssandra—surely history will repeat itself.
I pause in the center of the room, staring at him as the waning firelight bathes him in orange. My heart breaks. I care about him. I… love him. And I can’t believe that I once betrayed him.
What a cruel twist of fate that the gods would allow my soul to be reborn into the same realm during the same time period that King Theron still occupies. Perhaps it’s my punishment. To know King Theron’s love and experience the beginning of an intimate mating bond, only for it to be ripped away.
“Goodbye, Theron,” I whisper. Then I turn toward the door and say a prayer to every god I’ve ever heard of, a prayer that my fae side will emerge just in time to help me thwart the king’s wards.
CHAPTER 26
THERON
My eyes blink open,and I reach for Helena, but the sheets are cold on her side of the bed. As I rouse to full wakefulness, I sit up and scan the room, but I see no sign of her. I jump out of bed and rush around the room, searching for her. But she’s nowhere to be found. Not in the bathroom or the closets, and she’s not on the balcony either.
Fear slashes through me. There’s only the faintest hint of her frost flower scent. How long ago did she leave? Did she break through my wards, or did someone take her? No one in my army, no one in the Winter Court, should be powerful enough to break through my wards.
Yet Helena is gone.
I dress quickly. Then I search the castle. There’s no sign of her. None of my commanders or soldiers have seen her. I’m certain I look like a fool rushing through the castle searching for a lost human female, but I don’t care. She’s mine. My mate, no matter what the priestess eventually tells us, and I will have no other.
Commander Ashvale is still absent, and Lord Blackthorn is also missing, so I’m unable to seek assistance from the two males I trust the most. Fucking fires. I rake a hand through my hair as I run into the courtyard.
I summon wings and rush to the bakery, but she’s not there. I visit Marlow Street, but she’s not there either. Flying low, I circle the city of Braemar repeatedly, taking deep inhales as I try to track her down by her frost flower scent.
Eventually, I pick up her scent near the gates, and a trembling fae foot soldier admits he witnessed a dark-haired human female slip out of the city as a contingent of Winter Court soldiers exited to return to the tents.
According to the soldier, she was alone.
My fear and worry give way to rage.
Somehow, Helena bypassed my wards and fled Braemar.
Why? Why would she run? We share a connection, and I recently told her of my feelings for her, the deep affection that brims in my heart. We also joined our bodies as one, and I promised to call her my mate. Was she pretending? Was she biding her time until the opportunity to escape presented itself?
As I continue to fly low over the forest, her frost flower scent grows stronger. I’m closing in. Rage boils in my blood. When I get my hands on her, I will… what? What will I do?
I’m not certain. But I must find her. I must bring her back to the castle. She’s mine. Mine. And I will not allow her to run off. The glimmer of ussha in the forest is stronger today. Brighter. There’s no telling what sort of fae beasts might be lurking among the trees, fae beasts that hunger for human flesh. The prospect of any harm coming to her guts me. I must find her. I must keep her safe.
