My bottom lip shook as I imagined the crack of bone just before I sank my witchwood blade through his father’s black heart.
I was coming for my mate. And then I would come for Semphrys.
Lyra, we can’t speak like this. My father —
Show him where I am.
Another ripple of confusion streaked down the bond, and I squeezed my eyes shut in concentration.
I pictured the far reaches of the Barrens — the scrap of rocky coastline along the Drathen Sea. I imagined the whip of the cool salty breeze, a light mist peppering my face. Iallowed those thoughts to fill my mind, crowding out everything else.
If Semphrys was hunting me, then I would send him on a fruitless mission, clearing the path to Kaden.
Opening my eyes, I tugged gently on our bond, willing him to understand. But the pathway between us was silent.
Worried, I checked again, sending a bit of my essence trailing down —
Something like an electric shock shot back toward me, hitting me straight in the chest. I gasped in pain and released the connection, but not before I felt it shudder.
My heart fractured as I stared through the gap in my hedge at the brittle, lifeless thread looped between the vines.
The bond had gone dark.
Yankingmyself back to the present, I realized I was sobbing. I was still hunched on the moss-covered ground, my hair hanging limp around my face. My eyes felt puffy and swollen, and something within me ached at Kaden’s absence.
Sorsha sat perched on a rock, cheeks shimmering with tears. Adriel’s expression could have cut glass, and the faerie was staring down at me with an accusatory look.
“You did not tell mehewas your mate.”
I shuddered at the reminder of what I’d just lost, my whole body trembling as I sensed the deadened space where that shimmering golden thread had once pulsed with our connection.
Either Semphrys or Kaden had severed the bond. Icould no longer feel the pathway between us, which meant . . .
I didn’t want to think about it.
“You are mated to the Dark Prince,” said the fae, her golden eyes suddenly hawkish.
“Yes,” I rasped.
“He is the one you wish to free?”
“Yes.”
“You came here, into my forest, to ask for my blood so that you may rescue the Traitor Prince — the Taker of Souls –– who has brought nothing but darkness and despair to these lands?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out.
“The prince has been biding his time,” said Adriel. “Pacifying the Dark King with the souls of those bound for Dorthus until he could find the one with the power to kill Semphrys.” He nodded toward me. “Until he found her.”
“So that he may usurp his father and steal the demon king’s throne?” sneered the fae.
“So he may take his rightful place as king of Anvalyn,” Adriel said coldly. “And restore balance to the realm.”
“Why should I believe you?” the faerie hissed. “Why should I place my trust in the Traitor Prince when he has brought nothing but suffering? Why should I trusther? The half-huntress mongrel.”
The fae’s nose wrinkled as she regarded me, but I didn’t feel angry or defensive. I only felt numb.
“My brother is the son of Elowynn, uniter of the faerie peoples and protector of the realm,” Sorsha growled. “He is the true heir to the throne of Anvalyn.”
