For the first time since we returned, Rowan glanced at me, and we shared a look. “Why?” Rowan asked.
“Because,” Elias said, “I think I was there. In the Luna Court with his army. Before I was left at the Phoenix Compound. Which means I may also have a kill switch in my brain like Black did.”
“It might take me a while to find any sign of him, but I’ll start with Adrian,” Blythe said, standing while the rest of us took seats around a table in the centre of the throne room.
It felt like an entirely different space compared to what we’d walked into when Ivy had to marry Rhadamanthus. Now, it felt like the walls were closing in, despite there only being less than ten of us here.
Where there had once been crowds of creatures gathered to watch the union of the century, there was now a long table close to the stairs leading up to the throne. There were enough chairs for everyone present, almost too perfectly set.
As I pulled out a seat, Vanya hesitated. She and Blythe shared an odd look, though I couldn’t sense anything different between them. It wasn’t like they were friends—barelyacquaintances. But I could tell something had shifted between them.
Maeve slid into the chair beside Elias, appearing just as uninterested as she had any other meeting. “Do what you can for now. But we do this as fast as possible.”
Blythe moved to stand behind me, pressing her fingers into my temple. The tips of her fingers were surprisingly cold, but not uncomfortable. Almost nice compared to the dull ache in the back of my head.
My eyes closed without meaning to as I drew in a breath. Behind me, she inhaled sharply, matching my breathing.
In the back of my head, I felt her. Chilled, calming fingers searching through my memories, pushing past what we already knew, searching for the hidden pieces Dante left behind.
“How long do we think this will take?” the Windermere matriarch asked, her voice coming through dully.
Blythe pushed past memories of Ivy, of my training at the academy, going deeper. I couldn’t tell what she was doing, but I felt her like a whisper, a cool breeze of air tickling my skin—only it was my brain.
“It’ll take as long as it needs to,” Elias replied. “We know Dante has had unfiltered access to Adrian for years. Had been planting himself in Adrian’s mind for just as long. Who knows how much influence he’s had over Adrian? How much he’s learned from his head since?—”
Pain exploded inside my mind, sharp like the strike of a knife. I gasped as it sliced through my brain, cutting through the walls and barriers I’d been taught to put up by my mother’s mate.
All those blocks came crashing down, ripping Blythe from my head. Her gentle touch was replaced by dark, sticky fingers that tore into my memories, shredding my control over myself.
“Get her out of his head!” Rowan shouted.
Blythe’s hands were torn from my temples.
It gavehimcontrol.
Through my eyes, I saw them all. But I had no power over myself. He moved my hands to my lap. He made me smile.
And I couldn’t stop any of it as my gaze landed on Elias across from me—us.
“Dante,” the wolf growled.
Chairs scraped the marble floor as everyone leapt from their seats.
Maeve appeared behind me and took hold of my shoulders. There were shouts from the two matriarch witches, who called for binds to keep me trapped.
But Dante kept my eyes trained on Elias. Everyone else was afraid, but he remained seated. Careful.
“What have you done with Adrian?” he asked, sitting back, barely keeping the growl from his voice.
I cocked my head. “Taking a nap,” I said, voice distorted. It was my voice, but not. Like somehow, Dante was pushing more than just his conscious through me right now.Like somehow, he was becoming me.
I wanted to tell them I was here. That I could see—could hear—everything. But Dante had me in his clutches, tightening his hold on my consciousness.
He wanted me to see this, but he could cut me off in an instant if I fought him.
“How long have you had this kind of control over him?” Elias leaned forward, planting his hands on the table. Magic sparked from the ancestral witches as they formed chains for me, chains to keep Dante from getting out. “How many times have you done this?”
“Interesting questions. Thought you would ask about her.”
