“But nothing.” She rose from her throne, her anger spilling into the hall like a raging storm. “He betrayed his own father. And mine.” Her fingers curled into tight fists. “Why is he still breathing?”
Her venom chilled my heart. It must have taken everything Gunnar had to rebel. What had turned him to the other side? Ebony, perhaps.
Love. That’s what Ari and the queen didn’t understand—what they’d never understand. They saw power in armies, in magic, in manipulation. But love could make someone betray their entire world, risk everything, defy a queen. If Gunnar had loved Ebony enough to rebel, then love was a weapon neither Ari nor Alanna knew how to wield. And maybe—just maybe—that was the advantage I needed.
Ari shrugged, the gesture infuriatingly nonchalant in the face of royal wrath. “Because I have plans for him.” His blue eyes glittered with malicious amusement. “Plans that require him...intact. For now.”
“What do you mean intact?”
“Gunnar wasn’t always like this. He was on our side once and a powerful weapon, powerful enough to kill anything.” His eyes rested on me. “Even a vampire. I intend to change him back.”
My blood ran cold. He was looking at me like I was a weapon too. Something to be shaped, controlled, turned against the people I loved. The way he said “even a vampire,” I knew he meant Enzo. He was telling me exactly what he planned to use Gunnar for, and the threat was crystal clear.
Oh, god. Enzo. “He’s not powerful enough to kill a made vampire.”
“Oh no?” He stepped toward me and placed his finger underneath my chin. “You’ll soon find out. Marsha is brewing up a spell that will turn Gunnar back, and he’ll be mine to control.”
I slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch me.”
He laughed at my defiance. “Such a rebellious little slave.”
No. No, no, no! I wouldn’t let this happen.
I braced my shoulders. “You can only change him if you can get back into our world. You need me, and I won’t?—“
“What does that mean?” His nails lengthened and bit into my arm. “If you don’t do what I want, I’ll scratch you?—”
I raised my chin defiantly. I was trembling—I couldn’t hide that—but I refused to let fear control me anymore. Ari had intimidated me, violated me, used me.
But he wouldn’t own me. Not my spirit. Not my will. “Go ahead. You’ll never get back to our world.”
The queen laughed, reminding me of a hyena from the movieThe Lion King. “Are you defying us?”
Ari dropped his arm and bowed, but his face changed—the playful cruelty replaced by something far more sinister. Pure malice flickered in his eyes, quickly masked by false deference. He wanted me to see what was coming, wanted me to fear it. “Perhaps you should show her, my queen.”
The queen’s expression hardened into something regal and merciless. “I have to get my army ready for the invasion. So maybe a night in the dungeon will show her who her masters are.”
She could try. My shadows could open locks, and then we would see who the real master is.
As if reading my mind, she glided forward. The scent of winter roses and something sharper—ozone, like the air before a storm—filled my lungs as she invaded my space. She went nose to nose with me—her breath cool against my flushed skin.
“This is the Elder Dimension.” Her silver eyes bored into mine, ancient and merciless. “Don’t you think we have ways of controlling magic, even shadow magic like yours?”
My shadows writhed weakly at my feet, straining against invisible bonds I couldn’t see or understand. The hopeful flame in my chest sputtered out, leaving only the taste of defeat on my tongue.
“But first I want to show you something, who I will kill first when I enter your realm.”
Not Enzo. Not Enzo. Not Enzo.
“Bring her to the mirror, Ari.”
Ari seized my wrist and dragged me over to the magic mirror.
The queen raised her arms.“Veridian ostendere! Morden Grimshaw revelatus! Nyx filium monstrare!”
The mirror rippled again, the surface shimmering like disturbed water. This time, it revealed a tall, dark-haired man whose hair was the exact same rich color as mine—so identical it took my breath away. Standing beside him was a younger man with golden blond hair, and they were flanked by two magnificent creatures with large human heads, powerful eagle bodies, and wings that seemed to span forever.
My heart missed a beat. Those faces—I could see myself in the older man’s strong jawline, in the way he held his shoulders. And the younger one...there was something familiar in his stance, in the protective way he positioned himself near the creatures.
“What are those creatures?” The words came out as barely a whisper.
“Harpies. They belonged to me until Nyx stole them.” She lowered her arms with cruel satisfaction. “Meet your real father—Morden Grimshaw, and his bastard child, Nyx.” Her voice dripped with venom as she whirled around to face me, her eyes glittering with malicious delight. “They will be the first to die, followed by your precious enforcer.”
“No!” The word tore from my throat, raw and desperate. Panic clawed at my chest like a living thing. “Please don’t!”
My father—my real father—was alive. And Nyx, my half brother with his gentle face and kind eyes, was in mortal danger. Everyone I’d ever cared about was at risk: the father and brother I never knew I had, and Enzo, the man who’d become my whole world.
They were going to die because of me.
