There’s no luck when you’re escaping your abuser. Either you plan meticulously… or someone helps you. But nothing in her story pointed to anything—or anyone—who could’ve helped her escape.
So I started digging.
I had next to nothing on sirens or Eldoris… but I had Anxo.
Once I remembered he’d been inside Hazel’s mind, I couldn’t sit still.
The second I mentioned my theories, Anxo was on board. He was too eager, and at first I thought it was curiosity, but it turns out he knew more than he was saying.
It felt wrong, going through her memories like that, but I needed answers, and I didn’t want to involve her until I had something concrete. I didn’t want to open up old wounds if it wasn’t going to lead us anywhere.
We combed through every memory again and again, and while nothing linked to the night of her escape, we kept coming across a name.
Zale.
With nothing to lose, Anxo and I decided to take a risk.
We were about to infiltrate Eldoris. Anything that gave us an edge was more than welcome.
My heart was in my throat when we asked Jackson to use his magic and reach out to Zale… a little message asking him to meet us in the human realm.
I knew Hazel would kill me if she found out, but I had a plan.
Asking to meet him on neutral ground meant control. If something went wrong, we’d take care of him right then and there, so even if Tiberius found out, Hazel would be back home safe in our realm, out of his reach.
I had Jackson mention I was Hazel’s mate, the Grim Reaper, to sweeten the trap. It was the ultimate test. If he brought Tiberius, Zale would be dead before he could utter a word.
But to our surprise, he came alone. His bravery quickly became the last thing on our minds because one look at him made my heart fall to my feet.
The eyes… they had the same eyes.
The second he sat down, I knew whatever he said next was going to shatter my mate’s world.
Hazel has a brother… one she still doesn’t know about.
There was no denying it. The resemblance was undeniable.
I kept seeing Hazel’s memories of him being kind to her, and I thought it was because Zale knew they were siblings all along,but he didn’t. Not until the night before Tiberius and Hazel’s supposed bonding ceremony.
He heard some of the warriors whispering his mother’s name, how she’d at least given Tiberius someone prettier to play with before he killed her.
Flaw.
Zale knew he died when he was really young, but not that she diedaftergiving birth to another child. Tiberius’ child.
The truth hit like a gut punch, and I almost threw up when I realized Hazel is Tiberius’daughter.Zale wasn’t fazed, and it just showed another layer of how fucked up things are in Eldoris.
And now I don’t know how to tell her about any of this.
Before that night, Zale had accepted his fate. It didn’t matter that he despised his father. He couldn’t leave… Tiberius wouldn’t let him.
But then he found out about Hazel, and something snapped in him.
He didn’t have a plan, but didn’t stop moving until he broke the barrier, killed the guards surrounding Nevaeh, then watched her escape into a world he knew would be a lot kinder to her.
I clap a hand on Zale’s shoulder. “How does it feel to be on the right side of history?”
His eyes harden as he looks at Tiberius screaming inside the dome, trying to break free.
