I had never seen Brietta look more afraid.
My head whipped around as Freya crashed into the pool of her blood. Seven pairs of arms surrounded her failing body—embracing her with the love of seven hearts.
My white flame ignited. Power surged through my veins.
“I got her,” I said as my final promise to Freya Hyton.
Suddenly the magic in my body trembled as a wash of cold passed through me. The ragged breaths that skittered across the pool of blood stopped.
Death had come…and had taken Freya.
I forced back tears and ran into the hallway, focusing on the two young guards on either side of Brietta’s arms. As soon as her frightened eyes met mine, my white flame twisted and bent, morphing into something bigger and stronger.
No matter how hard I clung to it, manipulated my way to get it, or craved it until my heart ached, I kept losing my control. I lost control with the Cupid’s Blood and the faerie dust. I lost control when Ganora took Riyan. I lost control when Nordingaard stole my brothers.
And I was tired of losing control. If I could not hold onto it, I would justtake it.
My chest was ablaze with righteous fury. Power sparked in my fingertips. The tears in the air vibrated as I reached out my arm. “Let her go!”
The guards turned their heads. “Orders from the Gen—”
Each guard stopped, their mouths falling open and their eyes dropping to my breasts. The tiny pinholes of light shonebetween their eyes as their mental doors opened, beckoning me in.
I took advantage of their ogling eyes and twisted my hand, the tears in the air braiding into an invisible rope between their minds and my mouth. This was not a connection of empathy, it was one of pure control.
Their minds were mine.Mine.
My throat quivered as if my words were quiet thunder. “I am the Duchess’s greatest friend. I will keep her safe for the General.”
The invisible tether vibrated as it sent the message to the guards’ inner selves. Each blinked, one after the other, as if they accepted the enchantment.
“The Duchess is safe,” echoed sleepily in their minds.
A satisfied smile raised my cheeks. “You did your job well. Now report to the General.”
The guards gently released Brietta. They shuffled along the carpet like their feet were as heavy as boulders. They passed me, slowly blinking with soft smiles on their faces.
My vision blurred as I held the tether over their minds. My heart pumped that white-hot power through my veins, but my muscles ached from the intensity.
As soon as they turned the corner, I released my magic with a soft gasp. Brietta ran over and grabbed me before I collapsed. She heaved me up and ushered me into the Duchess’s bedroom.
The door slammed shut and the lock clicked. I dropped onto the plush cushions of a couch as pain screamed through my muscles.
I peeled open my eyes and caught my reflection in a gilded mirror across the room. The weight of the shame crashed onto my shoulders as my eyes flitted from my smudged black makeup to each mark Derrick had left on my arms and chest.
Thatwas the powerful sorceress—nothing more than the new Hyton whore.
Tears lined my eyes. My chest rattled with a sob. How could I have let it happen? I had more power than most women, mostpeople,in the world and I still fell. I still succumbed to the poison.
A fist wrapped around my chest. I suddenly could not breathe.
If Riyan knew…if he only knew how weak I really was. He never would have given his life for mine.
I could leave, no, Ishouldleave. Brandt could come from the guard house and take me away from this wretched palace for good. I could disappear and no one would have to bear witness to my shame. My guilt. My failure.
Warm water caressed my arms as Brietta wiped off the scarlet stains with a rag. Her own lip paint was smeared, but her mouth was shut tight as she cleaned me.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as my chest shook. “C-Cupid’s Blood,” I sobbed, giving Brietta a sorry explanation for my emotional state. “Anders…he…”
