Ethan was the Phantom.
Ethanwas my true mate. The one my soul had bonded with. My one and only love.
Gabby caught the astounded look on my face and let out a barking laugh. “You’vegotto be kidding me! You didn’t know about this, either? Does he tell younothing?”
Apparently, he didn’t. Ethan didn’t trust me. The revelation hollowed me and created a black pit of despair within my soul. Ethan had all this time to tell me he was the Phantom… knew that I was desperately searching for him… and he’d kept his mouth shut.
He’d cast some kind of illusion spell, to duplicate himself and trick me into thinking the Phantom was someone else. It’d all been an elaborate ruse. But why?
I couldn’t let my feelings show. Gabby was here. I reorganized my features and gave her a cold glare. “What do you want?”
“The only thing I’ve ever wanted,” Gabby replied bluntly. “Power.”
“Why didn’t you tell the authorities about the Phantom before the Contest if you wanted to get rid of Ethan so bad?” I snarled. “This would’ve knocked him right out of the running.”
“News just came in a moment ago, sweetheart. The Black Claw delivered this to my tent personally. Seems like I’m the one person in Dolinska who knows.” She grinned. “Besides you and the Black Claw, anyway.”
“So turn him in now. He’ll lose the crown,” I snapped.
She made a tittering sound. “Now why would I do that when I can just force the new leaders of the Arcanea to do whatever I want?”
Gabby turned off the cell phone. She moved around the tent in a gloating way as she continued. “If I tell the authorities who Ethan is now, they’ll remove him from the throne, and the Contest will have to start all over again. Elijah and I aren’t taking our chances and going through with a new competition. Not when we could have the both of you working for us.”
“I’ll never work for you,” I growled through my teeth.
“Then your fiancé goes to jail.” She shrugged. “I could really care less either way. I’d get a thrill seeing Nowak behind bars.”
I seethed. “I’ve got dirt on you, too. I know you and Elijah killed Waldron.”
She rolled her eyes. “Big deal. Got any proof?”
When I didn’t respond, she smirked again. “Of course you don’t. But the dirt on you I can actually back up. Video evidence doesn’t lie. Human technology can’t be manipulated by illusion magic. And I’d be willing to bet there’s a ton of circumstantial evidence that’ll fall right into place once Nowak’s name comes into the picture. The police have been watching the Phantom for a while now. They only need the last piece of the puzzle to put everything together.”
“I hate you,” I snapped.
“Hate me all you want, Sosna. It’s just business.” Gabby flipped her hair over her shoulder. “This is how the monarchy works. It’s all threats and back door deals and dirty politics. Better get used to it.”
I crossed my arms. “What’s your deal?”
“It’s simple. You do what I tell you to, and convince Ethan of the same thing. But there’s a caveat. I don’t want Ethan getting any idea we know he’s the Phantom. You can never tell him that you know the truth,” Gabby said. “It compromises things. He’s free to do his vigilante side gig, and you can be his little queen…ifyou both do as you’re told.”
I swear a vein in my forehead twitched. I could feel it. “That’s not good enough, is it?”
“No. There’s a second part to the deal,” Gabby added sharply. “You don’t tell anyone about Waldron. Or anything else Elijah and I decide to do. We’ve got the Black Claw in our hands. And we’ll use them as we see fit, without any interference from you or the authorities.”
“You expect me to just sit back and do nothing while you go on a murder spree?” I hissed. “Fat chance.”
“If you say a word to the Arcanea Alliance aboutanythingElijah and I are involved in, you can kiss your mate goodbye.” Gabby’s eyes narrowed. “Eli and I have big plans for this city. And we don’t plan on letting anyone get in our way.”
I gave a low, guttural laugh. “When Ethan’s king, he’ll take care of you. Once he’s been coronated, your asses are fried. I’ll tell him everything.”
“You breathe a word of this to Ethan, now or in the future, and he’ll be locked up before either of you know it. Our deal remains a secret. The Circle will never allow a vigilante to keep the throne.” Gabby raised an eyebrow. “It’s your choice.”
My insides seethed with rage. I hated the thought of becoming Gabby’s puppet. I didn’t want to sing and dance to her tune for the rest of my life.
But if I didn’t… she’d make sure I’d pay for it. By losing my mate for good.
“Fine,” I snapped. “It’s a deal. But you’d better hold up your end of the bargain.”
