If I stopped Ethan from following Gabby, Malovia would be doomed. Elijah and Gabby would be crowned tomorrow, and they’d take over everything. I’d be forcing the fae into a life of servitude.
And if I didn’t... Malovia would be saved, but Ethan would not. Gabby would know it was him who followed her. She’d turn him in. The Arcanea Alliance would arrest him— or worse, kill him.
Ethan would gladly make the sacrifice for his country. He’d die or go to prison to save the fae.
As much as I knew what the right thing to do was, I just couldn’t stomach it. Because I was selfish. I couldn’t believe I was willing to sacrifice an entire nation, just to keep Ethan at my side, but I was seriously considering the idea.
Malovia, or Ethan? The two swirled in my mind and mixed together to become one.
I couldn’t rescue one without damning the other. I had to save them both.
I had one plan tonight. I would get the footage on Gabby, and use it against her to put us in a stalemate, so I no longer had to do her dirty work. I couldn’t share the information about her using dark magic even if I wanted to— for if I did, she’d expose Ethan and I’d lose my mate.
To protect him, I had to get on even footing with Gabby. I’d figure out a way to explain it to my friends later. Once I could blackmail her, the playing field would be even.
Perhaps afterward we could find a way to stop her and Eli without putting Ethan in jail. But as for this night, my only goal was to get her on tape using black magic, so I’d no longer be her puppet.
I needed help. I couldn’t do this by myself. After my dance with Ethan I wandered the empty halls of the palace, searching until I found the chapel near the northeast tower. Stained glass windows lined the stone walls, and the wooden pews were desolate and empty. Statues portraying each of the gods lined both sides, with Tomir at the front near the altar.
It wasn’t as beautiful as theKatedra da du Boyina, but it was still pretty. That wicked music coming from the ballroom had long faded. I headed to the right side of the room, and fell to my knees in front of the Milonna statue.
She seemed so fake like this, now that I had seen her with my own eyes. Her face was stone-cold and void of passion. I didn’t know how people could pray to idols like this, but here I was, begging for help. I lit a candle at the altar, and conjured the illusion of a white rose before I laid it across the feet of the statue as an offering.
“Goddess, help me,” I pleaded. “Show me the right path. Tell me what the right decision is.”
Milonna only responded with a quiet voice inside that whispered,The choice is in your hands.
It felt like she was telling me whatever road I chose would be the right one, which was wholly frustrating. I wanted a clear answer, not a vague philosophy that every decision I made would be led by fate.
I’d been forced to come here tonight by Gabby. She wanted to taunt Ethan, and I wasn’t brave enough to say no. Delmare and Stefan were covering for me. They made up excuses to tell the others, but both of them had told me this was the last time they would. They insisted I needed to tell Ethan the truth.
As badly as I wanted to, I’d seen the look in Elijah’s eyes when he’d taken my hand and guided me to the middle of the ballroom, parading me around like a prize. I was his puppet, and he wanted me to know it. He had me under his control. If I did anything...anythingthat was out of line, he’d make my mate pay for it.
And I refused to put Ethan in pain. No matter what it cost me. Not even my dignity was worth it. So when he showed me off to his court, and demanded that I toy with Ethan like he was my doll, I wasn’t in a position to tell him to go fuck himself.
That could all change tonight, if I could give a singular confession. Ethan might leave me for it— he might not want to be my mate anymore.
But at this point, losing him wasn’t as painful as lying to him. It was tearing me up inside. I’d sold so many pieces of my soul to keep this lie, I wasn’t sure there was anything left to give.
I heard footsteps on the stone floor. I jumped to my feet immediately, heartbeat quickening. At first, I thought it might’ve been Elijah, or Gabby, but my guts twisted when I recognized the mask.
Shadows fell across the Phantom’s face as he remained in the darkest part of the cathedral. “I didn’t think a witch like you had any loyalty to the Seven Gods.”
It was a terrible insult to call a fae a witch, but I hadn’t grown up in this society, so I let the comment roll off my shoulders. I let him call me a heretic. He wasn’t going to goad me into attacking him. Not here.
“I claim sanctuary,” I said. “You can’t touch me in the chapel. It’s against the law of the gods to fight on sacred ground.”
The Phantom sneered. “No. But you have to come out at some point. Because if you don’t, you won’t be able to stop me from following Gabby.”
The silence between us was so loud I thought it might break my ears. I wasn’t about to sit here and have a staring contest with Ethan until midnight. But neither could I stop him from going after Gabby. Though I’d thought the decision had been in my hands all along, I was wrong. I had no power over this. Only destiny in it.
I fled. I ran in the other direction, searching for a way out. There was a small door in the corner, meant for priestesses. I took it, and ran.
The Phantom was on my tail. I hurtled down the hallway as fast as I could bear to run. Thank the gods I’d worn flats and not heels. I heard the Phantom’s heavy footsteps as he pursued behind me, and panic grew in my chest. The sound of the string quartet returned, and it grew louder and louder in my pounding ears as the Phantom gave chase.
I had to get away from him. I turned down several hallways, trying to misdirect him, but he didn’t slow. It was useless trying to outrun a prince in his own palace. He knew every twisting hallway in this place, and I could barely get around. Our running shadows flew along the walls against the casting of candlelight, the Phantom and I, a beast running to take down his prey.
I heard the swishing of a blade and ducked to the side. A knife sliced into my shoulder before it embedded itself in the wall, drawing blood and taking off a lock of my hair.
