Then it quickly shattered.
Aurelius emerged from the chaos, striding toward Titus with a deadly look in his eyes. Panic pumped through my veins. My heart raced.
Things had just gone from bad to worse—so much worse. Aurelius didn’t look angry anymore.He looked decided.Like he’d just watched the last line get crossed.
The Master of Dragons raised his arm. White light beamed from his hand, aimed directly at Titus’s back.
I couldn’t think. I just reacted—unsure why I cared so much about the High Lord when he’d been nothing but heartless and cruel.
I tried to warn him. “TITUS!” I screamed.
Before the beam could make contact, Titus spun around— inhumanly fast—and a massive shockwave of energy erupted from his body, absorbing the white light magic and deflecting it.
Everyone was thrown to the ground, hitting hard, as if a bomb had detonated.
My body smackedthe stone floor with a sound like a watermelon dropped onto concrete. Something in my chest cracked on impact. Everything fell silent—no screaming, no running.
My ears rang violently. I could smell the metallic scent of blood, and warm liquid ran down my mouth. My vision blurred, but Titus’s voice cut through the ringing.
“The party’s over. Everyone—return to your rooms.”
He stalked back into the castle as Gleeda rushed out as fast as her aged body could carry her. She found me first and began to restore me with her healing light. I wasn’t sure why she came to me first—maybe I was the most injured because I was the only mortal.
As soon as I was healed, I forced myself upright. I helped Rexius up and guided him into the castle, his arm heavy over my shoulders. He could barely walk. He didn’t seem physically injured, but something was seriously wrong.
Down the hall, a sitting room opened to my left. I plopped Rexius onto the couch. His larger Fae body was heavy, and I struggled to lower him gently. I needed something to clean him up—he was covered in vomit and still in shock.
I took off running down the hall, searching for a washroom, but instead I found Aurelius.
If it weren’t for his silver hair, I don’t think I would’ve recognized him. He looked angry. I’d never seen him angry before, and his fury was directed at me.
In that moment, I felt more afraid of him than I ever had of Titus.
“Why did you warn him?” he whisper-shouted, shaking my shoulders. My body thrashed from the force—hard enough to rattle me, not enough to hurt—but it wasn’t gentle either. Aurelius had always been gentle with me. This side of him was unsettling.
Then I saw it—he wasn’t just angry. He was scared.
The desperation in his voice sounded like an animal cornered.
“I… I don’t know,” I stammered, tears forming. “I thought he’d just saved me from Prisca, and I reacted. I didn’t want anyone else to die.”
“Save you?” Aurelius scoffed. “He doesn’t care about you. He used it as an opportunity to finally kill his sister once and for all.”
How could I have been so blind?
My heart sank. My vision blurred with tears. I sobbed into my hands—holding nothing back—unraveling everything. What had just happened, my frustration with Titus… I let it spill
out, like I’d been holding it by a single thread and Aurelius had just snipped it.
I could feel him staring, like he was trying to decipher who my tears were for.
After a moment, he softened and pulled me into his arms. I cried against his chest while he stroked my hair.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “Don’t cry. I forgive you, Delilah.”
Umm…what?
Defending Titus—and therefore going against Aurelius—was not the reason I was upset.
