I exhale sharply, the weight of those words crushing me. Because I’d believed them. I’d wanted them to be true. I’d hoped that even if his future didn’t end up being with me—which by that point, I was already questioning if it would be—he’d still find happiness.
But now, standing here, staring at his ghost, I know that second chance will never come.
And then, suddenly, there’s a hand brushing mine.
Riven.
The rush of pain brings me back from the haze of grief setting over me at the fact that my ex-boyfriend is dead and I’m talking to his ghost.
Because it’s no longer Matt I’m thinking about.
It’sRiven.
“Get off me,” I snap at him, yanking my hand out of his as if he’s a poisonous snake.
Darkness flashes over his eyes, but he just steps back, his hand returning to the hilt of his sheathed sword, and nods.
“Trouble in fae paradise?” Matt asks, glancing back and forth between me and Riven in amusement.
“It’s complicated.” I brush it off, needing to change the subject. “How did you die? And what does it have to do with Zoey?”
After all, ithasto do with Zoey and the Night Court. They were what I originally asked about. Why would the Underworld have sent Matt if he can’t answer my question?
“That’s also complicated,” he says wryly. “Let’s start by saying that when your ex-girlfriend and her best friend disappear, the ex-boyfriend tends to be on the top of the suspect list.”
“No.” Horror rises in my chest. “Matt…”
“They tried to pin it on me, Saph,” he says. “I could feel it—how they were looking for anything that could make me the villain of your little vanishing act.”
I swallow hard, my mind racing. Of course people would have been looking for me and Zoey, but I never thought about what that would mean for Matt.
No matter how toxic our relationship had become at the end, he deserved better thanthis.
“I had to get out,” he continues, his voice tight. “So, I got in my car and drove north, as far as I could go. But the roads were icy, and I thought I saw something in the woods. A light. Or maybe I was just exhausted. I don’t know. But I lost control. The car went off the road, straight into a ravine.”
I suck in a sharp breath, and my stomach twists.
“Is that what killed you?” I ask, even though it wouldn’t explain what Zoey had to do with this.
“No. But it was bad.” He shakes his head, thinking back on whatever happened next. “And when I woke up, Ravenna was there. The queen of the Night Court. She brought me to the palace and gave me the potion that healed me. I thought I owed her everything.” His gaze flickers, the edges of his form shiftinglike smoke. “But whatever I thought she felt for me… it wasn’t real. It never was.”
“Of course it wasn’t,” I mutter. “Winter fae aren’t capable of love. I doubt night fae are, either, since they were winter fae before they were turned.”
Riven flinches, but he says nothing.
Matt simply nods. “She fed from me a few times a day,” he says, his eyes hollow as he thinks back on it. “I thought I loved her. But now, I can see clearly again. I was just another human plaything to her—another soul to feed her power. And right now, the same thing is happening to Zoey. She’s under the same spell.”
“The queen has Zoey, too?” I ask.
“Not the queen.” Matt steps closer, urgency tightening his features. “It’s Aerix. The Night Prince. He has her under his spell, just like Ravenna had me. She thinks she’s falling in love with him. She truly believes he cares about her.”
“No.” I take a sharp breath inward. “Zoey’s smarter than that.”
“Ouch.” Matt scrunches his face and flinches back.
“It’s different,” I say quickly, even though I know Matt and Zoey well enough to know that he’s the one who believes in love at first sight—not her.
“It’s not about strength,” Matt says quickly. “The blood creates a bond. The connection grows stronger every time he drinks from her. She thinks she’s choosing it, but really...” He pauses, pain crossing his features, and his voice drops lower. “Her whole demeanor has changed. She thinks she belongs to him, and that he understands her. And the longer she’s with him, the more his spell will sink in, until there’s nothing left of her anymore.”
