Xenos barely looked in her direction as water rose from the ground, pulled from the soil and the grass. He turned the water into ice, creating a barrier around Carwyn. Evelina tried to run around it, but another wall formed. Then another and another, until Carwyn was entirely encased. Evelina pounded on the cage of ice, screaming.
She tried to breathe through the panic. She wouldn’t lose her sister—she’d already lost too much. She had to dosomething.
Carwyn looked up, her eyes filled with tears. Evelina watched in horror as Carwyn slowly froze until she was nothing more than a statue.
Evelina slid to her knees, screaming until her throat became raw.
“Evelina, darling,” her mother said from beside her.
She jumped, and her screams turned into cries as she reached out for her mother. Embry looked different this time—slightly see-through, as if she were fading.
“The time has come for you to bear the weight of the Eternal Crown,” Embry continued. “My spirit can only rest once it’s complete. The crown is already imbuing itself into your Essence.”
Evelina never wanted to be queen—she never even had achanceto become queen. Carwyn was the one always prepped to wear the crown, and even before Evelina, Ren and Lyria would have been next in line.
If she became queen…she would lose Daimon.
There were already so many reasons they couldn’t be together; their fates were always pulling them in opposite directions. If anyone ever found out he was the son of Nyx, he would be outcasted into the wildlands. There would be riots if it was discovered the princess—thequeen—was in love with the offspring of a dark god.
But becoming the queen meant taking a king, someone who had already been bound to her by blood and by oath. She would have no choice but to marry Senna. Even if she wanted to try with Daimon, the choice had already been made. Senna had sworn himself to thecrown, no matter who wore it.
She glanced back at Carwyn, frozen in time. “And if I don’t want it?”
“You have the right to abdicate after the transfer is complete,” Azmara said from beside them. “But if it wanted another, it would have chosen them. The repercussions of rejecting it are not light.”
Evelina swallowed. “Repercussions?”
“Once it passes on to you, it imbues itself within your Essence,” Azmara explained. “You are one with the crown. To give it up is to also give up your magic. You would remain fae if you so choose to reject it, but your magic cannotbe untangled from it. It would stay with the crown and pass on to the next, leaving you powerless.”
“So, what will it be, daughter of Embry?” Astoria pressed.
Evelina took a step back, shaking her head. “It was always supposed to be Carwyn.”
She glanced at her mother, who was almost fully invisible now. Evelina reached out for her, desperate to feel her one last time. But her hand went through her, her body no longer solid.
Embry nodded. “I will love you regardless.” She smiled softly and said, “I will be with you always.”
Evelina’s stomach sank. With a quick breath, she twisted back to the gods and goddesses. She nodded and took a deep breath as she met Astoria’s gaze, determination filling her.
“I agree to bear the weight of the Eternal Crown.”
“Your empire will need you in the days to come.” Astoria’s voice was fading, sounding farther away, as if Evelina had cotton in her ears. “Your gift of light is a mark befitting a queen. Hold those words close to your heart.”
Evelina’s vision darkened, and she felt the pull to return to her body. It was like her soul was tethered, but not quite settled, and now her body was calling her home.
Evelina knew her future was about to change. She could feel it deep in her bones. The change wasn’t subtle; it wasn’t a slight shift of the wind or something so slow she couldn’t notice it until after it happened.
The change was quick. Sharp.
The swift swipe of a blade, cutting down all her dreams.
Sixty-One
Daimon
Senna had controlledthe crowd enough to get them to migrate away from where Evelina and Carwyn were lying—impressive, considering the faerie wine crates had nearly been emptied by this point.
But Daimon couldn’t pull himself together enough to wrangle the crowd. Evelina didn’tlookas if anything were wrong. Her face was peaceful, no crinkle on her forehead in sight. And he would know if something were wrong; he had no doubt that he would feel it in the depths of his bones.
