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“I dispense what is due. I am the inescapable consequence.”

“So—” the word hitched in my chest “—everyone I ever touched, everyone I hurt, they weren’t just collateral damage?”

“Put simply, no, they were not.”

The weight of a lifetime of guilt shifted. “What about Deva?”

“Nature bows to no law. Your aunt rests in the Lethean fields.”

Tears pricked at my eyes, and I felt like I could breathe after months of suffocating. I hadn’t doomed the woman who raised me. I didn’t have to carry the burden of her death anymore. “So what do I do now?”

“The men chosen for you are powerful. Claiming them unlocked the cage that contained me, but only a soul-bond with each will release the full extent of my wrath.”

That sounded…ominous. “Are you still, you know,” I chewed my lip, “going to zap people if I touch them?”

Dark laughter rang out around me, echoing in the void. “I am awake now, and my power is controlled. It is your power now too. My rage is your rage. Together we will destroy those who dared to defy us.”

“But I still don’t know who that is!” If it was those creatures that attacked us in the ravine, then we were all screwed. I had been useless in that fight. Just a liability.

“Trust the strength of your mates.” The air around me shivered, and her presence began to fade. “They will protect you.”

Great.

Who was going to protect them?

39

CORDELIA

Warmth. Safety. These were the things that rushed in as the empty void dissipated. Had it all been a dream? Then the vivid memories crashed through my skull, bringing icy fear. Demons. Monsters. Terror. Pain. And Quinn—he was—he⁠—

“Shh, Pixie. You’re alright.” A familiar voice cut through the mounting panic, and gentle fingers traced over the side of my face. “Come back to me.”

I opened my eyes with a breath to find a handsome face waiting for me. Even in the muted light, his hazel eyes glinted with green and gold. My Prince.

“You’re alive.” The words scraped over my parched throat, the swell of relief making it even tighter. “What happened?” He rolled away, and details of my surroundings filtered through my foggy brain. I was in a large, dark bedroom, dimly lit by a bedside lamp. A clean, oversized t-shirt that smelled faintly of sandalwood had replaced my clothes. “And who dressed me?”

Alaric returned with a water bottle. “Here. I did. I’m sorry. You were covered in—” He winced, pain crossing his features. “You’ve been asleep for about fifteen hours. It’ll be sunrise soon.”

I lifted onto an elbow and noticed a heavy arm draped over my waist, a warm hand pressed to my ribs under my breast. Alaric and I were not alone, and the steady pulse of the pale heartstring told me who it was.

“He’s been out almost as long as you,” Alaric said while I sipped the water. “Yesterday was too much. When he finally passed out, we put you together, hoping it would help him recover faster.”

I handed the bottle back and relaxed onto the pillow again. Rami nuzzled his face into the back of my neck, seeking to be closer even as he slept. Alaric resumed his position facing me.

“Was that really all just yesterday?” Margo’s attack felt like a hundred years ago, eclipsed by what happened after the wreck. How could that have all happened in one day? My chest clenched. “Are you okay? Is—is Quinn?”

“He’s alive.” Alaric brushed tangled hair away from my face. “Quinn wouldn’t let Rami touch him until we knew you were safe, so the void’s poison spread. He needs time.”

Hot tears pressed against my eyes at the vision of that faceless monster stabbing a blade of pure darkness into Quinn’s chest. “It’s all my fault.”

“Hey, no.” Ric swept a thumb over my cheek. “Don’t think that for a second.” His fingers moved to my shoulder, drawing comforting lines up and down my arm. “What do you remember?”

I held his gaze while the memories assaulted me, my breath hitching. “I remember the crash. Bel got me out of the car and then those…”

“We call them mimics,” he filled in for me. “A human shell taken over completely by shade.”

I shivered. “Mimics. They attacked us and then…” Once again I felt lost for words, the syllables stolen by disbelief. “Then Bel turned into a-a gryphon?” Maybe if I posed it as a question, I wouldn’t feel so crazy saying it out loud.