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Yet, before we reached her, she jerked and her blistered lips fell open.

“The Dominus!” she cried, her voice pealing over the trees, then prostrated herself. “He is the Dominus—his power so great, it burned her from existence!”

Before I could urge her to sit up, to keep her injuries out of the dirt, those who’d been limping away turned, eyes wide. New figures began to emerge from the trees, in singles and pairs, all uncertain, but stumbling closer. All of them started toward us and my heart hammered. But they eyed the dragons with fear, and stopped approaching when they were still fifty feet away. And as each man or woman reached that unspoken boundary, they threw themselves down in a posture of submission, all of them panting, groaning, calling.

Dominus. The Dominus shepherds the fold. All hail the Dominus!

Power for Good

~ VOSKI ~

‘Kham… what do I do? They all think I killed her and still hold the mark. They have no idea I no longer have power!’

‘No power? Are you certain? Look, Voski. Open your eyes. See what’s happened. You brought light to the darkness. You brought truth against deception. You loved fearlessly. Look around. See what it has done.’

I had to remind myself to breathe. The Cruors that remained had debased themselves. They submitted to what they believed was the mark—for now, at least—and awaited instructions. But the thought of even being in the same room as these awful people turned my stomach.

‘I should have listened to you earlier, Kham. Tell me what to do. How do we get out of here safely? I have to get Grace to a healer. But I can’t just leave them to take this shit out to the world. Do I let them attack? Let the power turn on them and kill them all?’

‘Use what you’ve been given, Voski. You’re here for a reason. You were born and have grown for this.’

I would have gaped at him if he weren’t behind me. ‘This isn’t the leadership I aspire to! I don’t want their power—’

‘Authority is not good or bad in itself, Voski. How it is used… that’s where the problems begin. If these souls will listen to you, use that.’

‘I have to get Grace out of here!’

‘Then find a way to do both.’

I stared, drop-jawed around the clearing. ‘How? They won’t turn to the light simply because I tell them to!’ He huffed in my head, but then it dawned on me. I was talking to Kham through the link, and I’d been doing so since I confronted my mother.

I looked over my shoulder. ‘I’m so grateful I can hear you again. I never want to lose you, Kham.’

‘You won’t. The moment you stopped fearing her, you stopped giving her permission to afflict you.’

I almost swore at him. ‘I never gave her permission to afflict me!’

‘What you believe opens doors in your heart and mind that your enemy exploits. You have seen. You will grow. We’ll discuss it later—for now, trust me.’

And I did. He’d been right all along, and I’d been so wrong. Taking a deep breath, I turned back to the clearing and the people who’d put themselves on their faces because they believed I was their new king, and that my power outstripped their former Queen’s.

‘It does,’ Kham pointed out, though I hadn’t asked.

‘Yet, Grace is dying,’ I shot back, stifling the flutter of fear that wanted to take hold. I had learned my lesson.

‘Not yet. Not if we can stop it. She remains now because even enemies can love and offer help.’

‘These people don’t love,’ I muttered back. ‘They only help to gain favor.’

Kham didn’t respond. But I didn’t give in to the urge to anger, or fear again. I’d seen where that would leave us. I wouldn’t allow these people—or their power—to drive my decisions any longer. Still, I had to make my mate safe, if it could even be done.

The thought chilled my blood.

Still floundering, I reached for Grace, who stood straight at my side, her eyes less tight as she scanned the shocking display before her.

Drawing her slightly aside, away from Cali, I turned to her. ‘Tell me what you’re feeling, and how serious it is.’

She glanced up at me, her expression uncertain. ‘The pain fades more every minute. I’m weary. Desperately tired. Something isn’t right. But I don’t know what she did. It’s helped. I feel like I’m getting better, not worse. But, something is wrong.’