Chapter 31

Elouera

The iron latch clicked shut, and for one terrifying moment, I forgot how to breathe.

Before Commander Jace could open the door, I quickly grabbed my cloak from the settee. I wrapped it tightly around myself and pulled the high collar up to my jaw.

Then I opened the small side door used by the servants and slipped into the gallery hallway. I pulled the door shut behind me just as Jace stepped into my empty room.

I didn’t stop to look back.

Every step down the grand marble staircase felt like I was walking on burning coals. My whole body felt like it was on fire. It wasn’t the kind of heat that came with a normal fever. It felt much worse, like the heat was coming from deep inside my bones and spreading through my entire body.

The tight linen bandages around my chest felt like iron chains squeezing me every time I breathed. Sweat ran down the back of my neck, cold against my skin, even though the rest of my body felt like it was burning.

I dug my fingernails into my palms, using the pain to keep myself focused.

Just six hours, I told myself.

Six more hours of pretending to be the weak, sickly prince.

Six hours of standing behind the royal platform.

Then I would disappear forever.

The doors to the Grand Conservatory were wide open. Eight imperial knights stood guard outside, their silver armor shining under the lights.

Beyond the doors, the most powerful people in New Avalon had gathered beneath the huge glass domes of the upper palace.

The heat inside the conservatory hit me the moment I entered.

Hundreds of scented candles burned in large iron chandeliers hanging from the glass ceiling. The smell of flowers, wine, and roasted meat filled the air.

Hundreds of nobles crowded the room. Men wore expensive coats, while women wore shining silk gowns and heavy fur cloaks.

Their voices filled the hall with a loud, endless murmur.

Some were gossiping.

Some were laughing.

Others were quietly making deals and discussing politics. They looked beautiful and powerful But beneath all that wealth and elegance, I knew what they really were. A room full of wolves dressed in velvet.

I kept my head down, pulling my hood forward so it covered most of my face. My bare throat throbbed under the high collar of my tunic. The black lines on my skin reached toward my chin, burning so badly that it felt like hot metal was flowing through my veins.

“Look at him,” a soft, mocking voice came from a group of noblewomen standing near the marble fountain. They were slowly waving their fans.

“The Second Prince actually came out of his sickbed tonight.”

“He looks like a ghost,” another woman whispered with a cruel laugh. “A strong wind from the northern mountains could break him in half. It’s embarrassing that the Empress allows him to stand on the royal dais looking like that.”

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat and kept walking. I could feel their cold stares following me, but I ignored them. They had no idea what was hiding beneath my weak and sickly appearance.

They didn’t know about the blood on my hands from the Sinks. They didn’t know about the silver stiletto hidden inside my boot. To them, Prince Elian was nothing more than a useless second son. An unfortunate mistake in the imperial family.

I needed to find Holden.

My eyes moved desperately across the crowded ballroom. I searched for the familiar sight of his high-backed wheelchair or the brass cane he always carried near the pillars.

He was the only thing keeping me calm.

If I could stay where he could see me, if I knew he was watching, maybe I could control the fire burning inside my body until dawn.

But instead, my eyes suddenly met a pair of cold eyes near the bottom of the throne dais.

Crown Prince Callan.

He stood taller than almost every man in the room. His broad shoulders were covered by a dark blue military uniform, with three rows of medals pinned across his chest.

Several foreign envoys were trying to speak with him, but he wasn’t listening to them.

His sharp eyes were fixed completely on me.

He had been watching me from the moment I walked through the grand doors.

Beside him stood Stirling Vance. He looked perfect and dangerous in the dark green uniform of the Northern House.

His face was cold and emotionless, but as I moved closer to the dais, his nose twitched slightly. His amber eyes narrowed as he stared at the high collar covering my throat.

A shiver ran down my spine.

The tension between us felt so strong that it was almost painful.

The medicine I had rubbed over my throat was starting to wear off. The sweet smell of wild honey and rain was slowly coming back.

My real scent.

The scent of an Omega who was no longer fully suppressed.

The strange heat burning inside my body made the scent even stronger.

No.

No, I had to control it.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and pressed a hand against my chest as another wave of nausea hit me.

My heart was beating so hard that I thought it might break through my ribs. The black veins on my neck were pulsing with heat, and the edges of my vision began to blur.

Then a loud trumpet sounded across the conservatory.

The conversations stopped immediately.

“All hail Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Cynthia of New Avalon!”

The herald’s voice echoed through the huge glass hall.

The crowd quickly moved aside and bowed as the Empress came down the grand marble staircase.

She wore a long gown made of silver embroidery and white velvet. A golden crown rested on her head, shining beneath the hundreds of candles.

She didn’t look at Callan.

She didn’t look at Stirling either.

Her cold violet eyes moved across the room, passing over the bowing nobles until they stopped on me.

I was still shaking.

“My lords and ladies,” the Empress said.

Her voice carried clearly through the huge glass ceiling. It was smooth, but as cold as winter.

“Tonight, as the Equinox begins, we celebrate the strength and purity of the Imperial family.”

She paused.

“And tonight, I will officially announce the true heir to the throne.”

A shocked gasp moved through the entire room.

My knees suddenly went weak.

I grabbed the edge of a heavy marble pillar to keep myself from falling. My nails scraped against the cold stone, but I could barely hold on.

The air around me felt harder to breathe with every passing second. It was getting hotter and heavier, almost like the room was closing in on me.

Then something strange happened.

Pale silver smoke began pouring from the large brass incense burners along the walls.

It wasn’t normal incense.

The moment the cold smoke touched my face, something inside my body reacted.

A sudden burst of terrible pain exploded in my stomach.

I gasped.

It felt like someone had poured burning fire down my throat. The entire room started spinning. The huge chandeliers above me became nothing more than long, blurry streaks of light.

I grabbed my throat, but I couldn’t breathe.

A broken gasp escaped my mouth.

Then the tight linen bindings beneath my tunic suddenly tore apart under the pressure of my racing heartbeat.

My cloak slipped from my shoulders and fell heavily onto the marble floor.

Then it happened.

My Omega scent exploded from my body.

The smell of wild honey, rain, and burning heat filled the room almost instantly.

It spread through the entire Grand Conservatory like a broken dam.

The room became completely silent. Not a single person moved. Every head turned toward me. Every noble stared.

Then I saw it.

Across the room, the eyes of every Alpha locked onto me.

Callan.

Stirling.

And a dozen powerful lords.

Their eyes had changed.

The usual color was gone.

All of them were staring at me with dark, dangerous, blood-red eyes.