Chapter 4

“Mate," Nyme whispers in my head consistently.

If I can remember clearly all the fairytales I read as a child, and the fantasy books I've been reading recently, then a mate is like a partner.

Sounds absurd right?

Well everything in the past few hours was absurd as well.

“Liora," the Alpha calls. I raise my gaze to meet his amber ones. “Following the customs of the realm you are to be killed.”

" What!” The words slip out before I even have the chance to process what I just heard.

The Alpha’s voice echoes through the vast hall, cold and unyielding, like a final sentence carved in stone.

“Your powers are unstable,” he continues, every word measured, deliberate. “And by law, any being who threatens the balance between realms must be executed before the next moonrise.”

Executed.

The word slices through me, sharp and unreal.

My heart hammers in my chest. “You can’t be serious,” I whisper, my voice trembling. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. It was an accident!”

The Vampire Lord chuckles, low and dark, lounging lazily back in his throne. “That’s what they all say, little flame. But accidents can still burn worlds to ash.”

“I’m not…” My throat tightens. “I’m not a threat.”

The Fae Prince studies me silently, his unnervingly bright eyes flickering . “You may not intend to be,” he says softly, “but intention means nothing when power like yours wakes. Your kind is known to be a walking disaster.”

“My kind?"

“Hybrids," the vampire lord says casually. “Abominable creatures that shouldn't be existing in the first place.”

I stare at him blankly.

“Seems like you are a bit lost," he scoffs. " Since you are going to die In…let's say thirty minutes, I'll just tell you what you have no business knowing."

He steps closer, and I take a step back. " You see, hybrids are cross breeds, created by an ancient scientist. Back in the days before we killed all the witches, he killed them, used magic to absorb their DNA and crossed it with a wolf, producing your kind.”

“I probably wasn't even born by then. How is that my fault?"

“Your kind is said to one day free a centuries old threat and put an end to us all."

I swallow hard, feeling the weight of their gazes—three rulers, each powerful enough to crush me without lifting a finger. “You can’t just kill me because you think I’m dangerous!”

“Think?” the fae prince chuckles, his voice doing strange things to me. “Baby, you tore through two guards when you lost control at the facility. One’s arm will never heal properly. And that was without provocation.”

“I didn’t even know where I was!” I snap, my fear giving way to anger. “You drugged me, dragged me from my home, strapped me to a bed, and…”

“Silence,” the Vampire Lord cuts in, his tone carrying a quiet authority that makes the air itself shiver. His crimson gaze pins me in place. “Every hybrid went through the same treatment. You're a walking disaster, and we sentence them to execution, the moment we set eyes on them.”

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. My breath trembles. My pulse is a war drum in my ears.

“Kaelen,” the Fae Prince murmurs, turning to the Alpha. “Some of the elders requested we deliberate before any judgment is passed.”

The Alpha, Kaelen, narrows his eyes. “Deliberate all you want. The law is clear. No hybrid survives”

“But the pull,” the Prince continues, nodding toward me. “You feel it too, don’t you?”

For the first time, Lucian hesitates. His gaze flicks toward me, toward the faint, shimmering mark now glowing at the base of my throat. I hadn’t noticed it before. The light pulses in sync with my heartbeat, like it’s alive.

“What is that?” I whisper.

None of them answer, but the silence speaks volumes.

The Vampire Lord rises then, his movements fluid, predatory. “Seens we won't kill you after all,” he says at last, his eyes burning with something I can’t name. “She’s tied to us.”

“Tied?” I echo, shaking my head. “That’s not possible. I don’t even know you!”

The Fae Prince tilts his head, almost sympathetically. “In Fernis, bonds are not chosen. They are fated.”

Fated.

The word feels like a curse.

Kaelen steps closer, his presence overwhelming. “If this bond is true,” he says slowly, “then killing her would break the balance further.”

“So what?” the Vampire Lordndrawls. “You suggest we keep her? As what? A pet?”

“Not a pet,” the Fae Prince says calmly, eyes still fixed on me. “A servant.”

My stomach drops. “Excuse me?”

He continues as if he didn’t hear me. “Under our watch, she can be controlled. Contained. The council will not interfere as long as her powers remain dormant.”

Kaelen's jaw tightens. “And if they don’t? If she looses control again and hurts another person? Mathew is barely dealing with his broken arm.”

“Then,” the vampire begins, his fangs flashing briefly, “we kill her ourselves.”

I take a step back, but the guards behind me don’t move. I’m trapped between monsters, and somehow, fate decided I belong to them.

Nyme’s voice whispers faintly in my head again. “But they look kinda hot".

“Seriously, that's all you can think about?” I shake my head, trying to push her out, but her words cling like shadows.

Kaelen turns to me, his voice final. “From this day forth, you belong to the Triad of Fernis. Serve well, and you may live. Disobey…”

He lets the sentence hang, heavy as the air around us.

The vampire smirks. “Welcome to hell, little trouble”