The only thing my eyes latched onto was the sight of Adley’s tear-stained face. That was all that mattered, not the woman across from her or the corpse at her feet. Anger burned in her eyes, but it was the person it was directed at that told me this Adley wasn’t an illusion.Alexandria was smiling from where she stood in front of a great window overlooking the sea, clearly in some unnamed room of Dain’s castle. Her head was held high as she basked in Adley’s pain, which I didn’t know the cause of until I noticed the head of flaming hair fanned out across the floor.For a moment, I thought I was seeing my mom again, which made me wonder why Adley was both crying and snarling in outrage.Only when she gasped and turned her head in my direction did I realize it was my body I was looking at.“Rachel—you’re alive!” Her hand flew up to cover her mouth.When Alexandria noticed me, she tilted h

We followed the curve of the room, forcing our way past people that tried to split us up. Whether it was on purpose or because everyone here was drunk didn’t matter, not when half a second apart could allow one of us to slip away. More than once I had to use my magic to separate the crowd. A simple wave of my hand had people stumbling backwards, moved by an invisible wall that kept them away.Just when we began to draw serious attention to ourselves, I found the escort with the missing button and the corridor he stood in front of. He stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak when two men in crisp looking suits pushed through the crowd. Both had blank expressions on their face as they charged our way.Without wasting any time Adley and I made a mad dash for the corridor. At the last second, I paused before running inside and faced the two men. Thrusting my hand out with my palm flat, I let out a blast of magic that sliced through the air.It hit the fir

The weapon of light I held in my hand sputtered out, and for a long moment we stared at one another. Our eyes conveyed everything words couldn’t. Every agonizing emotion we felt was on display, along with the flimsy excuses we told ourselves to cover the bitter, ugly truth of it all.I murdered her sister, her twin. We came here to rescue Ally and failed.Blame and agony were the storm clouds that rolled across her eyes, leeching the blue from the horizon until her iris’s turned a flat grey. There was something different about her, something that changed when Ally’s body melted into the iridescent stars that now hung in the night sky.It could’ve easily been a mixture of shock and grief, but a feeling in my gut told me it might be something more.My brain was running on overdrive, taking in every detail, yet I it couldn’t find the words to say. I wanted to snarl and throw myself out the window a second time when an a

“Now, now. We don’t want boy toy to get hurt, do we?” Alexandria cooed; her blood-red lips forming a perfect heart on her face.To prove a point she brought the blade up and nicked his cheek. A thin trail of blood ran down the side of his face, through the stubble that appeared to be freshly shaved. I hadn’t even realized I’d been snarling until she giggled and shook her head.Through it all, Aidan’s eyes remained blank.“What did you do to him?” I would’ve been surprised at how guttural my voice sounded if she hadn’t brought the blade back to his throat.She feigned confusion and used her free hand to tug his head back. “Oh, that. It’s just a little enchantment to keep him cool as a cucumber while we chat.”“After what you did to Ally, the only conversation we’re going to have is the one where you beg for your life.” I would’ve made an at

I wiped the vomit from my mouth but turned to heave again when Apollo lifted his brother’s severed head off the floor by his mane of bronze hair. There was a hideously disturbing splat, much too loud to be blood alone, as something wet hit the floor.“Do you really need to take his head with you, Apollo?” I asked after spitting and wiping my mouth for the second time.The question was supposed to be laced with venom, but instead I sounded almost afraid. His behavior was a bit odd, but it’s not like there were guidelines for keeping your shit together after beheading your own flesh and blood. Plus, he and Aeacus seemed to have some serious issues.Apollo cocked one of his sculpted eyebrows at me, like I was the one being difficult. There wasn’t a shred of regret or shame within his eyes, not that there should be, but I expected something substantial.This couldn’t possibly be it.‘