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Orion’s expression darkens, actual flame flickering to life in his hair as rage kindles. “What kind of orders are we talking about?”

“Complete control over her development. Consort bond as leash rather than partnership. Mental manipulation disguised as love.” The words taste like ash and betrayal ground to powder. “Three days to establish dominance or face...”

“Or face what?”

“Family destruction. Everything my parents worked toward, branded as treason. Their memory erased completely, theirresearch destroyed, their names forgotten. Me executed for inherited sedition.”

Orion’s amber eyes flare with violence barely contained beneath civilized veneer. “They’re holding your entire bloodline hostage.”

“Effectively, yes.” I lean against my door, needing solid wood to keep me upright when my legs threaten to buckle. “What about you? The Wild Court wouldn’t ignore this level of magical manifestation.”

His jaw ticks. “The Morrigan visited. Wants me to accelerate the guardian bond, ensure Ash chooses Wild Court over the alternatives.” He runs a hand through flame-bright hair, actual sparks dancing between his fingers like fireflies of rage. “Not through force, but through emotional dependency. Make her addicted to Wild Court protection. Like a drug she can’t survive without.”

“So we’re both being positioned as puppets in someone else’s game.”

“Seems that way.” Orion studies my face with uncomfortable intensity that sees too much. “What are you going to do?”

The question hangs between us like a blade balanced on its edge—duty to family versus loyalty to her. Political survival versus personal integrity. Everything I’ve built over centuries balanced against a woman I’ve known for weeks.

A woman who trusts me enough to accept forbidden knowledge. Who looks at me like I might actually be worth believing in.

But another realization chills me to the marrow—ice flooding my veins as pieces click together with horrible clarity. “What if Amarantha’s interest in controlling Ash isn’t purely about court politics? What if it connects to those reports I’ve been hearing, whispered conversations about Wild Court communities going silent, disappearing without any trace?”

Orion goes absolutely still. “What are you thinking?”

“Empty settlements. Missing bloodlines. Systematic elimination.” The words come out strangled by growing horror. “What if Amarantha isn’t just planning to control the last royal heir—what if she’s been exterminating every other Wild Court bloodline to ensure no challenges to her authority?”

“You’re talking about genocide.”

“I’m talking about someone who’s been playing a centuries-long game while the rest of us thought we were maintaining peace.” My hands shake harder, the folder threatening to slip from nerveless fingers. “Someone who’s been systematically removing opposition before making her final move.”

“There’s something else you need to know,” Orion says, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper that carries the weight of terrible secrets. “Wild Court settlements have been going dark. Entire communities, just... gone. No bodies, no signs of struggle. Like they simply vanished from existence.”

The floor tilts beneath my feet like the world is ending. “How many?”

“Too many. The Morrigan thinks it’s connected to Ash’s awakening. Someone’s been moving pieces across the board, preparing for something massive.”

“Eliminating potential allies,” I realize with growing horror that makes bile burn up my throat.

“Or anyone who might recognize what she truly represents.”

Orion’s expression hardens with resolve that makes him look ancient despite his apparent youth. “I don’t know about you, but I’d rather die fighting than live as her puppet.”

“And if we refuse their terms?” I ask, though acid burns my throat with the question.

“Then the Academy falls,” Orion says with brutal honesty, each word a hammer blow against hope. “Three thousand years of neutral ground, of preserved knowledge, of safe haven forstudents from every court, gone. If Seelie and Unseelie go to war over Wild Court restoration, this place becomes the first casualty. Every student, every text, every person we’ve sworn to protect dies in the crossfire.”

He meets my eyes with grim determination that cuts through despair. “But she still deserves better than being controlled by people who see her as a political tool. Even if protecting her choice costs us everything we’ve built.”

“You’re absolutely right, of course.” I press my thumb against my bottom lip, mind racing through impossible calculations. “But there has to be another way. Some option they haven’t considered.”

“There’s something else you need to understand,” Orion continues, his voice carrying weight that makes my chest tighten with dread. “The consort bonds they’re demanding—they’re not just political alliances. They’re magical leashes. Once established, they can force compliance, override free will, turn love into slavery.”

“I know.” The admission scrapes my throat raw like swallowing broken glass. “My family’s records are... unfortunately detailed about the process.”

“Then you know what they’re really asking us to do.”

“Destroy her while making her believe we’re saving her.” The words taste like poison and ash ground to powder.