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Pri’s hand lunged forward, brandishing two iron blades as she slipped them into Landers chest and side.

A scream sounded from Cin’s throat that could have shook the realm as she sprinted toward her, magic exploding from her skin. A realm-shattering roar bellowed from Nithra’s lungs.

“Come any closer and I’ll kill him,” Pri hissed, her daggers plunging deeper into Lander’s flesh, but he did not flinch at the pain.

Cin stopped dead in her tracks as a snarl erupted from her throat. Blood trickled from where Pri’s knives met skin. If she pushed any deeper, it would kill him.

Her lips curled into a sneer as her eyes connected with mine.

“You were always the clever one, I figured it would be you that finally put it together.” Her voice was so shrill I didn’t recognize it as she pulled Landers against her chest.

“Pri,” Andrues’s voice sounded from behind me, cracking at the edges. “Why are you doing this?”

Pri let out a cold, humorless laugh. “You all preach about family, how you would die for each other, but can’t even see as one of your own slips away right in front of your eyes.”

“Pri,please,” Andrues’s words were pleading, his voice barely above a whisper. “This is not you. We can talk about this, find a way to fix whatever is wrong.”

My hands slipped behind my back, reaching for my blades as her focus flashed to me.

“Don’t even think about it,” she growled, her eyes boring into mine.

“After all these centuries, this is what it comes down to? Betrayal?” Landers spat through the pain as his eyes flashed to Cin.

“You still can’t see it, can you?” Pri asked, amusement dancing in her tone as she pulled her gaze to the edge of the clearing. “Wren saw it,” she said with a small sigh as two figures walked across the clearing toward us.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Dukovich move to Cin’s side, readying for whatever, whomever, was about to come.

“He was the only one that caught on. He tried to tell you, but I needed a little bit more time, sonaturallyI had to kill him. It was sad really, he was such a sweet boy,” Pri crooned, her voice dripping with venom.

Red flashed behind my eyes, my skin heating as her words crashed into my bones. The fire in my blood could have turned the rain to steam as it collided with my skin.

Rilius and Sashi stepped into view as an animalistic growl detonated from Cin’s lungs. “Traitors,” she snarled, lunging for them but something held her back.

Froze her in place.

“I thought you loved traitors, seeing as you’ve already aligned yourself with one,” Rilius retorted, as a chuckle slipped from his lips.

“It was you,” Asrai breathed. “You killed the Elders, killed Mara.”

“Yes,” Sashi answered. “See, we thought it was time Ithia came into power—realpower. We were promised our realm’s freedom, its safety, without bowing to anyone, without the bloodshed of our people. We were willing to sacrifice the few, for the masses.”

I could see from my peripheral as Essara and Nantia slowly began to back away while Siggy stood firmly by us. Sashi’s eyes snapped to them and they froze, just like Cin.

“And where do the two of you think you are going?” Sashi asked as Essara shot Nantia a frantic glance.

“This is not our war, we want nothing to do with this,” Essara spat.

“Ahh, but you see, you are wrong. This is not just a war for the realms. This is a war of Gods and fae, of daemons and witches. This war is all of ours, but she intends to win it.” Sashi took a step forward, her boots pressing into the soaked ground, circling us with slow menacing steps as Landers jerked against Pri’s hold.

“This was planned,” Sashi started again, clasping her hands at her back. “She knew Royion well enough to know that he would not miss the chance at a deal to kill the Alpha and Omega for what they did to the five of you. All she needed was a way to lure Hyacinth to your tomb to wake you. But she also knew your little King would try and stop her. So she searched for Hyacinth’s mate knowing that she could not resist the pull of the mating bond, that it would lead her directly to you.”

Every ounce of color drained from Cin’s face as Sashi’s words slipped into the frigid air around us.

We had played right into her fucking hands every step of the way.

“It was really just a coincidence that her mate was Cain.” A harsh laugh burst from Sashi’s lungs. “The universe truly has a sense of humor. Now, I do not know all the particulars, she hadPri approach us with this deal on her behalf just after Landers came to the Elders asking about the soul tying ceremony.”

“What deal?” Asrai growled, taking one step toward me and clutched my hands still wrapped around my blades at the small of my back.