Page 92

“It's Rapunzel. She’s in trouble.”

Without waiting for another word, I bolt from the room. Finik clings to my shoulder, and Rowan follows closely behind me as I race down the hall, desperate to reach my mate.

CHAPTER 52

RAPUNZEL

Istep into the throne room, my footsteps echoing against the polished marble floors. Sunlight filters through stained glass windows, casting colorful patterns over the elegant tapestries and high vaulted ceilings.

My parents are seated on their gilded thrones, and Tristan and Theron are standing before them.

My mother’s head snaps to mine and she smiles brightly. “Rapunzel, we’re so glad you’re here. Theron was just telling us the wonderful news.”

Confused, I glance at Theron. His expression is strangely distant, his eyes dull and unfocused as they meet mine.

“What news?” I ask.

Father practically beams at me. “That you two wish to wed immediately.”

“What?” Shocked, I look at Theron. “We’re not—”

I stop abruptly as a flash of purple sparks in his eyes. Fear freezes my veins like ice.He’s under a spell.

Without warning, the throne room doors burst open. Horror fills me as Drusilla strides in, using her magic to slam the heavy wooden doors closed behind her with a deafening boom.

Lightning fast, my parents and Tristan jolt to their feet, swords ringing out as Tristan and the guards draw their blades.

Raising my arms, I call upon my power as well, but Drusilla and Theron are faster.

Theron rushes my brother, knocking the sword from his grip and twisting his arm, immobilizing him a headlock. Wisps of purple magic spiral around Drusilla’s fingers. With a flick of her wrists, thick vines burst from the marble floor, wrapping around our arms and legs, binding us in place.

She sends an arc of magic toward the guards, and they straighten rigidly, their eyes glowing purple as she directs them to march obediently out into the hallway. They step outside, and Drusilla seals the doors shut with a shimmering barrier of dark magic.

“How did you get in here, Drusilla?” I demand, voice shaking.

Her eyes glitter with malicious delight as she changes her appearance to look like a Deer Shifter—horns sprouting from her head. “The royal guards let me in,” she says mockingly. “How could they refuse a loyal servant of Prince Theron who had traveled all the way from Sylvalis with a message for him?”

She flashes a sinister grin as she morphs back into her Goblin form, with lavender skin and hair, sharp, black claws, and piercing silver eyes.

“Please,” my father pleads. “We'll give you whatever you want, just let—"

Drusilla flicks her wrists, and thick vines gag both my mother and father, silencing their pleas.

She turns her cold gaze to me. “No need to fret, my dear. Soon, you will have forgotten all about this place, and things will be as they were before.” A cruel smile forms on her lips. “Justyou and me, and no one to interrupt us while I find a way to take back what is mine.”

“You won’t get away with this,” Tristan snarls, struggling against his bindings. “I’ll hunt you down, and—”

Drusilla silences him with another wave of her hand, his words choking off sharply. “How noble.” Her expression darkens. “But you can’t hunt me if you’re dead.”

“No!” Fear slices through my heart. “Please, Drusilla, spare them. I’ll go willingly, I swear it.”

“Oh, I'm sure you would,” she says mockingly. “But do you think they’d ever stop looking for you?”

She narrows her eyes. “It’s the reason I waited all those years before I finally took you. And as a servant, I had access to you as much as I needed, testing various spells as you slept, trying to regain my lost powers.”

Her eyes snap to Theron. “But then, you were going to marry him. And I couldn’t risk that he would take you to his kingdom and leave me behind. So, when I saw a chance, I took it.”

She growls low in her throat. “It should have been simple. I thought everyone would assume you were dead. But they never gave up.” Her gaze travels over Theron and my brother. “Your Fox Prince will be a problem too if I don’t take care of him now. And I cannot allow loose ends,” she says darkly. “Not this time.”