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“Daeanna!” Moira shouted, following the long marble walkway toward the dais. Imposing pillars of gold-veined white marble guided them to the crystalline stream that separated all from the dais and throne, a beckoning row leading to an unknown outcome.

They stopped when they reached the stream flowing through the marble floor, fed by two natural waterfalls on either side of the dais. Rihanna grabbed Moira’s wrist only when her sister started to step onto the small walkway that crossed the stream. Her gaze lowered to Moira’s balled fist. Everything about Shaye’sanam carawas tight and stiff, noticeable only to one who touched her. Though fury ran rampant beneath her skin, Moira maintained an outwardly calm composure Rihanna envied.

They weren’t made to wait long.

Daeanna stepped from behind the oversized gold throne.

In an arm, a bundle of blankets from which two tiny fists waved in the air. A weak cry greeted them.

Rihanna held her breath, sensing Moira’s internal distress. Her sister’s resolve didn’t crack.

Daeanna’s golden eyes roamed over Moira, her lips curling into a sneer. Her golden hair swirled around her waist, a living entity without a breeze to create such movement.She’d traded in her ruined leather armor for one of her favored gauzy gowns.

“I made my deal utterly clear to all. Entertain me. What did we not understand about the terms?” Daeanna asked. Her voice lacked all cold humor. Instead, poison laced each word. “I have no intention of hosting a family affair. ’Tis between Shaye and I, and us alone.” Her lips pulled away from her teeth in a smile that appeared more carnivorous than Fae. “Alas, we do have a person present I’d enjoy punishing.”

Daeanna’s sun-bright gaze pierced Rihanna with heat. She shielded her mind from the princess’s unwelcomed presence. Only when Daeanna cut her attention to Bryce did Rihanna step in front of her beloved and present her sphere of magical energy.

Daeanna laughed. “Pitiful that you chose a human over a Fae. ’Tis pitiful that you must protecthim.” Her laugh intensified until Bryce tried to brush past Rihanna and Terrek began to wail.

Moira hissed, lunging toward the walkway.

Daeanna’s laugh instantaneously ceased. A forceful wave of magic rushed toward Moira.

“No!” Moira yelled, throwing her hands up as Rihanna leaped forward to counter the attack.

Her sister released another tremendous blast of magic from trembling palms, her face twisted in anger, fear, and frustration. Daeanna screeched as the blast blew her back to land haphazardly in the throne. Terrek remained tightly encased in her arm, his wails silencing.

For the first time, she and Moira could see Terrek’s face, his teary eyes and reddened cheeks.

The sight of him, though distressing, provided relief.

He was well. For now.

Yet the bewildered glance Moira gave her hands in a splitsecond of confusion set off a faint warning alarm inside Rihanna.

Moira didn’t know how to control this new power.

The wary-eyed glance she received from her sister confirmed her suspicion.

“Terrek,” Moira whispered. Straightening up, hiding her trembling hands behind her back, Moira cleared her throat, lifted her chin in a regal fashion, and articulated, “Return the children, Daeanna. They have nothing to do with any of this. If your issue is with Shaye, then they have no place in your custody. Return them.”

Daeanna gaped at her, then fixed herself in the throne. She wagged a finger at Moira, a snicker turning into a breathy laugh that morphed into a bone-chilling cackle. Daeanna’s eyes beamed with madness, the air whipping her hair around her like untamed golden snakes as wild as their mistress.

Bryce rested a hand on her hip, the tips of his fingers squeezing to reassure her he was okay. His composure through these last few days filled her with pride, his resilience a Goddess-sent blessing.

Daeanna calmed herself, clearing her throat as she sat, poised, in the throne that belonged to her father. She held Terrek tucked in her arm, a faint web of magic surrounding him. A containment spell of some sort to prevent retrieval.

“Do you truly believe I’d actually hand over the only leverage I have left simply upon your request? You, another despicable half-breed mortal who believes she has a right to stand before me and make demands?”

Daeanna’s voice grew brittle toward the end, her crazed expression settling into one of intense fury.

“Do you truly believe I have not seen through this”—she waved her hand toward them—“poorly executed attempt toweaken me? Do you believe I am unaware that Shaye is listening in on this confrontation as we speak? Do you?”

She stood up, the force of her fury so potent Rihanna twitched when it hit her. A subtle caress along her spirit. A threat.

Moira’s balled fists tightened until her knuckles whitened, her jaw so tense Rihanna feared the pain she might feel from clenching of her teeth.

“You’ve no army left,” Rihanna said, distracting Daeanna from her primary target. Moira. She released Bryce’s hand from her waist and approached the walkway, her sister, stopping a half-step in front of Moira. “They’ve all fallen, Daeanna. Every single one of your followers lies on the battlefield. Every single one who defied the Goddess to do harm upon a land and people Goddess-blessed fell today. You’ve lost this battle and shall lose the war if you continue to pursue my brother.”