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As they followed the queen and her guards in silence up winding stone staircases and through the dungeon’s magical wards, her mind raced. How long would it be until she could go back to the mortal realm?

I’m coming, Elias. It won’t be long now.

Without the shadow fae as allies—and not trusting Hadeon to come through with his vague promise of aid—she intended to face Magnus’ army head-on with her new abilities. As soon as she could get out of the Twilight Court, she would descend upon the sorcerer and his army, and fuck the consequences.

More fae guards with dark blue armor surrounded them as they emerged into the hallways above the dungeons in the main castle. Like Hadeon, the feel of their magic was star-kissed. Their power was weaker than hers, Hadeon’s, or the queen’s, but there were enough of them that it would keep Arabella and Jessamine from making a break for it.

Each guard had a sword sheathed on a hip along with a dagger on the opposite. It wasn’t much in terms of weapons, at least compared to how many blades the enchantresses wore. Perhaps the fae relied mostly on their magic in combat.

Just like her first time in the castle of the Twilight Court, the show of wealth was painfully apparent—it was in every crystal chandelier they passed, every curtain laced with silver and gold thread, and in the empty silver trays the servants carried as they hurried in the opposite direction.

A sudden pang struck her in the gut, and she brought a hand up to her stomach. She hadn’t eaten very much with their limited supplies, but this wasn’t like any hunger she’d felt before. This was somehow different.

Then realization dawned.

My demon power,she thought.I need to feed.

But just how would she do that? Would she consume essence like the erox or blood like the vampires? Either way, she couldn’tlet the queen see her feeding, or else risk revealing what she was. There wasn’t time to deal with this right now.

With significant effort, she pressed the hunger back, forcing herself to focus on the present.

As they walked along silk carpets, she couldn’t help but marvel at how the mating bond changed. The tugging in her chest had loosened, and she no longer felt like she was on the balls of her feet, eager to move toward where her mate was. Instead, the tension had eased, and she could sense his feelings more clearly.

Like he was nearby.

Then they rounded a corner and strode into another hallway, and her heart nearly stopped.

“Elias.”

Standing before her was the male who’d captivated both her dreams and waking hours. The male she’d sworn to burn the world down for.

Elias stood next to an open door to what appeared to be a throne room. Beside him were a dozen erox with magic that was a similar strength to her mate. Magnus stood at the head of the group in robes rich enough to make a king blush.

Eyes fixing on Elias, she blinked and then blinked again.

The erox all wore simple leather armor with crisscrossing straps and sheaths, metal shoulder plates, and gloves with metal spikes atop their knuckles.

All except Elias.

He wore black trousers, tall black leather boots, and a black long-sleeved shirt that dipped low on his chest. While he still felt larger than life and his body rippled with muscles, there was a hollowness to his features that she’d never seen before. She also noted his hair and beard weren’t as long as they’d been in the dreamscape, as though he’d been recently groomed.

His eyes, too, seemed different.

They were still the rich brown color she’d come to love—the color his eyes were when he wasn’t using his magic. But there was a vacantness there. Like his body was present, but his mind was somewhere far away.

For a moment, she wondered whether she was dreaming.

How was he here?

Glancing to her side where both Jessamine and Hadeon stood, she noted their rounded eyes and knew this wasn’t an illusion. They looked as shocked as she felt.

But Elias didn’t look at her. He didn’t even raise his eyes as she stopped mere feet from him. His face was utterly expressionless, appearing like the perfect soldier.

Look at me,she thought.Please.

The queen inclined her head to Magnus. “Sorcerer.”

The erox around Magnus hummed with power—power she once would have thought was immense.