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Jessamine crossed her arms, speaking up for the first time. “You do realize that the sorcerer has an army of erox and creatures of the dark on the other side of a gateway that leads intoyourterritory, right? Most of the demons and monsters might not be able to pass through the gateway for now, but the erox can. They can feed on the fae—not just mortals. With enough erox, your kingdom wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Turning to Jessamine, the queen leveled a patronizing look on her, like she was placating a foolish child. “Don’t you worry about that, human. We’ve come to an agreement.”

Magnus cleared his throat, drawing all eyes to him. “As a sign of good faith for our alliance, I’d like Enchantress Arabella.”

For the first time, the queen’s gaze narrowed on the sorcerer. “You want the only shadow fae in the lands of the living? Why?”

“I need her magic for my final preparations to grant your request,” Magnus said.

Belatedly, Arabella found her voice. “I’m not some pawn to be bargained off?—”

But the queen was already speaking. “You’re a fugitive in my court who came here without my invitation. What comes next is at my discretion.” Then she turned to Magnus. “What is it you want with her magic?”

“Only the shadow fae can create syphens, which are essential to creating new erox.” Magnus paused, leveling a knowing gaze on the queen. “To achieve immortality for the fae, I’ll need a more powerful syphen. One that can… make exchanges.”

Genoveva sniffed. “You intended this all along.” She waved a hand. “Create the syphen. Now. And you will give a demonstration of what it can do, or our deal is off.”

Magnus turned to Arabella, his eyes full of dark promise.

“Let’s begin.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

ARABELLA

Instinctively, Arabella lowered her stance and took a step back—away from the dais and the sorcerer standing at the base of it. Rather than reaching for the blades at her back, she summoned the shadows beneath her feet.

Through windows several stories up in the back of the throne room, she could see that night had fallen.

It was a time when shadow fae were the strongest.

When the darkness reigned supreme.

The shadows hummed to life, emerging from the floor in an eager tempest. The light from the candles at the base of each of the pillars flickered, half of them extinguishing in an instant and sending the room into partial darkness.

Wrapping a band of shadows around Jessamine’s waist, she pulled her friend behind her, positioning herself between Jessamine and Magnus—and the dais.

Hadeon stood beside her, unmoving.

A thought occurred to Arabella.

While she had no desire to help Magnus, this was a unique opportunity—one she may never find herself in again. There was something the sorcerer needed. Something only she couldprovide. As such, this could be her only chance to bargain for Elias’ freedom.

Maybe—just maybe—there was something Magnus wanted more than her mate.

“Free Elias and give me his syphen, and I’ll consider making you a replacement blade,” she said as her shadows whipped at her feet.

“If you think—” Genoveva began, but Magnus raised a hand.

“If it pleases Your Majesty, I can take it from here,” the sorcerer said.

The queen dipped her chin.

Everything after that was a blur.

One moment, Jessamine was behind Arabella. In the next, a blast of scarlet enfolded Arabella and her shadows, and Jessamine was hauled across the dark tiles—toward Magnus.

“No!” Arabella screamed as she fought against the wall of scarlet that pressed her down, down,down.She unleashed her shadows against the scarlet, which bounced off the wall without making an indent. Growling, she clawed at the red with her talons. To her relief, she felt them tear. Grabbing on to the tear, she pulled it apart, widening it until she leaped through.