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Rage coursed through my veins, and I exhaled a long breath to slow my racing heart.

It seemed he’d thought of everything. Almost.

Idris drummed his fingers on the arm of the throne. “So, what will it be?” he snapped. “I’m offering you your heart’s desire. A chance to return to your world with gods-like power. Runa claimed you’re quite mercenary when it comes to achieving your goals. She assured me you’d accept this deal with little qualms.”

Regret ground my molars together. I’d given her no cause to believe otherwise.

“Tell him!” he ordered Runa, snapping his fingers.

“It’s a generous offer, Victor. There’s no place for you here. We both know you’ve no desire to stay. Noreasonto stay.”

Though I realized she was under Idris’s control, my mate’s words still stung. I had little doubt these were her thoughts.

Idris grimaced in false sympathy. “Runa resisted at first, but once we’d come to an understanding, she shared many things about you. How was that trip to the temple, by the way? I hear it’s grueling.”

Raelynn shifted restlessly, tapping her thigh. “Enough of this. I’m eager to see this done. Inform the sacrifice that we are ready.”

I scanned the mate I didn’t deserve and never thought I’d find. As it turned out, it was Runa who was the greatest threat to all that I’d achieved in the last thousand years. Not my nemesis, Magister Steele. Not the mortal Council. Not Idris.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

RUNA

My heart hammeredagainst my ribs so hard even the poor villagers of White Bridge could likely hear. Idris, in his cruelty, managed to claim control of my body but not my mind. Apparently, the mating bond I shared with Victor had prevented that. Instead, Idris settled for ordering me about like a puppet while I was completely aware of the atrocities he forced me to commit.

When the false king discovered that Victor had claimed me as his mate, he flew into a rage. His outrage was second only to my own. For Idris to be the one to inform me I was, in fact, mated was no small insult. A slight I’d take up with my mate at a more opportune moment, even though the bond had protected me from the king’s nefarious plans.

Idris’s rage was such that I suspected he’d planned to assassinate my sister now that she was weakened, claiming me as his queen instead. With Victor’s mark branding my neck, that was impossible. Given the intense daggers Raelynn glared at me, I imagined she’d uncovered her husband’s thwarted plans as well.

“Dear brother,” Idris said with false sympathy, “I understandyour reluctance. Truly, I do. Let it not be said that I am an unsympathetic king. Allow me to make things easier for you. Milani!” he shouted, and my heart leaped.

No. Don’t do this. Please, no.

The brownie who served us during the trials glided through a door onto the dais.

“Yes, your highness.”

“Idris, don’t,” I managed to groan.

“Silence,” he barked, and my lips slammed together.

“Kneel before your sovereign. The true king of Carcerem,” Idris ordered Milani.

As Milani sank to her knees, Idris offered her the dagger that rested at his side. “Here, dearest. Thank you for your service to the realm. It’s past time you and your family reaped the rewards of your loyalty.”

“We are honored, your highness.” Milani beamed up at him with hearts in her eyes. “Thank you for this great blessing you bestow upon us.”

“Proceed,” Idris ordered, dark glint in his smoky gaze.

“Milani, wait!” Victor’s bark of objection rang out. Too late.

Without hesitation, the misguided servant held the dagger aloft and stabbed it into her own breast.

Screams rang in my ears, and my head swam. The devoted brownie crumpled at Idris’s feet. Crimson bloomed across her simple shift, staining her wheat-colored braids and spilling onto the sacred arbor’s blackened roots. The mighty tree trembled, a single leaf tearing from its straining branches, catching fire and turning to ash.

“Excellent,” Idris praised, his voice rising over the mummers of panicked villagers. “Runa, take the dagger from her chest.”

No. I sawed my teeth into the flesh of my cheek until the metallic tang of blood hit my tongue. I would not. Despite my hard-fought resistance, my limbs moved with a mind of their own, and my legs marched forward. As if it belonged tosomeone else, I watched my hand reach for the blade and yank it from Milani’s still-warm chest.