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From the corner of my eye, I spotted Runa. The hands of two children were in her grasp as she guided them to safety with the assistance of her illusions, urging them to slip out the door.

Good girl.

I picked a careful path over twisting roots, careful to keep Idris’s back turned to my mate. “You forget. I am Victor Custodis, the lost king who, in his youth, was sent to an unforgiving world filled with mortals. Abandoned by my mother and the land of my birth, I arrived in that place with nothing but the shirt on my back. The odds have always been against me. Yet, I fought. I learned. I plotted and flourished. I will do the same here. Onmythrone.”

Idris bared his teeth. His eyes burned. Twin pools of magma as magic swelled his palms. “Foolish, leech,” he spat. “Carcerem will never be yours.”

Too late, I realized my error.

I’d let too much space form between us—enough for him to wield his full power. I braced my weakened frame, throwing up a shield as he unleashed a storm of raw energy.

Light exploded.

Searing agony tore through my skull as his magic struck like a divine hammer. The world tilted as I hurtled backward. My spine exploded against the trunk of the sacred arbor, splinters of divine bark slicing into my flesh. Pain flared hot and deep, and the taste of blood filled my mouth.

Fates no. The tree! Thank Hathor, the trunk held firm.

That Idris would be so careless was proof of his unworthiness. Unlike the reckless king, the welfare of every living thing in this room remained at the forefront of my mind. I couldn’t afford to unleash my volatile power so close to them.

“Who are you fighting for anyway?” Idris asked, voice like rolling thunder. “For them?” He gestured toward the gathered innocents, their terrified faces pale. “Or yourself?”

Another blast slammed into me before I could answer. Magic raked over my already battered body, ripping me away from the trunk and hurling me across the chamber. Gnarled roots scraped my limbs, jagged edges shredding my skin.

“Know that if it’s for them, you’re an even bigger fool than I thought.”

The next strike crashed into me. My ribs caved under the force. I hit the dais steps hard, bones snapping, flesh splitting. My body crumpled onto the shattered tiles, pain roaring through me like wildfire.

“Victor!” Runa’s cry pierced the haze of pain.

Gentle hands caressed my cheeks.

I forced my eyes open, blinking against the blood dripping down my face. “Runa, no. Leave me.”

“Ah, isn’t that sweet,” a higher, venom-laced voice purred. “He fears for his whore’s safety.”

I blinked, dragging into focus the image of Runa’s sister where she once again stood beside the throne, having crawled back out of whatever hole she’d hidden in. Idris limped up the steps to stand before her.

“He should since I’ve been holding back,” he spat. “I daredto hope you would come to your senses and reconsider my offer. I see now it was a foolish dream.” His eyes glinted with something colder than malice. “Now you will witness the true strength of this great kingdom—see for yourself exactly why they fear me.”

He turned slightly, peering over his shoulder. “Now, my love.”

“Raelynn, don’t!” Runa’s voice was raw with desperation. “He’ll kill all of them.”

A ripple of terrified voices surged behind us. The people of White Bridge were still trapped within these walls, and their fate now teetered on the whim of a queen who had sold her soul.

Runa’s sister raised her trembling hand. Her coal-black fingertips shook, damaged by the level of obsidian Idris insisted she wield.

“Is this why you dreamed of being royalty? To slaughter innocents?” Runa’s voice cracked.

The queen’s breath hitched. Her milky-violet eyes flickered as if something deep inside her made her hesitate.

“I thought by now you would understand,” Realynn snarled. “It doesn’t matter what I want. It never has.”

Magic coiled around her fingers like a noose tightening.

Runa moved before I could stop her, her arms curling around my shoulders, her body pressing against mine in a desperate, protective embrace.

The air thickened. The magic swelled.