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Victor met my wide-eyed gaze and roared, “Runa, no! Idris first. Raelynn must not die.”

I gaped down at my sister.Now he tells me.Golden light flashed behind her eyes. The ground cracked below her, traveling across the marble floor and straight up the trunk of the tree. At her center, a sinister, pulsating glow appeared. That blazing light spread, growing larger until it had consumed Raelynn’s whole body. I shielded my eyes from the glare.

“Runa, get back,” Victor shouted. “Get away from her.”

For once, I did as he ordered, scrambling over the writhingfloor to him. He wrapped me in his embrace, and we both turned to Idris.

The false king retreated toward the throne, belting out a laugh born of insanity. “She’s ruined everything.” He glanced down at his body. From deep within his core, a blinding light glowed, similar to the one Raelynn displayed.

Menacing sparks flared in his palms. “Ah, do you feel it? Hathor’s divine essence. Pure and unrestrained. Flark, but it’s so good. Too good.” He gritted his teeth, clenching his fists at his sides as if to contain the flood. “The dam is broken. Raelynn’s cursed us all.”

His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the throne. Above him, the tree rumbled and swayed. Wood cracked like a fractured bone. Gilded energy exploded from the split in the trunk. The leaves above became fiery embers, floating off the tree before raining down.

Idris sat on his stolen throne. His skin charred, and fragments of it flaked off, like the glowing embers of the tree. The unchecked flow of power was tearing him apart.

He sneered at Victor, his tone gravelly. “What do you know? The prophecy was true, except the translation was wrong. You’re not the realm’s salvation. You’re its destruction.”

Pieces of his destroyed body floated in the air. He watched them drift away with a bemused expression. “You’re too late, lost king. The kingdom bleeds and will never recover.”

Thunder cracked. The ground trembled. Idris’s body came apart in an explosion of crimson and gold sparks. Victor wrapped his body around me as energy buffeted our frames. Pinpricks of fire pierced my flesh. The sting made me groan. I dared to lift my head and glance at the tree.

Idris was right. The kingdom bled.

I peered into Victor’s glowing eyes. “We have to find a way to stop it.”

Chapter Forty-One

VICTOR

Idris couldn’t containHathor’s divine energy because he wasn’t the true king. The unrestrained power that roared out of the tree in a gushing wave called to me, eager for my claim.

I released Runa and struggled to stand. The blast of energy pouring out of the crack threatened to knock me off my feet.

She held up her hand, shielding her vision. “What are you doing?”

“Claiming my throne.”

“What?” She scrambled upright, clinging to me. “Victor, you can’t. It will tear you apart the same as it did Idris.”

I cupped her cheek. “I have to try, for them.”

“Them?”

“For the kingdom.”

She snorted a broken laugh. “This is a fine time for you to turn noble.”

I smirked. “Should my reign as king only last minutes, I’ll still expect great ballads to be written about my selflessness. Along with a statue.”

Tears filled her watery gaze, and I claimed her mouth in a tender kiss. Showing her the depth of my emotions instead of floundering to find the right words.

Before she tried to talk me out of it, I turned, clawing my way over the throbbing roots. Leaning into the rush of power spilling from the fractured trunk, I finally made it to the base of the throne. Once there, I stood beneath the broken tree and met Runa’s eyes.

She peered back at me, palm pressed to her mouth, anguish in her expression. Anguish, and so much more. One final look at my mate, and I heaved a final breath, braced my spine, and sank into my throne.

Energy, bright and brilliant, washed over me in a tidal wave. The sense of rightness, of coming home, filled something long empty. My skull pounded, pressure building between my temples.

“At last. The chosen one,”said an ancient voice from deep within my psyche.