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The only sounds I could hear were the remnants of Lucas’s body hitting the ground, the swing of a blade, the crunch of bone and flesh slicing off Kek’s head. My scream hollowing out my ears and emptying my soul until I was nothing but a corpse on the ground with them.

That night rushed back in full color, forcing me to experience it all over again.

My heart came back to life, banging in my chest so loud everything buzzed around me.

I felt Raven squeeze my hand. She might have even been talking to me, but I heard nothing.

All I heard was the woman next to me shriek as the four figures stepped onto the stage.

“Queen Sonya and Prince Iain.”

Chapter 18

Raven

The crowd buzzed around us, clapping and screaming as Prime Minister Lazar, his son, and a woman and man I didn’t know stepped onto the stage.

“Queen Sonya and Prince Iain,” The woman next to us cheered, her hands going to her mouth as if she wanted to cry.

Queen Sonya and Prince Iain?

Romania didn’t have a queen.

My head jerked back to the four standing on the stage, waving at their subjects. The woman was beautiful, tall, thin. Her blonde hair was wrapped in a bun bound in jewels, her lips bright red. She wore expensive fabrics and an immaculate white fur coat.

Fae normally did not wear animal skins, being one with nature instead of hurting it, especially when so many fae shape-shifted into animals. It was against our code. It was wrong, like humans wearing human skin clothing.

She didn’t seem to abide by that rule.

Her son, who looked so much like her, stood in rich finery. His chiseled face and lean frame suggested he never had to work very hard for anything he was given, though he had soldier badges draped on his lapel and arm of his coat like Christmas decorations. They were a stunning pair. Everything you’d picture a queen and prince to be: tall, blond hair, and bright green eyes with their fae beauty. And it was in contrast to Minister Lazar and his son Sergiu, who were short, dark-haired, dark eyed, human, and extremely unhappy looking. As if they were being forced to be here, to swallow a pill they didn’t like.

Sonya’s high-heeled white shoes stepped past Lazar to the microphone, as if he was of no consequence, a secondary character to her presence.

“Romania!” Sonya’s beautiful voice curled out from the speakers. “It is so good to see you all here this morning. Generations to come will envy you being here to witness this historic day. A day when Romania became a country envied by others for its strength and power.” Cheers went up in the air at her declaration. Her red lips curved into a smile while she waited for the applause to quiet. “How long has it been since you could hold your head high, feel pride for your country? It is time to go back to when Romania was formidable. A leader in this world.” More claps and calls whooped at this. “It has been almost a century since you were led with true strength. A devoted leader who puts you first.” My attention jumped to Lazar at her clear insinuations, the insults she was saying without saying—he was not the man for the job. Prime Minister Lazar’s expression was stone, though I noticed his jaw twitch, his hands fisting tighter into a ball at his side.

“You need someone who can see you through and win the war coming to these borders—a monarch who can bring you back to greatness. It is time for a change, do you not agree?” She held up her arms, the cheers rising louder. “I am that change. Your queen!” The audience hailed at her words, most not realizing—or not caring—that she had just declared herself their ruler. No vote, no say, no choice. And they all seemed besotted, willingly handing their freedom to a regime with pretty words and possibly false promises.

“I don’t understand.” I shook my head, peering back at the prime minister again. “Lazar is clearly letting this happen? Romania hasn’t had a queen since 1947. What is going on? Who are they?” I turned to Ash. My stomach dropped in fear, taking note of his demeanor. He was next to me but was no longer with me.

“Ash?” His frame was rigid, his chest pumping up and down, his nose flaring. “Ash?” He didn’t respond, his gaze locked on the two fae with wrath I could feel shaking through his limbs. “Hey.” I retook his hand, turning to face him, but he seemed to not even know I was there. Following his gaze, mine went back to Sonya and Iain, his focus also on them, stalking their every move.

I could taste his rage, the need to kill, like it was my own. It only incited the darkness inside me, stirring it up, craving death more than anything. It howled against its barrier, chanting at the back of my tongue.

“What’s going on?” I tugged his hand harder, needing him to stop, to look at me. “You’re scaring me.”

“All hail the queen!” her son Iain roared into the microphone next to her, dipping his head.

“All hail the queen!” the people regurgitated back in a chant, bowing down, sliding a chill down my spine.

Ash’s body vibrated. A rumble lodged deep in his throat.

“Ash?” My gaze ticked to him and then to the hundreds of soldiers surrounding us, the guards on stage, their weapons ready to fire at any hint of protest. Their stiff, alert forms almost begging for it, eager to spill blood in this square.

Ash stepped forward, his hand reaching for the gun under his coat.

“Ash. No.” I tried to step in front of him, but he pushed by me, not even seeing me. He’d get only one shot off before he’d be gunned down. “Ash! Please. Stop!” I grabbed the sleeve of his jacket.

He didn’t.