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Tessa pulled back, her face grim. “Except when we were in Itchen and the god muted your powers.”

My entire body went taut. “No. Surely not. It can’t be the god’s power.”

“It’s the only explanation,” Tessa whispered, glancing up at the stars. “I thought I hadn’t released her.”

“There’s been no white comet,” I pointed out. “If you’d released her, we would have seen it by now.”

“That was only half of her power. Oberon has the other half in his necklace.” Tessa gripped my hand. “I tried to take it from him, but he got it back after he hit me in the head and I lost consciousness.”

“He didwhat?” I asked in a growl, climbing to my feet, the venomous snake inside of me lifting its head.

“None of that matters now.” She rose from the swaying grass and then tilted her head. “No, I’m not done yet. Wait a—”

And then she blinked out of the dream. I reached for her, and my fingers brushed the wind. Even the stars fell from the sky, drenching me in darkness. If it weren’t for her faint scent on the air, it would have been like she’d never been there.

Nine

Tessa

Kalen’s memories haunted me all throughout the next day. Nellie kept asking me what was wrong, but I couldn’t bear to explain. The image of our father was one I never wanted to shatter, not for her. He’d been so consumed by rage toward Oberon that he’d turned to the one thing worse than the king himself. And it had destroyed him.

Of course, deep down, I knew the truth was far more complicated than that. Father had been troubled long before he ever stepped foot on the Bridge to Death. For months, he had locked himself away in the tavern, drinking the days and nights away. We’d all tried to pretend that he was fine, but Oberon’s cruelty toward the mortals had broken him.

As I paced the small length of our cell, I turned my thoughts away from the past and onto the present. In the dream, I hadn’t had time to explain to Kalen what was going on with the mists. Nellie had woken me, worried by the tears streaming down my face, concerned that the guards would notice my nightmare. Dreams were only dreams, but the emotions I felt in them were sometimes more true than reality itself. And after that, sleep had eluded me.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Kalen’s loss of control. Had I released half of the god’s power? And was she now visiting my dreams?

“Someone’s coming,” Nellie whispered from her bed. She leapt to her feet as the door at the end of the passageway swung wide and a handful of guards stormed inside. My shoulders tightened, and I moved between Nellie and the bars. I tracked the guards as they rushed toward us. Keys jangled in the nearest one’s hands. I braced myself for whatever Oberon might throw at me next.

I would not let them take Nellie from me.

The guards stopped just outside our cell, and the one holding the key unlocked the door. He pointed a gloved finger at me, ignoring Nellie. “You. Come with us.”

Nellie grabbed my arm, and she tugged me back. “Where are you taking her?”

“Don’t worry about it,” I whispered to her. “It’s fine.”

She raised her voice. “Where are you taking her?”

The guard scowled. “Quiet, both of you. The king is waiting, and you do not want to make him angry.”

Nellie’s grip on me tightened, but then she let out a hiss and released my arm.

I stepped through the open door and joined the guards in the passageway. After locking the cell door again, they led me through the dimly lit dungeons, up the stairs, and through the crimson halls to where Oberon waited for me inside the Great Hall.

The vast room was silent and empty for once. Oberon lounged on his crimson throne, one leg crossed over the other, arms relaxed. His curving horns rested on the back of the chair as his eyes narrowed on me. I stood at the end of a narrow carpet that led toward him. Where tables once sat—holding lamb stew, bone broth, buttered potatoes, spinach soaked in bacon fat, plum pudding, and sweet sponge cakes—now sat a guillotine. A fire raged in the open hearth, and it splashed orange and yellow light across the one-eyed dragon banners that hung along the walls.

Oberon’s gaze hardened as he dismissed his guards, leaving me alone with my worst enemy. The door slammed behind me. “My betrothed. The bearer of my future children. And the thorn in my side.”

My lips twitched with the threat of a smile, but I held it back. I wouldn’t let him goad me into action. All I had to do was keep my head on my shoulders long enough to come up with a plan that could actually work.

“Do you know why I brought you here?” he asked, leaning forward and resting an elbow on his knee.

For once, I had no idea. Did it have something to do with the Mist King? After a long moment passed, I shook my head.

That was the wrong answer.

With fire in his eyes, Oberon stood and stormed toward me. His crimson hair trailed behind him like a wave of rippling blood. I backed up, but I had nowhere to go. He reached me, seized my shoulders, and shook me so hard that my teeth collided in a sharp crack.