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I froze when I felt the bloodstone’s pulsing energy somewhere close to me. Turning back toward my father’s large wooden desk, my darkness searched frantically for it without me asking it to. Would my father leave the bloodstone in here without it being guarded?

I hurried across the room once my darkness determined it was in the top drawer. It was locked when I pulled on it, but I melted the lock with my fire.

There it was, the bloodstone,mybloodstone. My body hummed as the power of the stone pulsed through me when I picked it up. It was surprisingly heavy in my hand, and I watched it glow at my touch. My heart raced because I could still break my curse. But first, I needed to find my husband. Slipping the stone into my pocket, I headed toward the door.

It was so quiet in the castle. Something felt misplaced as I waited. I closed my eyes and let my darkness out, telling it to find Cassius by locating his shadow magic. I felt it explode through the castle as if it knew I needed to find him immediately. It scoured the entire building, only to find that Cassius wasn’t there.

Where the fuck was he? Something feral and evil snapped inside of me. It wanted our husband and mate now. If something happened to him, I would burn down the entire realm. Everyone would be punished. At that moment, Wisp appeared in front of me, flashing between black and red, letting me know something was wrong. Suddenly, a jolt of emotion came through the bond. It was worry, then an image of the boundary between Cerithia and Crimson. Cassius was in Crimson?

Before I could summon my darkness, it used Cassius’ shadow magic to take us to the border. When I stepped through the shadows, I saw Kizar and Cerithia guards holding Cassius, Haden, Zade, and Kace. Cassius looked unharmed, but he was staring at me, bound and gagged.

“Release them, now.” My voice startled me. It was laced with a promise of death. My vision pulsed red as the swirls on my skin glowed.

“Do not do anything stupid, Thea. If you do something to harm us, we have the rest of the Crimson royal family and elite magic holders, and they will be slaughtered,” my father warned.

Cassius started struggling, trying to break free of his hold. I froze at this news. My heart pounded wildly in my chest. Cassius would be lost without his family. My family. Our family.

“What do you want?” I looked at Cassius, and he shook his head.

“You,” Jesper smiled. “We will trade all of them for you, but you have to put these on.” He held up magic barbs. I stared at the cuffs and knew I didn’t have a choice.

“How do I know you will let them all go if I put these on?”

“We will release them so they can go back to Crimson lands, and we will take you and leave.”

“And the rest of them?”

“As soon as the cuffs are on, we will show you them and release them.”

Cassius was shaking his head no, but I didn’t have a choice. I would never let anything happen to him or Crimson. I could hear him trying to talk behind the gag in his mouth.

I nodded, and a guard approached me cautiously, wrapping the barbs around my wrists. Wisp was circling Kace frantically. Her flames were black with warning. How did Cerithia and Kizar know we’d be here? My eyes glanced at Kace and frowned. Was he the other spy my father had mentioned?

Cassius knocked down the man holding him and ripped the gag from his mouth.

“Thea, don’t!”

“It’s alright, Cassius,” I reassured him as they tackled him.

My father released Haden and the other guards. They all crossed back to Crimson and toward me, but I held up my hands so they would stay back.

“The elitist and royal family... Show them to me, then release them, and I’ll come over.”

My father’s eyes shifted to the woods, and I saw the Crimson royal family and the elite magic holders emerging.

“It’s illusion magic; they never had the royal family or elitists!” Haden called out. When I looked back, it was just a bunch of Kizar guards emerging from the woods. My eyes snapped back to my father as he smirked at me.

"Easy, Thea, or we will kill him.” Jesper now held a dagger at Cassius’ throat.

“Release him, and I’ll come willingly.”

“Come to Cerithia's side, and we will release him once the guards have you,” Jesper demanded.

My eyes met Cassius as he silently pleaded for me not to do it, but I couldn’t let him be killed. I would do anything to save him. My feet started walking before my mind comprehended that we were moving. Once the guard grabbed me, Jesper shoved Cassius to the ground.

I sneered at Jesper, but several guards lifted Cassius up and escorted him to the border. Once he crossed, Haden helped him get his bindings off.

“My love, come back over here,” Cassius pleaded. “They don’t have any other prisoners.”