Page 23

"Soon," I said grudgingly. "When the time is right."

Archer narrowed his eyes, not fooled by my vague answer. "He's part of this, Rowen. No matter how much you two bicker, he's her third mate. We both feel it."

"I know," I growled, my tail lashing again in agitation. "I'm not denying the bond. I'm just..."

"Territorial?" Sierra suggested, a small smile playing at her lips.

I gave her a sharp look, but found myself smirking back. "Something like that."

"Your heat is only going to get worse," Archer said to Sierra, bringing us back to the more immediate concern. "What you felt today was just the beginning. When it comes back?—"

"It'll be stronger," she finished for him, shivering slightly. "I could feel it even as you were... helping me. Like it was just waiting beneath the surface."

I nodded, watching the pulse flutter in her throat. "When it returns in full force, you'll need all three of us to survive it. The bonding will complete your transformation, unlock the full extent of your powers."

"Gran never mentioned three mates," Sierra mumbled, reaching up to touch one of the silver hoops in her lower lip. "Just that I'd go through a primal heat when I turned twenty-nine."

"Your grandmother likely didn't know everything," I said. "Although I'm not sure what isn't primal about a heat, so it seems redundant to add the word. Maybe she knew more about it than me.

Sierra opened her mouth to respond, but a sudden spasm of pain crossed her face. Her back arched, her head thrown back as she gasped, clutching at her chest.

"Sierra?" Archer was instantly alert, reaching for her. "What is it?"

"I don't—I can't—" She choked on the words, her eyes squeezed shut. "Someone is... hurting. So much anguish. I can feel it like it's my own."

A cold realization settled in my gut. At the same moment, I felt it too—a distant echo of pain and fury, traveling along a bond I'd long tried to ignore. Callum.

Archer's eyes met mine, wide with understanding. "Something's happening in the Fae realm."

Sierra writhed on the bed, her body twisting as if trying to escape an invisible force. "Power," she gasped. "So much power. It's flowing into him, changing him. Oh god, it burns!"

I reached for her, my hands closing around her upper arms as I tried to stabilize her. "Sierra, breathe. It's not happening to you. It's Callum. You're feeling him through the bond."

"The throne," Archer whispered. "He's ascending."

I nodded grimly. The Fae throne wasn't like mine, it didn't pass peacefully from ruler to ruler. If the next in line was worthy, then the power poured into them, burning like the fires of hell's deepest pit. It could and had broken lesser beings. If Callum was ascending now, it meant the previous ruler was dead.

Maxiun had passed on, joining my Mum and father on the otherside.

Sierra's body suddenly went rigid in my grasp, her eyes flying open. But they weren't her eyes anymore—the silver irises had been consumed by an eerie, pale green glow. "He needs us," she whispered, her voice overlaid with something ancient and powerful. "The shadow is rising. It has awoken and hungers."

Archer and I exchanged a troubled look over her trembling form. The council's decision no longer mattered.

Callum had become king, and the realms were about to collide.

I had a bad feeling that it would all be because of us.

10

Archer

Iwatched terror grip Sierra, her body twisting as she experienced Callum's pain through their connection. Her silver hair splayed across the dark sheets, damp with sweat as the bond between her and the newly crowned Dark Fae king overwhelmed her senses. Rowen held her shoulders, his obsidian eyes reflecting a rare display of concern.

"We need to get to him." The words left my mouth before I'd fully processed them.

Sierra's body suddenly went slack, the eerie green glow fading from her eyes as she slumped against the pillows. We both froze, watching as her chest rose and fell in shallow breaths.

"She's unconscious," I murmured, pressing two fingers to her neck. Her pulse raced beneath my touch, far too rapid for comfort. "The connection was too intense."