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Cneajna rose and flung her hands outward.

Her power hit me like a hammer. My body was flung through the air like a leaf in the wind. I struck the great chandelier hanging over the foyer. Glass, wax and flames showered me as I fell to the floor below. Stunned, I struggled to regain my senses as I heard Laura and Magda screaming.

It was only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity before I managed to climb to my feet. I immediately surveyed the battle.

Magda was pinned to the wall by Adem’s body as he stood guard, sword drawn. To my surprise, fire was burning in the palm of Magda’s hand.

Meanwhile, Ignatius grappled with an enormous white wolf, his teeth bared as the wolf snarled and darted for his throat. Cneajna was quick in her wolf form, but Ignatius held her off with his bare fists, knocking back her every attack.

Near the staircase, Laura lay on the marble floor, covered in blood, staring at her arm that lay halfway across the foyer.

With a howl, Cneajna abandoned her battle with Ignatius, and darted toward me. She transformed as she ran, her long nails attempting to rake me.

“We cannot kill her!” Ignatius shouted.

I ducked under her attack, and brought my elbow back to strike her between her shoulder blades as her speed propelled her past me. She stumbled and nearly fell to her knees. Grabbing her hair, I circled her, wrapping her tresses around her throat, drawing it tight. Planting my foot on her neck, I pinned her to the floor and pulled back her head. My intention was to rip her head from her body.

“Do not kill her!” Ignatius shouted.

As I stared down at the struggling form beneath me, I felt no love for Cneajna. Only hate.

“She killed Percy!”

Her body lost substance as she turned into an icy mist and slid along the floor toward Laura. I screamed in frustration. Ignatius darted across the foyer to stand guard over my fallen fledgling.

The mist swirled up into a funnel before Ignatius. I could see Cneajna’s form in the swirling wind and snow.

Reaching out my hand toward Adem, I no longer cared about the treaty with Gavril and Ilinca. He saw the determination in my eyes and tossed the sword to me. I caught it in mid-air and moved to strike down Cneajna.

“Cease!”

I was startled by the command and turned to see Ilinca standing in the broken doorway. Behind her were the wolf brothers. Clad in a long black cloak, Ilinca strode swiftly into the foyer. The wolf brothers followed, fanning out behind her.

“That is the one we've been following,” one of the brothers said pointing to the woman taking shape out of the whirling mist.

Ilinca’s face was a picture of regal authority as she motioned for all to lay down their arms.

Ignatius held Laura against his chest, her amputated arm a mass of ragged flesh and broken bone. Katya struggled to rise to her feet, her complexion almost as white as the snow. Magda extinguished the fire in her hand and trailed behind Adem as he moved to stand beside Ignatius.

Cneajna fully materialized and the snow drifted to the floor around her. She stood majestically in the ruins of the foyer.

Reluctantly, I lowered the sword and stepped away from Cneajna. My robe was in tatters and my flesh was covered in blood and wounds. I was a sorry, defiant sight, I was certain.

“Who are you?” Ilinca demanded as she glowered at Cneajna.

Dipping into a deep curtsey, Cneajna replied, “I am Princess Cneajna, Bride of Count Vlad Dracula of Wallachia. ”

“Rise, Princess Cneajna of House Dracula,” Ilinca ordered. Her mismatched eyes studied my appearance with interest, but there was no softness to her expression.

One of the wolf brothers plucked Laura’s arm from the floor and handed it to Ignatius before returning to his position. The sight of it made me sick with despair. How had I been so foolish not to have realized that Vlad would send Cneajna to return me to the castle? Had not Csilla mentioned a white wolf?

“Now, inform me as to what this conflict is about,” Ilinca said, her tone clipped.

Ignatius and I exchanged glances. Laura was still in his arms as she clutched her severed forearm against her chest. Katya was wise enough to keep her mouth shut and take refuge at Ignatius’s side. Adem and Magda remained silent. I felt every eye upon me waiting for me, yet I knew not what to say.

Cneajna resolved the issue. “I came to seek vengeance against the Bride who betrayed Prince Vlad when she slaughtered him for his power. ”

“And who is this Bride?” Ilinca asked, her eyes straying toward me.