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Time seemed to slow, each heartbeat a heavy war drum in my ears. As if from a distance, I heard Leo scream, but my focus was on the wolf, its movements.

The Serpent’s magic filled me, and I felt phantom snakes slipping around me. My breath turned icy in my chest as my eyes locked on to my target.

Dark magic shot from my wand, a midnight tendril, swift and lethal like an arrow loosed from a bow. It slammed into the wolf's side with a force that rippled through the clearing. Only three feet from Leo and Sion, the beast toppled to the ground. Its eyes widened in shock, limbs flailing, and a broken howl escaped its throat. The wolf lay twitching in its final moments.

I let the magic back in.

I caught my breath, the echo of power still vibrating through me. Slowly, I lowered my wand, my eyes narrowing on Sion.

I wanted tokillhim and feed the earth withhisbones.

I charged at Sion, molten anger coursing through my veins. I wasn’t really thinking; my mind had simply become a maelstrom of rage. Maybe I was slipping into that place beyond words, where everything goes dark.

All that to say that there wasn’t a great deal of thought that went into my decision to raise my fist and slam it toward Sion’s face. But with his infuriating vampire reflexes, his hand shot up like a viper’s strike, and he gripped my fist in his palm with a crushing ferocity. Pain radiated up my arm.

He cocked an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flickering in his golden eyes. “This is the second time you’ve tried to punch me. At some point, you’re going to learn it won’t work.”

I ripped my fist out of his grasp. “You put Leo in danger.”

“He wasn’t in anyactualdanger.”

“If the wolf didn’t rip him to pieces, I could have killed him with my magic.” My voice broke as I said the words, and the weight of my own worst nightmare coming to life crashed down on me.

“I was right here,” he said softly, seeming to realize that this was absolutelynota game to me. “I wouldn’t have let the wolf get to him, and I would have blocked your magic if necessary.”

“And what if you were too slow?”

He shook his head. “Not possible.”

I jabbed his chest with my finger, and it felt like pressing against pure steel. I stared up into his cold, metallic eyes, and anger bloomed even hotter in my veins.

“You don’t remember what it feels like to feel fear, do you? You don’t see anything wrong with putting a ten-year-old boy in a terrifying situation because terror meansnothingto you anymore. It’s nothing but a ghost of your past. You don’t remember what it’s like to feel things at all, do you? But if you put him at risk again, I promise I’ll make sure you remember what terror feels like.”

Without waiting for his response, I pivoted and beckoned to Leo to follow me out of the forest, away from Sion.

CHAPTER 23

Isat by the window overlooking the nighttime sea, breathing in the sweet scent of white poppies. Their petals seemed to almost glow in the gloom of my room. As I sipped my Aquitanian wine, I let the berry flavors roll over my tongue. Far below my window, beyond the cliffs, the waves sparkled under the moonlight.

After threatening Sion, I’d taken Leo back to Veilcross Haven. I’d left him in the hands of Godric, whom I’d armed with a hawthorn stake in case Sion returned.

I’d then spent the next eight hours training with Maelor in the forest. By the end of the day, I’d managed to actually hit a stag with my magic, just like I’d done with the wolf.

Still, my mind whirled with doubt. We only had a month for me to learn how to take down an entire army. With every passing day, I felt as if the danger was closing in on us, and I was woefully unprepared.

As I sipped my wine, the faint sound of screaming carried through the stone walls, raising goosebumps on my skin.

Quite clearly, this place was haunted. When I turned back to my room, where shadows danced on the walls, I shivered with achill. My teeth chattered. Why did I feel sometimes like I was the one haunting the place?

A knock pulled me from my dismal thoughts, and my fingers tightened on my wineglass. “Come in.”

The door creaked open, and I tensed at the sight of Sion. He stepped into my room, golden eyes caching in the candlelight, smoldering like molten amber. Shadows carved his cheekbones.

He let the door shut behind him, and he studied me with something like curiosity. “You were partly right,” he said quietly. “Idoknow fear, but I don’t always remember what it feels like to be mortal. I should not have brought Leo into it. Especially not without asking you.”

I stared at him, stunned for a moment. “Is this an apology?”

“I don’t really do apologies, because I don’t normally give a fuck what anyone thinks or what they feel. But yes, I suppose it is.” A line formed between his eyebrows. “It’s very inconvenient, this feeling, worrying about what someone else thinks. And there’s another feeling…”