Page 6

And yet, something slowed my steps—a feeling I couldn’t name.

So I didn’t reach the veranda before…somethingstruck the ground between Aleksander and my parents with a viciouscrack!

Smoke exploded from where it hit, throwing up a thick curtain that billowed into the banquet hall.

The riotous laughter and chatter of the hall faded into confused silence. The music screeched to a halt. The clattering and clanging of dishes echoed in the stillness for a moment before ceasing along with everything else.

The sound of boots hitting stone came next—dozens of bodies dropping onto the veranda from somewhere above. The smoke made it difficult to see, but I could tell my parents were being surrounded.

Shouts rang out.

Palace guards surged through the panicking crowd, shoving partygoers aside and barreling toward the king and queen.

I hiked up my dress and sprinted after them.

Phantom darted after them as well, his large body further clearing a path for me to follow. I kept my eyes narrowed on my dog, trusting him to find the quickest route—I was so focused on him, I didn’t see a man crossing into my path until it was too late.

We collided.Hard. As I fell, a strong hand caught my arm, jerking me back upright, and I found myself staring into a pair of warm brown eyes.

I didn’t know his name, but I’d seen this man at Aleksander’s side throughout much of the night. He looked like a muted version of the Elarithian king—more earthy than ethereal, but with glints of gold in his eyes and hair. His rolled-up sleeves allowed a glimpse of tattoos that appeared to cover most of his right arm.

After a few seconds, his eyes widened in recognition, and his hold on me tightened. “Princess, it isn’t safe—”

I ripped free and sprinted onward. The bracelet my father had given me was trembling, clenching painfully around my wrist. Like someone taking a merciless hold on me, jerking me onward through the panicked crowd, continuing to pull even when my steps grew clumsy.

By the time I hurtled onto the terrace, the smoke had cleared enough for me to see Aleksander standing tall and clear in the moonlight. His hand was wrapped around the hilt of the blade he’d been presenting to my parents.

The blade that was now buried in my father’s chest.

He yanked it out and turned to my mother next.

I moved faster. Without pausing to think, I threw myself in front of my mother, knocking her to the ground. Palace guards swarmed over her, gathering her up and carrying her to safety.

I spun to face Aleksander. The tip of his sword came within an inch of my throat, where it collided with an explosion of shadows that lifted from my skin without any effort or control from me.

Little fissures appeared in the sword as it was struck by the shadows. Light leaked from the cracks, radiance rising up to meet my darkness.

Our competing energies swirled faster and faster, engulfing us. The tangled power raked like claws over my skin, whipping my clothing and hair wildly about, leaving me breathless and shaking.

Our eyes met through a hazy cloud of light and dark, his golden irises burning like twin suns ready to implode and devour the world.

I heard thethumpof knees hitting the ground, followed by the rest of a body.My father’s body. I glimpsed it crumpling down into a motionless heap behind Aleksander.

Rage blinded me. My shadows swelled, and I would have sworn they turned solid for a moment, shifting into monstrous limbs that knocked everything and everyone—ally and foe, alike—to the ground.

When they faded to mere haze once more, Aleksander was gone.

The sword he’d used to stab my father was now embedded in the stone floor of the veranda. It had cleaved straight through the marble tiles as if cutting through dirt.

My father’s blood dripped down the blade.

Another rush of rage overtook me. My shadows became solid extensions of my body once more, talons that dug into the world around me, grappling for control.

The veranda cracked apart, a chasm opening in the middle and swallowing up the sword.

The cracks swept outward, forcing me to jump back to avoid being swallowed up myself. A renewed chorus of screams filled the air, followed by the thunder of footsteps as people scrambled to put more space between them and the breaking terrace.

Phantom grabbed a mouthful of my dress and tried to pull me toward safety. I stumbled a few steps backward until my gaze fell upon my father again, on his body that was rolling precariously close to the opening chasm.