Page 69

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” came a sultry voice. I slowly raised my eyes from the tile, and through the swell of unshed tears I saw her.

A woman with blue and white hair, raising a sword high above her head in victory, she turned, and her eyes were endless black pits. A war, witches slaughtering witches, fire burning down an empire. The blue-haired woman sitting on the throne of shadows, a pack of black wolves at her side. A city in ruin, stone buildings reduced to rubble as smoke rises from the ashes.

It washer. It was the woman from my vision. It was the Shadow Queen. The Black Heart. I swallowed hard, fighting back more of the tears that welled in my eyes, and raising my chin defiantly towards her. She would not see me cry.

“What do you want with me?” I asked, sitting back on my heels, my hand squeezing Tess’ tightly.

“Do not speak unless you are spoken to,” she warned, and for the first time, her eyes met mine. She had no sclera, no iris or pupil. Her eyes were black tourmaline, empty and endless. She sauntered into the room and on her heels were three prowling black wolves.

On her head was a crown of iron spikes ornamented with black gems. Her dress was a blue grey that matched the streaks in her hair, with a low-cut neckline that dipped to her waist. It had big silver jewels adorning the shoulders and blue beads down the arms and bodice before it cascaded into a spill of soft ruffles down her legs. There was a slit that reached up to her hip, and I could see her black stilettos as they clicked against the marble. Despite her eyes, she was breathtakingly beautiful.

She parted the dress to one side and climbed the dais, sitting on the throne. She crossed her long spidery legs and tapped her black painted nails against the arm rest impatiently.

“We will begin soon. I’m only waiting for our boys.”

Our boys. So, they had captured Nik and Puck, after all. We were in deep shit, and the longer this went on, the less I could see a way out of this. We were supposed to return to our realm today, and I had no idea how much time had passed already. It appeared to still be light out, but did time pass the same here in Akra? How long had I been knocked out for? I had no idea. Tess’ hand was still limp in mine, but her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. I choked back my bubbling emotions and stood before the Shadow Queen, waiting.

She glared down on me from the dais with scorn, her emotions plain on her face, despite her lifeless eyes. Did she know I was a Stormshade? Is that why she looked upon me with such…disgust? Did she plan to kill me? Another armor-clad soldier entered the throne room and knelt before the queen before rising and whispering something in her ear. The queen nodded, and the soldier shuffled out as quickly as he had come in.

“We might as well get right down to it, Diana. Can I call you Diana?”

I didn’t answer her. Instead, I leveled her with a cool stare, despite the fear slowly crawling its way up my throat.How did she know my name?I held my hands behind my back to hide their shaking and dug my nails into the palm of my hand hard enough to draw blood. With the other hand I started to pick away at the nail bed, focusing on that pain. It was the only way I knew to keep my emotions in check when they were swirling out of control.

“You see, Diana, you have something that I need. Something that isfartoo powerful to be in the hands of someone such as yourself. If you give it to me, this will all be over, and you can return to your monstrously boring life. Are we in agreement?” she asked, her tone deceptively pleasant. As if this whole scenario was a simple transaction, and not that she had kidnapped me and dragged me here against my will to throw me in a dungeon.

“I’m not sure I understand what you want,” I replied tightly.

“You knowexactlywhat it is I seek,” she accused. “The grimoire.”

How did she know I had it? The only people who knew of it were Nik and Tess. And Tyr.Crap. Tyr had seen me with the grimoire, and we had let him go. The queen could see it on my face as I unraveled the truth.

“That’s right,” she crooned, “innocent little Tyr came running to his Shadow Queen the moment he saw you in Istmere. He told me all about you.”

I swallowed hard. How much had he told her? That I was a dream walker? Did Tyr know I was a Stormshade? Some cousin he was…turning me in at the first opportunity.

“I don’t have it,” I replied.

“Obviously. I would sense it on you. But you will retrieve it for me.”

“And if I don’t?” I asked, my shoulders tensing.

“There will be dire consequences,” she replied in a cool tone.

What, exactly, was in this grimoire that everyone wanted to get their hands on? I had looked at most of it…some of it had appeared innocuous and the rest I hadn’t understood. There must be something incredibly precious in there for everyone to want to take it from me the moment they found out it was in my possession. But the grimoire had shown itself tome. It had chosenme. It wasmyfamily’s grimoire, I couldn’t simply hand it over. There had to be a reason that it came to me in that dream…

“Ah, just in time,” she said as she rose from her throne and sauntered down the dais steps, the wolves following closely on her heels. I turned, and in the arched doorway between the armed soldiers were Nik and Puck. A wave of relief flooded through me, and my breath released in an exhausted huff. They were safe. They were here. Despite everything, I was sure they would be able to find us a way out of this mess. I expected Puck to rush to Tess’ side as she remained limp on the cold tile, but he stopped in the doorway, his eyes tight. He avoided my stare, his eyes downcast. My brow raised in confusion and Nik continued forwards, his gaze on the dais.

“Donika.” He nodded with a smile as he walked past me.

He joined her at the base of the steps, and she wrapped her arm around his waist, bringing him into a tight embrace. I shot a glance back at Puck, confused, but he remained head down in the doorway. Tess began to stir at my feet.

I turned my head back towards Nik and Donika. He stepped towards her, taking her in his arms, and she cupped the back of his neck before pulling his mouth down to hers in a passionate kiss.

Bileroseuptheback of my throat and I tried my hardest to swallow it back down. I was going to be sick. I felt hot all over. My ears and cheeks burned as if they were on fire. Nik’s lips parted easily for hers as if they were familiar to him. As if he had memorized the way she felt against him. His arms tightened around her as she swept her tongue against his, and she laughed softly against his mouth.

“I know I was passed out…but I think I missed something,” Tess spoke from the floor. She had sat up and was cupping the back of her head with her hand, her expression confused, squinting at the display before us.

“Same,” I breathed as they broke apart. “What the fuck is going on?”