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While the words brought a proud grin to his face, it made her sick to her stomach. Ignoring him, she absorbed her surroundings. Bodies littered the street as far as the eye could see. Filip’s men stood nearby, one keeping Damir’s arms bound behind his back.

“What…what have you done?” Her tongue was thick, and her mind muddled from the blow.

“I have done what I set out to do. The city has fallen, and the three countries now belong to me.” He approached a soldier, muttered something she couldn’t hear, then turned back to her.

“We will stay here for the night. If there’s anything to eat in this gods-forsaken city, we’ll feast—celebrate our victory—then make our way to Kirovo Palace tomorrow. ”

If her head didn’t hurt so much from the blow, she’d have wondered what he’d said to the soldier.

“You mean to say you’ve done Veles’ bidding,” she spat. “He’s got his claws so deep in you, hasn’t he?”

Something flickered in his eyes—she couldn’t decipher what it was—but a stony expression returned to his face just as quick. “Despite Veles’ involvement in this, the cities belong to me .”

She scoffed. “Keep telling yourself so. You’re a pawn in his game. He is bored with his own realm, and he’s using you to get what he wants: a new kingdom.”

Pressing his lips into a thin line, he clenched his fist. His anger amused her. Despite the atrocities Veles orchestrated through Filip, he’d given him a taste of his own medicine.

“And what makes you any different?” He strode towards her until his nose was mere inches from her face.

Damir thrashed against the soldier, who kept his arms restrained. While she appreciated his concern, she could defend herself. And she would never let Filip use her again.

“If I am Veles’ pawn, then you are but the same for Svarog.

” Filip curled his top lip in a snarl. “Two gods at war with each other for centuries, two halves of the same soul. Don’t take me for a fool, Adelina.

You see him too, don’t you? I know what it takes to forge the Sword of Light.

Svarog would’ve come to you. The same as Veles comes to me. ”

She rose on her tiptoes to meet his spiteful glare, matching it with equal measure. “If you think Svarog and Veles are the same, you are sorely mistaken. ”

“Stand down , Adelina. Or so help me gods, you will regret it.” His steely voice sliced the air.

Shaking her head, she took a step backwards. “So be it.”

Filip was in denial—he couldn’t see what she could see.

And when Veles was successful at ripping a hole through the barrier between the realms, he’d be dragged so deep into darkness, there’d be no saving him.

She wondered why the concept of saving his soul came to her mind.

Perhaps there was an element of pity she held for him.

Considering all he’d done, she didn’t think he deserved even that.

∞∞∞

Filip stormed through the corridors of the Temauten Congregation building.

She’d gotten under his skin. Perhaps there was weight to her words—something to consider.

No—he’d done what Veles demanded to correct his father’s mistakes.

But he was powerful, and he would not be used and discarded by a god.

If Veles wanted out of the underworld, he’d need to learn to cooperate.

Filip was not about to hand over the cities he’d claimed.

The next time Veles presented himself, Filip would make his intentions clear.

He’d assume his role as emperor as planned, and if Veles didn’t like it, he’d ensure he’d never cross the threshold into the living realm.

∞∞ ∞

Resting on the windowsill of a chamber in the Temauten Congregation, Adelina watched as soldiers stacked bodies into carts and wheeled them out of the city. Even through the window, the stench of death reached her nose.

She yanked the curtains closed, then paced the wooden floors. Damir was being detained separately from her, and Filip had locked her in her room. She’d challenged him, poked, and prodded the fire raging inside him.

Biting hard on her bottom lip, she wondered if she’d made the right decision. She should’ve kept her mouth shut. Someone would pay the price for her treacherous words.

∞∞∞

In the middle of the night, Adelina jolted. The entrance doors of the building banged open. Screams of protest rang through the halls.

Flinging back the covers, she scrambled out of bed, tugged on her breeches and shirt, then rattled the door. Locked. But she recognised those voices. Her family. What in the realm were they doing there?

Shoving her hand through her hair, her mind spiralled. Was this Filip’s way of punishing her for challenging him? If so, she’d throw herself at his feet for mercy if it meant keeping her family from harm.

Hurrying to the other end of the room, she tugged on the window to see if she could pry it open. It wouldn’t budge. She returned her attention to the door.

Scanning her mind, she searched for a spell to unlock it. She’d once used a thistle vine to pry open the glass cabinet at the library. Surely, that could work here.

Fighting to keep control of her voice, she said, “ Rinorowlith .”

Heart hammering, she tapped her foot in a fast rhythm. Nothing happened. Nothing .

Filip be damned.

He must’ve warded the lock—some sort of counter charm.

Cupping her hands together, she conjured a blinding ball of golden light. Without hesitation, she fired it. The magic snuffed, little embers drifting to the floorboards. Aside from a scorched surface, the door remained standing.

Shoving loose strays of hair out of her face, she took a deep breath and produced the golden embroidery.

Her skin on her wrists stung as blisters formed, but the magic spun like fine thread.

She uncurled it and lashed it against the wood.

It creaked and groaned, but not enough to break through completely.

Placing one foot ahead of the other, she balanced herself. She rolled her shoulders, raised her arms, and encouraged the swelling magic inside her until it set her skin alight .

As she whipped out her magic in another blow, she covered her face with her free arm as the wood shattered on impact, sending fragments hurtling in her direction. The door was ripped clean off and half the stone wall was blown in.

Trampling over the rubble, she strode out of the room, setting a quick pace down the hallway. She followed the high-pitched yells of her sister and her mother’s fragile attempts at soothing her.

Coming to a halt at the top of the grand stairs, she absorbed the sight of her family, arms bound behind their backs by soldiers.

“Let go of them!” Adelina barrelled down the stairs but stopped when Filip stepped out of the shadows. “Filip. Whatever it is you’re thinking right now, I implore you to reconsider.”

He watched her closely, not a hint of emotion on his face.

“Earlier on,” she continued, forcing the words from her mouth. “I overstepped. I should not have questioned you as I did.”

“No.” His single word was abrupt and cold. “You shouldn’t have.”

Gaze flicking to her crying sister, Tihana, Adelina fought to keep it together. The fate of her family was in Filip’s hands, and she must tread carefully.

“Let my family go. Please.” She refocused her stare on Filip. Her heart pounded against her ribs. “They have done nothing wrong.”

“No?” Filip tilted his head. “I beg to differ.”

He strolled towards her father and stopped in front of him .

Daro lifted his chin a notch, refusing to lower his gaze. Adelina’s stomach churned, threatening to upheave the minimal contents of inside it.

“Filip.” Her words were no louder than a whisper. A desperate plea. “ Please. ”

He shot an icy stare over his shoulder. “Be quiet.” He returned his attention to Daro.

“When the test confirmed Adelina was a wielder, we did not resist. We let you take her in peace,” Daro said.

“And this is where your obedience ends.” Filip narrowed his eyes. “After all, you condoned a marriage between Adelina and Damir. Correct?”

Anger burst through Adelina’s core. She wasn’t about to stand by idly while Filip took his wrath out on her family. Golden magic shot from her wrist, casting a bright light across the foyer.

“Adelina, do you always have to be such a constant annoyance?” With a flick of his hand, Filip conjured a nether talon. It snaked towards her and bound her in place.

She fought against it, but its grip was unbreakable.

“Do not harm my daughter,” Daro growled. “I allowed what any good father would—a happy and consummated union between a man and his wife.”

“Damir is a wretched excuse of a man. Constantly in my way. You know, he is confined to a room upstairs. I could have him killed and be done with it. Your daughter would be free to wed again.” Filip was goading her father.

Adelina prayed he wouldn’t walk straight into Filip’s trap.

Daro didn’t speak .

“Ah, silence.” Filip sighed. “No, it won’t do. As much as Adelina might do anything in her power to save her husband, he is not the one who has a true hold on her heart.”

Daro frowned.

Adelina fought as hard as she could against the nether talon wrapped at her torso. It’s sharp blades punctured her skin in several places, but she didn’t care. She needed to break free. “Filip, wait—”

The talon extended, coiling itself around her face. Her words were choked.

“What do you mean?” Daro questioned.

A second nether talon lashed out from Filip’s body. It shot straight for Tihana. She cried as it rocketed her into the air. The tip of the black tendril throttled her.

Adelina screamed, but the sound was muffled by her own restraints. Her parents fought against the soldiers.

The nether talon constricted, and Tihana’s neck snapped. The crunch of bone pierced Adelina’s ears. Her vision blurred as the tiny fragments of her heart disintegrated.

Tihana’s body dropped to the floor in a mess of limbs as the nether magic slithered away.

Her parents shrieked, Velinka screaming wildly, Daro swearing viciously, both of them clawing at the soldiers as they dragged them out of the entrance.

They towed her parents away from her sister’s body.

Away from her. Their demands and pleas echoed until they faded altogether.

Adelina, bound by the last nether talon, fell to her knees. She fought against her constrictor, crawling her way towards her sister’s body .

Filip’s magic dissipated. He stood by idly as she scrambled to Tihana.

Shifting Tihana’s motionless body, she rested her head in her lap and stroked the curls away from her face.

Almost eerily, Filip’s clomping feet echoed through the foyer as he retreated into his study.

Tears dripping onto her sister’s face, Adelina’s clutched her tight. Leaning forward, she pressed a kiss against her temple. Gently, as if not to wake her from the peaceful slumber Adelina pretended her sister was in, she laid her head on the floor.

Two soldiers emerged, presumably to remove the body, to be taken wherever they’d dumped the fallen from the earlier battle.

Even as she stood, she couldn’t stop looking at the pale, colourless cheeks of Tihana’s face.

Her closed eyes, and her tiny button nose.

Her sister seemed younger than her years—death stripping away the small amount of life she’d experienced.

And there was nothing Adelina could give her, nothing she could do to comfort her as her soul made its way to the afterlife.

Adelina thought of the bunny Tihana had taken everywhere, and what she would’ve given to tuck it into her arms. Instead, she tore the peonies from a vase positioned on a sideboard, then lowered beside her sister.

She rested the flowers on her still chest, then placed her sister’s hand on top, as if she were holding them.

Heavy footsteps drew closer, but she ignored them, unable to tear her blurry stare from her sister’s still-warm body. Even when large hands wrapped around her arms and yanked her from the floor, she did not look away.

“Goodbye, Tihana,” she whispered as the guards dragged her up the staircase.

More soldiers filtered into the foyer and was all the confirmation she needed. She’d never see her sister again.