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‘What he didn’t know, of course, was that my mother was a witch glamoured as a drakonian.

She cast a love spell over him, forced him to wed her, and then slit his throat as he slept.

She inherited everything, and when I was born, I was given his title, his name, his claim.

’ He gestured around the room. ‘That’s how I ended up in this castle, pretending to be one of you.

Part of the noble court. Close enough to the stupid little fire prince and his naive sister to play my part to perfection. ’

Alina's breath came shallow, her body tightening as the words twisted into her like a blade.

‘So there I was,’ he continued, his voice laced with mockery, ‘spending my entire fucking life pretending to care, pretending to love, pretending I actually gave a damn about my so-called best friend and the insipid little princess who worshipped the ground I walked on.’ His chuckle was low, taunting.

‘You should’ve seen yourself, Alina. All doe-eyed and desperate, thinking you were in love with me.

’ His eyes sharpened with utter amusement.

‘It was lovely to watch you fall apart. To know I had you in the palm of my hand, to take everything from you, to deflower you like you were something precious. And then, when you were drowning in me, I got to watch you shatter when I left.’

Alina trembled. The tears had started falling before she could stop them, streaking down her cheeks in silent trails of betrayal. His words struck her like stones against fragile glass, each syllable cracking something inside of her.

No .

It couldn’t be true.

It had to be a lie.

She had known Hagan her entire life. He had been her closest companion, her sparring partner, her first love, the boy who had kissed her beneath the moonlight, who had whispered promises against her lips. They had grown up together. Fought together.

And now, this .

The memories she once held dear curdled into something rotten.

Her stomach twisted violently at the thought of his hands on her body, at the things they had shared in the dark. The intimacy she had once treasured now felt defiled, turned into a cruel game she had never known she was playing.

‘You are lying,’ she whispered, her voice hoarse, but she knew the truth. Had known the moment the words left his mouth.

Hagan exhaled through his nose, a flicker of impatience ghosting across his features. And then, with a single pass of his hand over his face, his horns vanished.

Alina’s stomach lurched .

His once-warm brown eyes bled into an unmistakable shade of purple.

A shuddering breath left her lips. ‘You're a...’

‘A warlock.’ His smirk sharpened.

Alina twisted to the side and vomited. The contents of her stomach spilt onto the polished floor, bile rising as reality crushed her. Hagan merely watched, unconcerned, his laughter filling the space like a hammer against glass, shattering what little was left of her composure.

She wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her gown, the world spinning.

‘But you're half drakonian,’ she rasped, her mind clawing for logic, for something solid to ground herself in.

The moment the words left her lips, Hagan’s smile vanished, replaced by something raw and snarling.

‘ Shut up ,’ he hissed, his entire body taut with rage. ‘I am not drakonian. That filth of a man will never be anything but the cursed thing that blessed my mother the means to bring me into this world.’

Alina swallowed, trying to steady herself. ‘I'm sorry that happened to you.’

Hagan’s lips curled in amusement. ‘No, you’re not.’ He tilted his head, eyes gleaming. ‘See, that’s the thing, Alina. I grew up with you. I know when you’re lying.’

His movements were too fast. He pushed off the table, striding towards her with effortless menace.

Alina stood and staggered back, her instincts screaming at her to run.

She didn’t make it two steps.

His hand snapped around her throat.

She gasped as he shoved her back into the chair, the grip firm but not yet crushing. Just a warning. A promise.

‘What do you want?’ she rasped.

His fingers tightened, just enough for her breath to hitch.

‘To see you suffer, Alina.’ His voice was low, rich with cruelty.

‘That’s all I’ve ever wanted. To see you and Ash suffer.

I have dreamt of this moment my entire life.

I have imagined it in a hundred different ways.

How I would finally get to break you. How I would make you pay for what was taken from me. My kingdom, my home.’

His hand uncurled, and Alina sucked in a sharp breath, her chest burning.

‘That was a long time ago,’ she croaked.

Hagan’s control shattered. ‘Have you tried fixing it?’ he roared, his face inches from hers.

‘No. You all sit in your pretty palaces, laughing, ensuring the witches never regain power. And why?’ His grip dug into the arms of her chair, his knuckles whitening.

‘Because you all know the truth. You know how powerful we are. You know what you did. The seven kingdoms tremble at the thought of us rising again.’

Alina shook her head, her voice breaking. ‘Hagan, I had nothing to do with it.’

His expression twisted in disgust. ‘Do not start, Alina. I cannot stand that pathetic look on your face.’ His breath came heavy, uneven.

‘Your ancestor—Princess Aithne Acheron—is the reason we are here today. Because of her father, who resented the witches for breaking an oath marriage. Because of him, my people lost everything. So do not sit there and tell me you had nothing to do with it.’ Alina flinched as his voice broke into a snarl.

‘Your bloodline is the very reason I do not have a home.’

‘Hagan—’

‘Shut up.’

He seized her arm in a brutal grip, yanking her from the chair with the force of a storm tearing through a fragile branch.

The floor met her with a punishing crack, her breath leaving her lungs in a startled gasp.

Before she could scramble away, he was on her, his weight pressing down like an unmovable force, trapping her beneath him.

The gleam of steel caught the dim light, and Alina’s pulse stilled in terror. The dagger was in his hand. What was he going to do?

With a vicious yank, he tore the veil from her head, his fingers digging into her face, squeezing until she swore her bones might crack beneath the pressure. His breath was warm, cruel against her skin.

‘Do not move, Alina. The more you squirm, the more this will hurt.’

Her body trembled, panic sinking its claws into her chest. She struggled against him, desperate to see where the dagger was, what he intended—but his hold was merciless, his body a prison of iron above her. She could not move. She could not escape.

‘What are you doing?’ Her voice wavered with the taste of terror. She kicked, writhed, fought against him with everything she had. ‘Hagan, please—please, stop! Don’t—whatever you’re about to do—’

The pain struck like a lightning bolt, blinding, merciless, unforgiving .

A scream tore from her throat, raw and ragged, shattering against the walls as her body arched in agony. Blood splattered her face, warm and thick, painting the floor in gruesome patterns. The metallic scent of it filled her lungs, choking her.

No matter how fiercely she fought, how violently she thrashed, he did not falter. He had been right—the more she resisted, the more it burnt .

‘Hagan, please!’ Her voice cracked, her pleas swallowed by the room’s cruel silence. ‘Stop it! STOP! I’ll do anything—please, I can’t—I can’t take it—’

She sobbed, the sound dissolving into hoarse gasps. Her body trembled uncontrollably beneath him, the anguish reducing her to nothing but a raw, quivering wound.

And then—somewhere, amidst the horror, amidst the blood and the agony—Alina left.

Her mind unshackled itself from the suffering, drifting far, far away, beyond the walls, beyond the pain.

She found herself on an island where the air kissed the land with gentler hands, where women stood tall and fearless, wielding steel and feathers, where they knew how to fight, how to never be powerless again.

Her vision blurred, but she refused to look at him. She focused instead on Zahian. On his lifeless form slumped in the chair, his red eyes forever robbed of their mischief, his lips never to curve in another wry smile. He had died before he could fight.

She would not make the same mistake.

If she survived this, she swore upon the blood coating the floor, upon the fire still smoldering within her—she would kill Hagan herself.

And no one, no one , would ever hurt her again.