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“Aruan will destroy Zerra if I’m gone.”

He flashes me a disapproving smile. “Trying to save your own skin? That’s very selfish.”

“Even if Aruan is out of the picture, which will never happen, his family will destroy you before you have a chance of taking over the throne.”

“I’ll just hide out here until the dust settles. The Phaelix don’t have powers, but they vastly outnumber the Alit. I’ll hit when your mate is at his weakest.” He sighs. “Nia was eating right out of my hand. It’s a pity you came and spoiled everything just when things were finally going my way.”

“If you think about it, that’s rather ironic. I would never have returned to Zerra if not for you.” I add with a taunting smile, “If you hadn’t opened a portal for the Phaelix who kidnapped me, I would’ve been dead by now. I guess I need to thank you.”

He scoffs. “It doesn’t matter. Your arrival merely delayed my plans.

Yes, things were going so well. Nia is a believer too, thanks to me.

Lorak was a tougher cookie, as the expression goes here on Earth.

” He smiles as if he’s very proud of himself for knowing that saying.

“But once his mate is dead, killing him will be an act of mercy.”

“And Kian, Vitai, and Gaia? What’s your plan with them?”

“I can’t risk vengeance,” he says earnestly.

“How will your mate ever live with you?” I look him up and down. “She’ll hate and detest you. She’ll be ashamed to be with a traitor.”

“I’ve never claimed her. I’ve decided to wait until I’ve put my plan into action. She’ll be proud then. She’ll walk at the side of the new king of Lona with her head held high.”

“You’re delusional, Tarix.”

“And you, Elsie”—he taps my nose—“are in denial.”

I slap his hand away. “Keep your filthy paws off of me.”

“I was just trying to lighten the mood.” He drops his arm at his side. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you suffer. I’ll make your death quick.”

The finality in his statement is like barbed wire hooking into my brain. This is it. The end. He’s going to do it now, off me and let my body rot here.

“Wait.” I think fast. “I should get a last wish.” I need time to think, to come up with a plan. “That’s the custom on Earth.”

“Yes, I’m familiar with your customs. Of course, the scrolls forbid contact with this world as each planet must evolve as nature intended and no interference should be allowed.

I only studied Earth and its history, species, and cultures for informational purposes.

It’s important to understand the bigger picture if you want to be a good ruler.

” He sighs. “And good rulers know that customs are important. Rituals and sacred ceremonies are the cornerstones of society. I suppose a last wish is not too much to ask. What do you want?”

“A nice meal.” I lick my dry lips. “Pancakes with bacon and syrup. And coffee. God, I miss coffee.”

He wrinkles his nose. “I like Earth, to share a secret with you, but I’ve never understood your vulgar taste in food.”

“That’s what I grew up with.”

“That’s what you want?” He judges me openly with a condescending look. “Not to say goodbye to the people who raised you?”

I lift my chin. “I already did that. It will devastate them if they know I’m about to die.”

He rubs a finger over his chin. “I suppose that makes sense. I’ll just portal to the nearest restaurant then.”

“No,” I say quickly. “You can’t buy pancakes and bacon at just any restaurant. It has to be a diner. But the food will be cold by the time you get back. You’ll have to get the ingredients from a supermarket.” I wave at the makeshift kitchen. “I can cook food here.”

“This is just my temporary hideout. I don’t normally eat here. It’s not well equipped.”

“If you can make a fire in that fireplace over there, I can make do with what you have.”

He considers that for a moment while I rack my brain for a way of getting out of here. A weapon. There must be knives in the drawers.

“Fine,” he says after a moment. “Give me your—how do you say?—grocery list.”

I tell him what I need.

When I’m done, he nods. Tapping his temple, he says, “Got it all stored up here.”

“I don’t know why I never thought to ask.”

“Ask what?”

“What your power is, the one you show to Alit in Lona.”

He smiles. “Don’t blame yourself for the oversight. I made it my job to become invisible. If people didn’t notice me or pay me much attention, it was by conscious design.”

“What is it again?” He’s already shared that information, and I don’t really care.

I’m just playing for time. Every second I gain is a second that Aruan may discover me gone.

But the connection between us is no longer there.

The bond obviously doesn’t stretch across parallel worlds.

He won’t know where to find me. I have no one to rely on to save me but myself. “Just for curiosity’s sake.”

“I told you. It’s my photographic memory. You’re not very intelligent for a powerful Alit, Elsie.”

With that reprimand, he opens a portal and leaves.

I sag against the wall, the strength leaving my body.

The first thing I do is run for the door.

It’s locked. I try the windows and find the same.

It’s impossible to force them open. The wood is too thick to break.

I focus on the wall, trying to dissolve it, but nothing happens. Tarix must’ve put a seal on the cabin.

Shit.

Concentrating hard, I imagine a portal opening in front of me, the space folding to accommodate my will.

No luck.

It’s harder than it seems.

With no other options left, I search for a weapon. Unfortunately, Tarix isn’t stupid. He’s removed every utensil from the cabin except for the spoons. That leaves me with hitting him over the head with a pot or stabbing him with the blunt end of a spoon.

Despondent, I grab the pot and slide down the wall until I’m sitting on the floor. I’m so scared, not only for myself but also for Aruan and what will happen if he finds I’m missing.

An ironic laugh bubbles from my lips. Ever since Aruan took me, I’ve tried to get away from him. Now I’d give anything for him to find me. I’d give anything to be back in his arms. To embrace him one last time. All I want is one more chance to tell him I?—

I halt my thoughts, my mind stumbling over the word I was thinking.

Love.

Yes, there’s no more hiding or denying it.

I love him. I’ve loved him for a long time. Since the day he saved me from the Phaelix. I just didn’t realize it then. Maybe even from the day I was born.

Fuck.

Now it’s too late. He may never know. And that’s the notion that devastates me. Not dying. Not perishing at Tarix’s hand. It’s never having told Aruan what he deserves to know—that he means everything to me, and that I’ll love him forever.

Until my dying day, which may be minutes away.