Page 25

I scrambled off of Blake, searching the ground for my dress. Lifting it to cover myself, I grimaced at the ripped shreds of my dress.

Zane draped a black coat over my shoulders. I glanced up at him, his features serious, all evidence of what we had just done erased from his face. A softness returned to his gaze as he looked down at me.

“It’s up to you.”

I buttoned his coat, covering my nakedness before nodding. “Let him in. We should at least hear him out.”

Luke headed for the front door. I swept around the room until I found a tall-backed chair to sit in, crossing one leg over the other to hide my lack of clothing.

Zane sat on the arm of the chair, drawing my hand into his lap where he laced our fingers. Fully clothed, Blake sat on the ground by my feet, his arm wrapped around my leg, his fingers trailing a liquifying path up and down my calf.

Normally, when faced with an opponent I meant to intimidate with my presence, I would’ve made my mages keep their hands to themselves. In the past, I was strong on my own, I didn’t need anyone or anything.

Now, I welcomed their presence. Their touch grounded me, and their blatant display of whose side they were on warmed my heart.

I could still taste Zane on my tongue. Blake and Luke’s release still decorated the inside of my thighs, pooling beneath me on the chair. I wiggled slightly at their cooling essence. I’d need to bathe soon, but I wanted to sit here before him with his friends’ cum in and on my body.

Even if he couldn’t see it, I wanted the reminder that they had me and he didn’t.

The door burst open, and there was a low murmur of voices before boots clacked on the wood floors. Adam appeared in the doorway of the living area, Luke trailing after him. Adam’s eyes searched the room before landing on me.

Those mahogany eyes traced over my body, taking in every aspect, Zane’s jacket, my bare skin peeking through the folds, their hands on me, before sniffing the air. I expected anger or at least jealousy from him at the obvious stench of sex in the air but, if anything, Adam’s eyes filled with sadness.

Luke placed himself at the empty side of me, behind his brother, his fingers finding their way into my hair, stroking it in long, soothing motions. I kept a hand free in case I needed to defend myself. I didn’t think I would, but I couldn’t be too careful.

It was a miracle Rebecca hadn’t woken because of Adam. Or the woman knew to give us privacy. Either way, I was happy to not have to face her and Adam together. Even if they were broken up officially, a small kernel of jealousy still lingered in my chest.

“Adam,” I greeted, keeping my tone flippant. “What do we owe for this late visit?”

The Arch Mage visibly swallowed, licking his lips before stepping forward. “I didn’t know you’d still have company.” His eyes darted to the other mages at my side. “Though I’m not surprised. I figured they weren’t coming here to bring you back.”

My lips tugged at the edges. “No. They didn’t, and I wouldn’t come back anyway. You and Gage have made your positions quite clear.”

Adam winced. “I know you’re angry at me... and Gage. He’s just trying to protect us.”

“And I understand that. The only ones I want to suffer are the mages who are responsible for my people’s suffering.”

He tousled his hair before looking off to the side. “And I suppose I’m one of those people.”

“Are you?” I canted my head to the side. “You might not agree with my methods, but you are trying, Adam.” I said his name softly, earning his gaze on once more. “It’s not your fault that the other council members don’t share your compassion for the humans. Besides Nick that is.”

Adam’s brow lifted. “Nickolai was here?”

Zane squeezed my hand, urging me to continue.

I was sure they all wanted Adam and me to make up. I wanted it, too. I wanted him by my side, but there were things we just weren’t going to agree on. Humans were one of them.

“Why are you here, Adam?” I asked, not answering his question.

If my intense gaze bothered him, Adam didn’t show it. He hadn’t even brought out his little book, which was as intriguing as it was confusing. What was he thinking?

“I wanted to be the one to tell you,” he began, his hands shoving into his pockets. “I meant to be here earlier, but my meetings took longer than I expected.”

My lips ticked. “If you’re here to tell me about your engagement, I know.”

Adam’s eyes locked with mine, his eyes searching my face for my reaction to the news. When I didn’t elaborate, he moved further into the room. The others tensed, not moving from my sides.

“I’m curious, though. Did you end it, or did it take Rebecca to make you finally put an end to the facade?” I shifted in my chair, uncrossing and recrossing my legs.

Blake shifted with me, his hand moving slightly higher.

Adam’s gaze dipped down at my movement, and a tortured longing filled his face. His mouth parted to speak, his eyes shuttering his emotions. “She did.”

His words pierced my heart, and it took a moment to regain my breath. “I figured as much. Your position is far too important to you to let anyone get in your way. You probably would have gone so far as to marry her, if it meant keeping that big fancy Arch Mage title.”

“It’s not like that and you know it,” Adam snapped, finally letting go of that carefully constructed cage he had on his words. “Ask any of them. All I’ve talked about was ending things. I agonized over how long it would take, how much I hated that I hurt you, and how I couldn’t be there for you. You don’t know how much it killed me to watch them take you away and then come to find out that, not only was Rebecca working for the rebels, but she was housing the woman I loved.”

I didn’t blink. I didn’t dare to breathe. My fingers tightened on Zane’s, unable to make myself believe what Adam had said.

“It’s true.”

Finally remembering how to breathe, I glanced up at Luke, who peered down at me with a soft smile. “He was insufferable the entire time you were gone. I almost wished for him to shove his face back into one of his stupid smutty books.”

Lips brushed along my ankle and up my calf, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. “He kept secrets from all of us,” Blake murmured against my skin.

“He was trying,” Zane added, his thumb smoothing back and forth over my hand. “You should have seen him after you showed up giving him an ultimatum.” He gave me a wicked grin that looked more at home with the demon’s face than his. “Jealousy is very becoming on you, apparently.”

“I don’t need you to defend me.” Adam crossed his arms over his chest and glared. “I told you it was for show, and I was going to end it eventually. Rebecca just beat me to it.”

I leaned my head against Zane’s arm, feigning boredom. “Rebecca’s loyalty is stronger than yours, it seems.”

“Loyalty?!” Adam bellowed, his eyes burning with anger. “You speak of loyalty as if everything I’ve done has not been for you.” His steps brought him just shy of Blake’s bent leg.

“It was me who kept Master Tuck from scaling that tower and taking you then, in the hospital when he tried to take you away from us again, I stopped him. Not to forget when I stood up to the council when they wanted to lock you up for testing. You have thrown everything into a tailspin the moment we rescued you from that tower, and I have been scrambling to keep you safe. Is that not loyalty? Am I not worthy of your trust?”

Before I could respond, a dark chuckle from my right filled my ears. Zane’s hand released me, his eyes burning red as he pulled off his glasses. “Worthy of her trust? That is a funny one, mage.”

Adam glowered at Zane’s demon. “What do you know about it, demon?”

The demon reached across and dipped his hand into the top of Zane’s jacket. He took a moment to trace my breast with his nails, flicking my nipple before digging into the inside pocket. He withdrew a cigarette and brought it to his lips, lighting the end with Zane’s magic, or was it his magic?

Either way, he took a long drag before staring Adam down. “Have you done all this for our little sinner or to assuage your own guilt?”

My gaze bounced from the demon to Adam and back. Even the twins had questioning looks on their faces.

Adam’s jaw clenched, his hands dropping to his sides in tight fists. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

A sense of dread prickled along my skin. “What are you talking about?”

The demon grinned with uncontained glee as he breathed out a long line of smoke. “Our boy here didn’t rescue you from the tower just to keep Master Tuck away from you.”

It was hard to swallow around his words. I knew whatever it was he was going to say would break my heart, and I didn’t want to hear it. But I had to know, as much as I dreaded it.

Adam and I had a push and pull between us since the very beginning when he first found me. A part of me thought we would get past whatever was keeping us apart. That part waited with bated breath for the demon to shatter me.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Adam growled a warning. The very sound sinking in, creating another fracture in my heart.

“Oh, you were playing the long game, of course,” the demon purred, leaning against me as if we were just chatting about the weather. “What a spectacular actor you are to pretend like you didn’t know that tower was there this whole time.”

I swore even my heart froze at his words.

Luke’s hand paused on my head. Blake’s fingers tightened on my calf. It was as if all the air from the room had been sucked out of it, waiting for those damning words to be spoken.

Adam’s eyes fell on me, regret and guilt raced across his expression.

“Adam?” That one word made my voice crack.

“When my grandfather told me about our ancestor’s journals, I never believed they were real. Not until the tower appeared in Old Central Park. I knew that, if the journals were true, I couldn’t let Master Tuck get a hold of you. You have to understand the way Snow described you...”

He shook his head, his eyes filled with emotion. “I thought I was going in there to kill a monster. One who was not only a threat to me, but to everyone.”

I could hardly breathe as he spoke. That crack in my heart splintered deeper and deeper with each damning word.

“Then I found you. You were so beautiful. So innocently happy just to see our faces, and I knew...” He fell to his knees and reached for my hand. I pulled back, barely restraining the tears that burned in my eyes. “I knew that whatever you did or didn’t do, you didn’t deserve what my ancestor did to you. I couldn’t leave you there, let alone let Master Tuck have you.”

“I lied, yes.” Adam continued, not seeing how my world was falling apart. “I lied to all of you. I don’t know how Rebecca or Master Tuck found the journals. No one knew about the journals but my family, and they were only known to us as a warning in case you ever broke free.”

“Eva...” He tried again.

The desperation on his face would have broken me, would have made me kiss him and forgive him for all that he had admitted to, until he uttered those last words.

“I wanted to protect you. From this world, even from yourself. I knew there was no way this beautiful creature could have done those horrible things, and I couldn’t bear to see your past-self tearing you apart.”

He continued to make excuses, to tell me how much he loved me, but I could barely hear it over the thundering of my pulse. All the hope and elation I felt about Adam breaking up with Rebecca, chasing me down here, and trying to make things right disintegrated into hot molten rage.

My hands curled around the arms of the chair, digging into the fabric of the furniture. “Protect me? You wanted to protect me?”

“Yes,” Adam breathed, hope filled his gaze. “Eva, please, tell me you understand.”

“Yes,” I drew out, a malicious smile curling up my face. “I understand perfectly. You wanted to protect me. Except you can’t, Arch Mage. You can’t protect me, because I don’t need protecting. You can’t protect me anymore than you can protect those sniveling, power-grabbing mages you bow down to on the council. You should have taken your ancestor’s warning to heart, because I’m not some innocent little damsel in distress. I’m the Evil Queen and I won’t let anyone stand in my way.”

I leaned forward, tipping his chin up with my finger. “Even you.”

Adam clasped my hand firmly. “Please, Eva. Don’t do this.”

I shook my hand free, releasing myself of him once and for all, even as my heart screamed at me to stop. “For all that you have done in the name of protection, I’ll give you this chance to walk away.”

“Eva,” Luke murmured, stroking his hand down my arm. “Think about this.”

Blake silently stroked my leg once more, but even I could feel the hesitancy in his movements.

If Zane was there, I was sure he would have advised me to be cautious, to think this through thoroughly before I did something I would regret.

Except I couldn’t. I couldn’t think past the sight of Snow before me. Her descendant. Her legacy. Adam lied to me, used me, made me fall in love with him. All things I might have been able to forgive, but I couldn’t forgive the blood running through his veins.

I knew it was hypocritical. I was doing the exact same thing that the mages did to the humans. And yet, I couldn’t find it in me to care over the rage and despair that tangled in my heart. I could offer him the only mercy I could give him at that moment.

“Leave. If I see you again, Arch Mage, it will be as enemies.”

Adam’s face fell, his heartache so palatable that it almost reached through my own turmoil. He pushed up to his feet and adjusted his coat, before nodding his hair falling over his eyes.

For a moment, I wanted to tell him no, stop, I didn’t mean it. But I had my pride.

Pride was a nasty thing that would destroy even the best of people. Pride made me let him walk out that door. The sound of it shutting destroyed my already splintered heart.

Zane’s demon turned to me in the remaining silence, grinning with unfiltered delight. “You’re right, this was fun.”