Page 20

"Remember what I said, Kassira," Sin growls low, eyes flicking to Draven, tense and ready.

"Yeah, yeah. If things go south, I grab your hand," I mutter, waving him off.

My heart shatters when I look at Draven.

He’s trying to shift.

Trying.

His fangs snap forward and retreat again and again. One massive wing bursts from his back, but the other hangs limp, mangled. His claws come halfway out before sliding back into trembling fingers. Blood pours from where he rakes at his own chest, thick rivers dripping onto the floor.

He growls. He howls. The hallway shakes.

And still... Draxis can’t break through.

Tears blur my vision. My fists clench tight at my sides.

Please, Draxis. Please.

“ He can’t, ” Neris whispers inside my head, her voice crushed by helplessness. “ He can’t break through the leash this time. ”

The scream Amira launches at me slices through my grief.

"You just couldn't help yourself, could you?!" she shrieks.

I whip my head toward her, baring my teeth.

"Shut the fuck up, you stuck-up bitch!" I snarl back. It’s the first time I’ve even acknowledged her since the funeral.

Her eyes gleam with pure hatred.

"I knew it. I should’ve had him bury you in the darkest hole under this palace," she hisses. “Your days are numbered, runt.”

And then she shifts — fast, snapping into her wolf form — and lunges straight for me.

Before she can reach me, Draven moves.

He grabs the back of her wolf neck and hurls her through the air so violently the wall she slams into cracks all the way up to the ceiling.

Oh, I like that.

She slumps to the ground, unconscious, nothing but a heap of fur.

Who's the runt now, you stupid shrew?

My heart pounds so hard it feels like it might grow legs any minute now and burst out of my chest.

I snap my eyes back to Draven — focused back on the mission — and take a step forward.

“Draven,” I whisper, pouring every ounce of pain, hope, and desperation I have into his name.

Sin grabs my arm before I can reach him.

“Not yet,” he growls. “Too dangerous.”

I shake him off, stubborn fire rising inside me.

“I’m going,” I say, voice hard as iron.

But before I can take another step, Draven’s head jerks back — so violently that the crack of his neck snapping echoes down the hall. His entire body freezes. No more growling. No more trying to shift. No more fight.

And then it appears — that cursed leash materializes around his neck like it’s been called from the depths of hell, burning bright against his skin.

A voice slithers through the air. Cold. Mocking.

“Well, this is unfortunate.”

I jerk toward the sound and watch in horror as a red-headed woman, just like Amira, steps out of the shadows behind Draven. Or... no. She doesn’t step — she pieces herself together, like she’s sewing her own body out of darkness.

My stomach turns. My knees threaten to give out.

When she fully forms, my horror deepens.

She’s holding a glowing red thread — and it’s connected to Draven’s leash. When she tugs it, his entire body jolts like a puppet on strings.

She does it again, smiling wickedly, her dark eyes glittering with malice. She’s not just controlling him. She’s showing me that he’s hers now.

A strangled growl rips from Draven’s chest — low, broken. He’s fighting it. Fighting her. But the leash tightens again and cuts him off.

“Ah, ah, ah,” she tuts, tugging once more like she’s disciplining a pet. “Be a good little hellhound. Listen to your master.”

She turns to me, smiling with the kind of sweetness that could cut through bone.

“You’re such a troublesome little wolf,” she purrs. “When he first met you, I didn’t bother paying attention. You were too weak to matter.”

The sweetness vanishes, her face twisting into something dark and vicious.

“But it turns out you’re stubborn, aren’t you? Stubborn enough to be a thorn in my side.”

She steps closer. I can feel the weight of her power pressing down on me.

“Don’t worry,” she says, voice suddenly bright again, like she’s sharing delightful news. “You’ll only live a few more days. And when the time comes...” She grins, teeth flashing like knives.

“I’ll get to watch the hellhound rip you apart.”

Before I can react, she tugs hard on the leash.

“Go , hellhound . Get her for me.” Her voice drops into a sharp command. “And kill the Beta.”

My heart seizes in my chest.

Draven lunges. Claws bared. Murder in his eyes.

I can’t even scream — the sound gets trapped deep inside me.

But he stops suddenly. Inches away from me.

Frozen, hand poised to strike — his muscles twitching slightly, like something is holding him back.

Between us, a faint shimmer flickers into existence. A thin, almost invisible shield, woven from strands of blue light.

Magic. Not the witch’s.

Sin grabs my shoulder and squeezes hard.

“We have to go, Kass. Now,” he says, low and urgent.

His other hand is stretched in front of him, feeding more of his magic into the shield separating us from Draven.

“ His eyes, Kass, ” Neris whispers inside me. “ Look. ”

I look — and almost collapse. She’s right. Draven’s eyes aren’t hollow anymore. They’re haunted. Bleeding agony, screaming pain. So much pain I feel it like claws dragging across my heart.

Without thinking, I reach out. I just want to touch him. Even if it’s for the last time.

“Don’t.” His voice — raw, broken — cuts straight through me.

My hand freezes midair. Tears pour down my cheeks, hot and helpless.

“You have to kill me, Kass,” he rasps, every word a wound. “Now. It’s the only way. Please. I need you safe. I tried. I can’t break through. Not enough. Draxis knew. The mark on my chest—” His voice splinters into a desperate, tortured sound. “Please, Kass.”

“No,” my voice sounds stronger than I feel. “You’re mine. You’re not hers. You don’t belong to her. You don’t belong to anyone but me. You and Draxis — you’re mine.”

He flinches like my words physically hit him.

He turns to Sin, eyes pleading. “Sin, you do—”

Before he can finish, his head jerks back and a choked, feral noise escapes him. The leash tightens mercilessly.

“Sinalyn!” The witch’s voice lashes out.

From the far end of the hall, a young woman steps into view. Dark hair limp around her face. Shoulders bowed. Moving like each step hurts.

She passes Amira’s still unconscious wolf form without a glance. Stops beside the witch. Offers her arm, silent and resigned.

The witch grabs her like a vulture ripping into a corpse, nails digging so deep that blood beads instantly.

The girl — Sinalyn — lifts her head.

Our eyes meet. There’s pity in hers. Real pity. She mouths two words: I’m sorry.

And then the witch starts chanting. Soft red light coils around Sinalyn like a noose. A glowing sigil burns into her forehead.

My heart skids and crashes into my ribs.

“She’s channeling her,” I breathe. “She’s boosting herself—”

I whip toward Sin. “We need to go. Now!”

But he’s not moving. Not even blinking.

He’s staring at Sinalyn like she’s the only thing he can see.

“Sin?” I shake his arm hard. “Sin, come on—”

He doesn’t even flinch.

Behind us, a deep, guttural growl rips through the hallway — and the air itself seems to thicken with dread.

I turn just in time to see Draven.

His eyes. Gone completely red. No white left. No silver. No storm. Just pure, blood-hungry rage.

He’s clawing at the shield now. And judging by the cracks spidering through it, he’ll break through in seconds.

“Sin, snap the fuck out of it!” I scream, yanking at him with everything I’ve got.

“ We’re dead, ” Neris deadpans.

“She’s my mate,” Sin whispers.

I blink at him, stunned.

Oh, for the love of the goddesses. Seriously? This? Now?

Leave it to the universe to find a way to kick me in the teeth while I’m already face-down in the mud. To make everything a million times harder. And messier.

“Sin,” I grit out, dragging his face toward mine, “your brand-new love story will have to wait because we’re about to become hellhound chew toys.”

He blinks once, twice — and then the shield between us and Draven shatters with a deafening crack.

A low growl rips from Sin’s chest, growing louder, deeper — until it bursts into a full roar. Before I can even blink, he shifts.

One second, he's a man. The next, a massive white wolf, his clothes shredded to dust around him.

He lunges straight for the witch. And all I can do is stand there, useless, horror ripping through me.

The witch jerks on Draven’s leash.

Draven whirls — and attacks Sin.

Oh, Goddess. He’s going to die. Sin’s going to die, and then I’ll die, and then it'll just be the witch and her pet hellhound, turning the world to ash.

I suck in a gasp when Sin dodges at the last possible second, slipping under Draven’s claws like a shadow.

Not only that — he actually sinks his teeth into Draven’s shoulder, drawing a brutal spray of blood.

Draven releases a snarl that shakes the floor and swings back with deadly claws — missing Sin’s throat by a breath.

And then — I blink. Blink again.

What the hell am I looking at?

Sin shifts again. Not back into a man. But into a white fucking dragon.

A dragon. In the middle of the palace. Oh, stars.

His wings snap open, blowing a massive hole in the ceiling, sending glass and debris flying like shrapnel. The windows explode outward. Screams echo down the hall.

It’s chaos. Horrifying chaos. Mayhem.

Neris, bless her smart furry ass, drags us back just in time to avoid being shredded into confetti by flying stone and steel.

I stand there like an idiot, hand clamped over my mouth, heart hammering in my ears.

I brace myself and prepare to shift and… I don’t know? Join the fight? Run?

“ We’ll be crushed in seconds, ” Neris says, voice detached. “ It’s been good knowing you, Kass. Life with you was anything but boring. ”

I jump nervously from one foot to another, trying to decide what the hell to do. I’m not built for battle. My weapon is my mind. And that’s when I’m not panicking and I can use it properly.

Sin shifts again — back into a wolf — without missing a beat. Back and forth, dragon to wolf to dragon again, faster than anything I’ve ever seen.

“What the hell is he?!” I whisper, wild-eyed.

Sin and Draven tear into each other — claws, fangs, fury. There’s blood everywhere, slick and glistening. Neither giving an inch.

The witch finally shrieks — a sound like nails digging into my skull — and rips open some swirling black hole beside her. She grabs the girl, Sinalyn, and throws her into it like she’s nothing more than trash.

Sin howls, lunging to follow, but Draven tackles him mid-air, dragging him down hard.

I scream when I see it — Sin’s claws sink deep into Draven’s chest, dangerously close to the blackened mark. My breath catches.

The witch snarls and flicks her fingers. Sin is blasted across the hallway, slamming into the stone with a sickening crack.

He’s up again instantly, blood dripping down his side — snarling, feral.

And I run. I run like the flames of hell are licking at my heels.

“Sin!” I scream, stumbling over rubble. “Sin, we have to leave! Now!”

For a heartbeat, he doesn’t seem to hear me. His wolf is out for blood, blinded by fury and heartbreak.

Then — he stutters. His head snaps toward me.

He heard me. Thank the Goddess.

I reach him, grabbing his arm, breathless.

“Sin, we’ll come back for her,” I gasp out. “For both of them. But if we die here, we won’t save anyone. Please.”

His jaw tightens. His whole body vibrates with rage.

I shove the vial of blood into his hand — the one he gave me earlier, just in case.

It’s Draven’s blood. He’s the one who came up with this plan, long before everything went to hell. A last resort if things ever got too bad. If I ever needed to disappear.

Sin’s grip tightens around the vial, his jaw clenching hard enough I hear it crack.

He can wield blood magic. Something no shifter should ever be able to use. I’ve never heard of it. And yet somehow, Sin can. Draven’s blood — pure hellhound, powerful — gives him enough strength to teleport us anywhere in less than a heartbeat.

I glance at the witch. She’s already yanking hard on Draven’s leash, making him stumble, his body jerking like it’s broken.

“Please, Sin,” I whisper, popping the cork and pouring a few drops of blood into his open palm. “Let’s go.”

He looks wrecked. Fury and grief tearing through him in equal measure. But the second the blood touches his skin, his magic stirs — wrapping around us like a storm.

The blood rises, splitting into a thousand tiny droplets. They shimmer in the air around us, spinning faster and faster, a cyclone of shadows.

Sin grabs my hand. I squeeze it hard through my panic.

The hallway vanishes and a second later, we’re crashing into the cold, damp earth of Kunou Forest.

I drop to my knees. Then to my back. Panting. Shaking. Trying to pull air into my dying lungs.

“We have to kill him,” I gasp, staring up at the endless tangle of trees above me. “Kill him — but also keep him alive.”

Sin staggers a few feet away, hand braced against a tree, his chest heaving.

“That’s how we break that leash,” I whisper, the words tasting like ash. “That’s how we win.”