Jack

I kicked a rock against the wall of my cell and slumped back on the mossy floor. I’d meant to help Sav. Instead, I’d handed myself over like an idiot.

The orc with the knives had smiled when I surrendered. That smile had told me everything I needed to know: I wasn’t a player in this game. I was a piece.

The cell smelled of mold and old magic. But even this place was better than Dane’s dungeons. At least I had a window. Through it, trees loomed—impossibly tall, blooming with white, pink, and red flowers that pulsed faintly in the dark. Tiny fairy lights floated among the branches like living stars.

I was watching a flicker of orange dart through the woods when her voice came.

“Jack!”

I shot to my feet, heart pounding. “I’m here!”

She appeared around a corner, the blue-haired prince who would soon be her husband trailing her, and my jaw clenched. Did he never wear a shirt?

Sav reached the cell, fingers sliding between the vines, and I met her halfway, lacing my hands through hers. Her touch seared through me like a promise I didn’t deserve.

“Why did you do it?” she whispered.

“I couldn’t let you sacrifice your freedom.”

My gaze darted past her to the prince who was watching me like he was imagining my death. The feeling was mutual. I tightened my grip.

“We’ll get you out,” she said. But there was panic in her eyes.

“No,” I said. “Don’t promise them anything else.”

She pulled out of my grip as her sister rounded the corner and her gaze darted to the two of us. Guilt twisted my gut as Sav’s cold mask slid into place. She had already bargained away her freedom for the fairies trapped by Dane. What would she offer for me?

I couldn’t let her do it. I wouldn’t let her sell anymore of herself. Not for me.

There was no taking back my truth, but there must be something else I could offer to relieve some of the crushing burden she felt over my imprisonment. If only I could make her understand that I would remain in this dungeon forever, as long as it meant she wouldn’t give any more of herself away.

“Sav,” I whispered.

She ignored me, spinning around to face her sister, putting herself between us.

Hazel came last, shaking her head at me, facing the princess. “Release him.”

Sage raised a brow. “I don’t think I will. He’s the perfect bait to draw out the AFF leader.”

“You can’t keep him,” Sav snapped. “He’s under Winter’s protection.”

“I see no reason to release him. He’s the son of our enemy.” Sage shrugged. "Besides, my uncle is regent in Winter. He wouldn't risk war for a pet."

I clenched my fists. They were all talking like I wasn’t here. Like I wasn’t a person. Like I wasn’t a threat.

Heat curled beneath my skin, a flicker, then a flare.

Sav and Hazel traded barbs with the spring court princess, who seemed no more inclined to release her hostage now than she had when a wicked gleam entered her eye upon learning who I was.

My hands, fisted at my sides, sparked red hot. Heat sizzled in the air, smoke wafting off my knuckles. I stretched my fingers out at my sides, shaking them and glancing up at the room.

No one paid me any attention, flinging accusations back and forth, and I shook my hands out as the air shimmered from the heat coming off my fingers. What the hell?

I tried to shove it down. But rage pulsed through me, hotter than before.

The discussion escalated—Sav demanded the spring court’s aid, Kaspar offered his own army, playing hero, inching closer to her—and the fire inside me spiked .

“Stop!” My voice echoed strangely in the small space.

All eyes swiveled to me.

A torch inside me burst to life, consuming me from the inside.

It licked up my spine, burning a path straight for my heart.

My gaze met the prince’s, and his eyes widened.

He moved to put himself between me and Sav, and that action made the fire burn hotter.

I was a living, breathing inferno and my rage could not be contained.

Raising both hands to the vines caging me in, I grabbed hold and tore them apart. They blackened in my hold, giving easily, and I stepped through, eyes burning as I stared at each of them, gaze finally landing on Sav.