“That’s right.” She scowled at me. “He kept us captive in these dungeon cells. Before burning us alive in the courtyard. As I’m sure you can imagine, the shadow witches didn’t take too kindly to that. So, we took it from him. Made it our home. And now, we are right back in these cells again. Where he starved us, tortured us. Because of you, Rowena.”
I scowled right back at her, even though she spoke the truth. “You can’t act like you’re so innocent in all this. If you’d just told me the truth, if you just hadn’t kept me trapped in my room, I never would have wanted to leave the castle in the first place. I would have wanted to help protect this place. Despite what you think, I actually care about the shadow witches. Why do you think I’ve ended up in this cell with you? Because the shifters and I came here to set you free.”
She locked her eyes on me, unblinking. “Tell me something, Rowena. Is it true? Are you truly Circe’s daughter? Not an Unseelie fae?”
I nodded. “Yes. It’s true. I’m not fae. But you’d have known if that if you’d ever cared enough to see me for who I really am.”
“That sword.” She glanced away, muttering under her breath and shaking her head. “No wonder the fae wanted me to keep it hidden in the Keep.”
“What are you talking about?”
She glanced up sharply. “Where is the sword now, Rowena? Tell me you’ve taken it some place safe.”
“I brought it with me. And now, the hunters have it,” I said, heartbeat picking up speed at the look of pure horror that crossed the Queen’s face. “Why?”
She stood slowly from the mattress, hands clutching at the moon pendant that hung around her neck. “If you are Circe’s daughter, and the hunters know you are Circe’s daughter, then why are you in this cell? Why have they not tried to kill you? Because surely they must know that your death would lead to the destruction of magic. Or have they not figured that out yet?”
The Queen’s words sent chills through my veins. Not because of what she said but how she said it. Like something was very, very wrong. Or much more wrong than I realized.
“They tried to shoot me, but the bullets bounced off,” I said slowly. “So, they decided to lock me in here until they can figure out a way to…to kill me.”
The Queen rubbed her hands together and began pacing the short length of the cell, reminding me of…well, of myself. All those times I walked the well-worn path of my room, thinking, contemplating, wishing myself to be anywhere but home. “So, they don’t know what can kill you. Not yet.” She jerked her head toward me, eyes widening. “Your powers. They surely work in here, yes? Use them to get the hell out of here. As long as they don’t know how to kill you, you’re indestructible, Rowena.”
My heart batted hard against my ribcage. “But Tess is not indestructible. The other witches aren’t either. And…and you aren’t. There are at least ten guards stationed down the corridor. If I try to escape, they won’t hesitate to kill you all.”
The Queen fell silent, pursing her lips. “You don’t know how to use your powers, do you? If you did, you wouldn’t be questioning this.”
I hesitated, not wanting to admit just how little I knew. “I’m…I’m still working on that. The shifters have been training me, but it was only recently that we made any sort of breakthrough.”
“Typical.” She rolled her eyes. “The only one who can save us all is a hopeless idiot.”
Narrowing my eyes, I stood and balled my hands into shaking fists. “Well, maybe if you hadn’t poisoned me for twenty-two years, I’d actually be able to do something other than sit here stuck in a cell with you.”
“You’re useless. Absolutely useless.” She spat the words. “They will learn your weakness and come back here to finish the job. And then we’ll all be doomed.”
Chapter 28
Doomed. The Queen’s words echoed in my ears as I sat curled up on the grimy mattress. A day had passed. Maybe more. And no one had come back to our cell, not even to deliver dinner. Maybe they thought they could starve me to death.
Could they? I guessed we’d find out. Because my stalling tactic was turning out to be a big fat disaster. The Queen didn’t want to speak to me, and I certainly didn’t want to speak to her, so there was no plan being formed to break us out of these dreadful cells. Not that I had any ideas for one anyway.
How could we all get out of here alive?
I’d tried, multiple times, to harness my power at the cell door, hoping to break it open somehow without alerting the guards. But something was holding me back. The fear of what would happen to Tess and the others if I made too much noise. Because there was one thing of which I was certain. The second the hunters saw me walking down that corridor, they’d make a move against the witches.
We really were doomed. One-hundred percent doomed. I’d let everyone down. The shifters, the witches. Even myself. I could only hope that after I died, the hunters would set their prisoners free. But I had a sneaking suspicion they’d do no such thing. To them, magic was a disease. One that couldn’t be cured.
Hundreds would die. And it was all because of me.
As I leaned my forehead against the cold bars, I heard the patter of footsteps on the stone floor. Whoever it was came quickly, and I soon saw a familiar figure, face curtained by long blonde hair that hung to her waist. A flash of anger went through me, and I sucked in a sharp breath through my teeth, backing away from the bars as Rebecca Valentine stopped in the corridor just outside of our cell.
The Queen stood, eyes narrowing, power radiating off her body even though she could not harness her magic down here. “Traitor. How dare you show your face in front of me. When I get out of this cell, you will hang.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” I gaped at her, memories flashing through my mind. The clock striking midnight. A knife flashing in the dark. Black shadowy vines trapping me to the pavement.
Rebecca shifted uneasily on her feet, and that’s when I noticed she had my scabbard strapped to her back. The traitor had my sword.
“Listen,” she said quietly, casting a furtive glance in the direction she’d come. “We don’t have much time. They’ve found something in the old magic hunter logs. They know how to kill you now, Rowena. We have to get you out of here before they come back.”
I stepped back, shaking my head. “Oh, hell no. There’s no way I’m going with you. I know you’ve been working with the hunters. This entire situation has happened because of you.”
She hissed before swearing under her breath. “I know that’s what it looks like, but you’re wrong. I’ve been pretending to help them, all the while trying to keep you safe. I knew they were planning on infiltrating Dreadford Castle, so I knew I needed to warn you. Why do you think I slipped that note under your door? Why do you think I brought a gargoyle guardian with me? So you could get the hell out of there before they launched their attack. I didn’t know it would make the castle land in the middle of fucking London.”
“You.” I shook my head, not daring to believe her words. “It was you.”
“Yes.” She sighed and glanced down the hallway again. “Honestly, Rowena, I understand why you don’t trust me, but you’re going to have to take a leap of faith here. They’ll be here any moment.”
“It’s the sword, isn’t it?” The Queen said in a calm, quiet voice.
Rebecca gave a nod and patted the scabbard on her back. “That’s why I brought it.”
With a frown, I glanced at the Queen. “What are you talking about?”
Selene let out a heavy sigh, her eyelids fluttering shut as she curled her hand around her moon necklace. “They can kill you with your own sword. But only with the sword.”
My heart thundered in my chest as I glanced back at Rebecca, who was unlocking the door and motioning for me to follow her down the corridor. To freedom. Or to something else. “Maybe it’s a trap. This could be a way to lure me out of the cell.”
“Perhaps.” The Queen pursed her lips and quietly unhooked her necklace.
When she finally opened her eyes, they were full of ice and steel and power and a fierce kind of determination I’d always respected. “Take this. Wear it. It will protect you. They cannot kill you, not even with your own sword, as long as you wear that moon.”
Eyes wide, I watched as the Queen shifted closer to me. She reached her arms around my neck and fastened the clasp. With a sad smile, she pressed her hand against my cheek, those cold eyes of hers flickering with warmth. “I know you hate me, Rowena, and I don’t blame you. But I was only ever trying to protect you and my people. Perhaps I was mistaken. Perhaps I was far too harsh. And now, it appears my life is in your hands. You have the power, not me. Stop the hunters. Save my shadow witches. And hurry, before it’s too late.”
“You’re giving me your necklace?” I asked, voice barely above a whisper. “And it actually protects your life?”
“It protects the wearer’s life.” She pursed her lips and stepped back, the warmth in her eyes shuttered by a flash of ice. “Now, stop stalling, and let’s go. And please, for the love of the goddess, don’t screw up and get caught again.”
I bit back a snarky retort, as much as I wanted to give one. Because I’d realized a truth about the Queen she didn’t want anyone to know. Underneath her icy mask, she wasn’t the stone cold ruler she portrayed. Maybe she partially was, but not fully. She cared about the witches she ruled. Hell, in her own strange twisted way, she cared about me, too.
With a half-bow, I tapped the moon pendant. “I won’t let you down, Queen Selene.”
Rebecca swung the scabbard off her back and threw the sword into my hands. The instant my fingers came into contact with the leather material, my entire body sparked to life. Power churned through my veins, hot and ice cold, dark and light, deep and high. My skin felt abuzz with electricity. My electricity.
Those hunters were going down.
Rebecca led me and the Queen down the dim corridor, her long hair swishing against her back with each step. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I was surprised to find it devoid of guards.
At my raised eyebrows, she whispered, “Your gargoyle friend is distracting everyone while I sneak you all out of here. Now, come on. Let’s go get the rest of the witches.”
“And the gargoyles,” I said, hesitating. “Where are they?”
“Up here, princess.” The deep voice that growled down at me from the top of the stone steps was none other than the one gargoyle shifter I never wanted to see again.
“Sebastian.” I narrowed my eyes and tightened my fists, glaring up at his hulking winged form that blocked the wane moonlight from view. He was a silhouette in the darkness. One I very much wanted to punch. Again. “Why am I not shocked to see you? Here to try and stop me from escaping?”
“If you and your witchies want to leave that dungeon, you’re going to have to go through me,” he said, snarling down at me.
I glared, heart flickering in my chest. As long as he didn’t come down here, I wouldn’t have to face off against him. And he wouldn’t, because he’d turn to stone. But that also meant we could never leave. We were trapped once again, stuck inside these dungeons, sitting ducks just waiting for the return of the hunters.
“Go,” Rebecca whispered, squeezing my elbow. “You’re strong enough to fight him. We’ll get the witches out of here.”
“And the gargoyles. We cannot leave them behind.”
“Of course.” The Queen gave me a thin smile. “We’ll get your stone men out of the dungeons as well.”
I hesitated, desperate to go straight for Marcus, Silas, and Jasper. Desperate to drag every single one of them up those stairs myself. I didn’t trust the Queen as far as I could throw her, and right now, that wasn’t far at all. But if what Rebecca had said was true, and time was quickly running out, we needed to get rid of the asshole blocking the top of the stairs.
It was time to take up my sword and fight.
With a deep breath, I slid my sword out of its scabbard and gripped the hilt tight, staring up at the hulking shifter. I took one step up. And then another. Sebastian grinned, the scar stretching tight across his face. He popped his knuckles as he bent his knees, ready and waiting for my attack.
The way his arm muscles rippled made my feet falter, panic clawing at my throat. Sebastian was three times my size, much more experienced, much stronger and hardened. He could lift me from the ground and throw me halfway across London, probably. I’d seen what he did to Tess.
But I am the granddaughter of a goddess, I reminded myself.
And then I ascended to the first true fight of my life.
Chapter 29
When I reached the top step, Sebastian jogged back to stand outside the range of my sword and into the glow of the spotlights. Not that he needed to bother. I wasn’t ready to swing. Not yet.
No, I had a different—better—tactic in mind.
“Give it up, princess,” he said, smile still twisting into that smug, cocky grin. He thought he had the upper hand here. Hell, he definitely did, but I needed to make him doubt himself.
“Why should I?” I cocked an eyebrow, taking a slow, small step to my right. “I’ve been training enough to know that you don’t stand a chance against me. This sword answers to my powers, ones that have become even stronger in the past few days. What I did to you before? It was nothing compared to what I can do now.”
Liar.
I’d had one breakthrough with my sword. I could make tiny fires sprout all around me. Not exactly the master I was pretending to be. But he didn’t know that.
“Nice try, but I wasn’t born yesterday,” he said. “Witchies don’t have magical connections with swords. Daggers, sometimes, if they’re in the other covens. You shadow witchies need darkness. But you don’t have any with all these spotlights.”
With a smile, I cocked my head. Now, that was interesting.
“You don’t know, do you?” I had to laugh. “Your hunter buddies didn’t tell you what I am.”
He frowned. “You’re not a witchie? Fine. Doesn’t make any difference to me. I’m just hired to do a job. No need to know all the details.”
But I could tell by the wariness in his eyes that I’d caught him off guard. He hadn’t been expecting that. And regardless of what he said, he didn’t like having information kept from him.
“So, if they didn’t tell you what I was,” I continued, taking another step toward my right, “then you don’t know what will happen if they manage to kill me.”
“Well, there you’re wrong,” he said, flexing his fists. “All the shadow witchies will lose their powers.”
“And that doesn’t bother you?” I asked with another step into the courtyard.
He shrugged. “Makes no difference to me. Why should I care if the shadows can teleport or whatever else it is they can do?”
“Except it does. Make a difference to you, that is.” Another step to the right. With my slow movements, I’d put at least twenty feet between the two of us. “Because not only will their magic disappear, but so will yours. Your shifting magic.”
“Well, now you’re just talking shit. My shifting powers have nothing to do with theirs.”
“Well, I’m afraid the hunters are the ones who have been talking shit to you. Haven’t you ever wondered why your city of gargoyle shifters has turned into a stone graveyard? It’s because magic is disappearing from this world. Humans have been hellbent on destroying it completely, and I’m the final step. Kill me, the last protector of magic, and there will no longer be any witches, any vampires, any werewolves, or any gargoyle shifters. You’ll turn to stone, Sebastian. And I have a feeling you’ll be like that for eternity.”
A long moment passed where the powerful shifter just stared at me, anger and confusion rippling in his eyes. But then he frowned. Snarled, really.
“You’re lying. The hunters wouldn’t have hired me if that were true.”
“Wouldn’t they?” I cocked an eyebrow. “To them, all magic is corrupt. If you end up as sto
ne, then what does it matter to them? In fact, they’ll probably be glad for it. I imagine they aren’t a fan of powerful men on wings.”
He frowned before he tipped back his head to search the sky for…for what? Eli? Backup in the form of helicopters? I wasn’t going to stick around to find out. Sebastian was effectively distracted, and the witches were now stumbling into the courtyard from the top of the dungeon stairs, so it was time for me to make my move.
I whirled on my feet and sprinted away from him, fleeing the western courtyard and pounding my feet in the direction of the drawbridge. A shout cried out behind me, and the thump of his own feet followed. Heart hammering hard, I picked up speed, grateful now for Jasper’s brutal weeks of training. I would fight Sebastian, if I had to, but I wanted to draw him away from the dungeon steps so that the witches could easily escape.
As my grip tightened on my sword, my speed ramped up another notch. I was almost to the drawbridge now, and out of Dreadford Castle. Two more steps and—
Strong arms grabbed my waist and yanked me from the ground. My fingers slipped on my sword, and it got sucked away by the bitter wind. Mouth wide, heart roaring, I reached for the hilt, but it was far too late. The sword fell onto the muddy ground far below just as powerful wings pushed me even higher into the air.
“You bastard!” I screamed and twisted in Sebastian’s arms, pounding my fists against his shoulders, his chest, his neck. But his grip was tight as he carried me away from the castle, away from the shifters, away from my sword.
We landed in a dark alley somewhere in the middle of London. When he let go of me, I stumbled back from him with my fists held high. “You may have lost me my sword but don’t forget what happened last time I hit you.” I narrowed my eyes. “I think you’ll find I’m even stronger now.”
He held up a hand, expression grim. “Calm down, princess. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“No, I guess you wouldn’t. You’re just going to hand me over to the hunters so they can hurt me. Well, you’re an idiot because you’re going to end up stuck as stone.”
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