“Fuck you, Mother,” Finn spat. “You know nothing about her.”
I glanced at him. There was something in his eyes—something I almost missed.
Fear.
What are you hiding, Finn?
Ashford’s smile turned razor-sharp. “Funny, though. I heard you were the one who took her away from Finn in the first place.”
My head snapped toward Finn. His face was stone, but the truth cracked beneath it.
Resentment. Rage. The memory of being torn from her. Hatred shone in his eyes as he glared at me.
“I healed you,” I said quietly. “I saved your life.”
“And then you stole her.” His voice was venom. “You stole her from me!”
“She’s not yours.”
“She’s not yours either!” he roared, raw and broken—some awful mix of grief, love, and obsession.
I turned back to Ashford, voice cold as the flame burning in my hands. “Enough. Hand him over. Release your claim.” I stepped forward, fire blooming from my palms. “Or you don’t walk out of here alive.”
The flames surged—first flickering, then rising, heat spilling into the room like pressure about to burst.
Ashford narrowed her eyes, smiling like the knife she was. “No.” The word was soft. Venom wrapped in velvet.
I stepped closer. “What choice do you have? Your castle has fallen. Listen.”
I tipped my head toward the open doorway.
Screams. Stone cracking. The sound of an empire falling.
“That’s the sound of your end.”
Still, she didn’t flinch.
“You think I didn’t plan for this?” Her voice sharpened. “You think I didn’t see it coming? I’ve ruled monsters longer than you’ve been alive. You’re just another Shade with a god complex and a matchstick.”
Her teeth flashed through blood on her lip. “I have my failsafe’s, fire-boy. I always do.”
The flames pulsed higher. “So do I.”
Ashford’s smile didn’t falter. She raised her hand and twisted a silver ring on her finger—its black gem pulsing with cold, sick light.
Shadows spilled out like blood from a wound. Thick. Writhing. Wrong. The gem shimmered blue, and the air behind her began to bend.
A portal opened.
My breath caught. I took a step forward. “What did you just do?”
She didn’t answer. Just turned slightly toward Finn, still bound and slumped at her feet.
“I think I’ll take my pet and leave now,” she said sweetly. “This place has lost its charm.”
I stepped forward again, the fire rising like a roar behind my teeth.
“You’re not taking him.”
