I close my eyes, my body relaxing against his. The steady beat of his heart is a lullaby, a promise of safety and security in a world that's suddenly become a terrifying place.
And as I drift off to sleep, I know that no matter what happens, no matter what challenges we face, we'll face them together.
44
BRYLEE
I can't getmy mind to slow down, to process. It just continues spinning and spinning with no end in sight, like a relentless carousel that never pauses to let me disembark. Each thought collides with the next, creating a chaotic symphony of worries, plans, memories, and what-ifs that echo through the chambers of my consciousness.
What am I going to say when I confront my mom?
How will she respond?
Will she be angry? Upset? Dismissive?
My time with Luka had momentarily quelled the worst of these thoughts, but now? They rush back with the force of a tsunami, drowning me.
Eros Academy looms before me, its jagged silhouette cutting against the twilight sky like a set of broken teeth. The architecture is an unsettling marriage of Gothic grandeur and brutalist concrete, where pointed spires of obsidian stone claw at the heavens while massive, windowless slabs create afoundation that seems to have been poured directly from the earth itself.
The main entrance is a cavernous maw of wrought iron and weathered oak, adorned with intricate carvings that depict scenes of passion and torment in equal measure, their forms twisted and distorted by centuries of wind and rain.
At one point, this school used to terrify me.
Now it just feels like…home.
It’s where I trained to become the best version of myself. Where I transformed from a dainty princess into a skilled fighter. Where I met my mates and fell in love.
The evening air is thick and heavy, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth, with the metallic tang of impending rain. A storm is gathering on the horizon, bruised purple and angry orange, a perfect mirror for the tempest raging inside me.
I can feel my mates' presence like a second skin—Luka’s hand resting at the small of my back, Colter and Kylian flanking me like twin sentinels carved from shadow and defiance, and Ridge bringing up the rear, his gaze sweeping our surroundings with predatory intensity. Their protective energy wraps around me, a cocoon of warmth and loyalty, but it does little to quell the fire that now burns in my veins.
The numbness that had initially consumed me after discovering my mother's treachery has been incinerated, leaving behind a white-hot anger that propels me forward with every heartbeat.
A single glass vial presses against my ribs inside my jacket, its coolness a stark contrast to the heat of my body. The weight of it is immense, heavier than any crown.
The cure.
The goddamn cure for karkinos.
After all this time.
My brother will be cured. That knowledge is the only anchor in this storm of betrayal, the single point of light in the suffocating darkness that barrages me from every direction.
Doctor Tamara already departed with a second vial, her expression a mixture of hope and grim determination as she secured the precious cargo in a refrigerated container.
“We can replicate this, Your Highness,” she’d told me, her eyes glimmering with something akin to avarice.
I’d wondered then if it was the best idea to entrust her with the cure. She’d seemed too…eager. Greedy.
Trusting her with the cure felt oddly like handing a loaded weapon to a mercenary.
“She'll be remembered as the scientist who cured one of the deadliest diseases in our country,” Luka had explained, when I’d voiced my doubts. “Her motives may not be entirely altruistic, but she’ll get it done.”
I just pray he’s right.
Now we stand in front of Eros Academy, where we plan to debrief with a few important generals before meeting my mother at the castle.
Who here knows about the Harpax virus?
