I watch Willow’s reaction, but she doesn’t seem appalled by the news. If anything, her smile finally reaches her eyes, giving substance to the marriage of convenience backstory.
Devi zeroes in on my lover and lunges forward, ramming him into the closest pillar with one hand clenched around his throat. “You seduced mygoddaughter? By Eros, I’ll crush your damn balls.”
Her hand flies downward as though she won’t wait long to make good on her threat, but I grip her wrist, my fire rising to the surface.
“Wait!”
Her eyes rove over the flames swirling under my dermis, and her arm goes limp at her side. “What happened to you, Freckles?”
I breathe through my teeth. “Let him go, and I’ll tell you.”
Somehow, I think I’m going to spend a lot of time preventing the man I love from getting attacked by enraged women.
Please, gods, tell me he and Devi didn’t sleep together. That would be almost as gross as finding out he’d been with my mother.
“Are you really the one who cursed him?” I ask with a hint of reproach.
I didn’t want to believe it when Ezra admitted as much.
Devi raises her index finger to Ezra’s face. “You deserved it, andmore. Half-brother or not, I ought to have killed you instead, like you asked.”
Half-brother?
A sigh whistles out of my lungs. Of course, they're half-siblings.
Why wouldn't they be? At this point, I'd be more surprised if anyone in Faerie wasn't secretly related—or fucking.
But her revelation begs the question: what else did Devi hide from me?
She slaps his chest with both hands, then her jaw hangs agape. “And you love her, too?Oh, this is a mess.” She paces away from him, pinching the bridge of her nose. “A disturbing,disgustingmess.”
Willow clicks her tongue. “We can discuss thisafterwe kill Ethan, Devi.”
“That wasn’t the deal,” the Shadow King says. “We came to rescue Lori.”
His voice is so gravely and deep that my stomach flip-flops, but Willow laughs openly at him.
“Don’t be daft, Damian. This is how the story ends,” she chimes.
“We’re here to rescue Lori and take Ethan to justice,” the Shadow Queen interjects. “That’s what we agreed on.”
“Iamjustice, Nell,” Willow chimes. “And you’d be wise to remember that.”
A memory flashes through my mind.
The conversation happened a lifetime ago, yet Mabel’s words are still etched into my brain.But you must tell Damian Sombra that Morrigan bore a child. He must protect her at all costs. She is the sole key to Armand’s cursed treasure.
Just as I’m about to mention it—at least mention that I have a message for him, and that, as insane as it sounds, I might be carrying a secret capable of changing the worlds—a loud throat-clearing sound echoes across the marble.
“Well, I didn’t expect to host a family reunion this early in the morning. Do I sense dissension among the ranks?” Ethan says.
The room falls silent, and I look up.
Ethan and Iris stand on the mezzanine overlooking the throne room, framed by the first pale rays of dawn spilling through the skylight above.
“By Thanatos, I’m going to tear your head off your neck,” Elio growls.
Somehow, he finds the strength to stand. The skull drawn over his chest writhes as he staggers forward.
