Page 357 of Commanding Blood And Bonds

Where the hell was Dad?

Carr growled, “What is she doing?”

Anger raged beneath my skin, screaming as loud as the pain. This wasn’t justice—it was a coup. And I was a fool. I’d believed her. Believed I mattered.

She was the threat to the Crown. The reason they believed I was a traitor.

“All that for a power grab?” Cali whispered, our minds reconnecting in shared horror. “She’ll die for it.”

Freya’s eyes burned with conviction as the crowd surged forward. She didn’t need to remind us of the stakes—we could feel it in our bones.

“Stop!” Mother barked. “Hold!”

“Funny,” Cali muttered. “She’ll fight for her lovers—but not for us.”

“Before you all gallantly throw yourselves on my blades,” Freya called, “know this: it was Reagan who slit my throat when I told her what I knew. Section Two, Code One of the Accords: No blood shall spill between brothers without trial, for betrayal bleeds the hierarchy dry. As if my blood wasn’t enough—she slaughtered an untrained Calling. A soul that should have been protected under my Wing.”

Gasps. Shifting feet. A chill surged through the gathered Wings.

“She murdered my Calling on orders from a soul you know as Lonan—but who is, in fact, the enemy of the realm. Adrastos Balaskas.” Silence. “She didn’t know I would reincarnate to remember everything. And what I didn’t remember?” Her voice dropped. “The Angel of Death did. This isn’t the first time she’s sold us out. In my first life, she betrayed the realm, too.”

Mother stood frozen. No denial. No rebuttal.

Freya cleared her throat. And somehow, it still wasn’t over.

“She suppressed Cyrus’s power to puppet him. But Adrastos made one mistake—he gave me a gift. Embedded a shred of his power in my soul as payment. I returned it to his ancestors.”

To me alone, she thought, Imagine his rage when I used his own magic to defy him.

The Crown. He’d paid her with his power—and she buried it in the past.

“Reagan didn’t just eliminate her rivals,” she said, voice ringing out, “she bartered with a slaver to claim the throne. And a queen beholden to a tyrant—is no queen at all.”

SIXTY-SIX

THE DUEL

CYRUS

With that final truth, Freya damned my mother and completed her first trial in one fell swoop, leaving the gathering in stunned silence.

The Crucible boxes had been chaotically checked—there was only one left.

And it would be the ultimate dishonor to shirk a challenge with so many witnesses after accusations of treason were hurled like blades. The Queen didn’t even deny Freya’s claims—didn’t flinch at the words lie, murder, or theft.

She had no choice now.

She didn’t spare us a glance before lifting her chin. “I accept. Now, get away from my Guardians.”

Freya’s smile didn’t falter as she extinguished her flames, and the crowd parted like water around stone. “Carrson, and Lieutenant Caruso, would you be so kind as to escort Juno, Nix, and Orion to the Brigg?”

I’ll give your mate credit for style. She doesn’t fucking play, Carr said into my mind as he stepped forward.

A shaky breath filled my lungs. The venom was wearing off. More and more of them were reaching me mentally.

Orion stepped into line without protest. The bond would force him to defend the Queen if he stayed—and evidently, he had no intention of testing his will against it. The other four Guardians were still mercifully unconscious, strapped to the pyre like corded offerings.

Nix’s lip curled in disdain when Carr grabbed his elbow. He snarled but followed bitterly, a leashed wolf pacing toward a cage.