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The sentries didn’t release me, but they remained still. I hoped with all my might that my theory was correct. It was a gamble for sure, but I was out of options. “I’ll show you exactly how she’s been forging these attacks,” I told the Ministry. I pinned a bold look on the woman I’ve called mother. “Bellatrix, tell Irving to put the claw on,” I said.

“Irving—” She didn’t even have to complete her sentence. A gasp rippled through the room when the claw fused to his hand. Pain took over his features briefly, a garbled sound crawling up his throat as he seemed to fight to regain his will. His eyes glowed a lycan yellow, his posture became charged—a predator ready to attack. The sentries released me, swords drawn as they faced Irving. My blood ran cold. It was one thing to theorize this result,, and another to look it in the eye.

“Bellatrix, tell Irving to stand down!” I commanded.

She let out a restricted roar of frustration as my compulsion serum bent her will to mine again. “Stand down you fucking useless Turned swine.”

The claw dropped from his hand with a heavy thud, his eyes turning red again, and his body deflating. He looked around, confused and chest heaving.

I addressed the Ministry, speaking quickly, as I was sure the serum would soon run out. “For the past month, what you’ve seen is not an increase in lycan attacks, but a trick—an attempt to further ostracize our fellow Occults and to put the vampires at the top of the food chain. Bellatrix is a master of deceit and manipulation. She’d do anything to be superior. She killed spellcaster Guo Shan. She killed Devlin, the hunter. She’s been killing off members of our family one by one. She’d stop at nothing to prove a point.

“For the past decade, I thought I was an abomination—a monster—but the real monster is Bellatrix Nygaard. She’s quick to talk about the increase in lycan attacks but has failed to mention that more humans are being Turned, something that goes against our laws.”

My eyes met Irving’s broken gaze for a moment. A tear dribbled down his pale cheek. I’m so sorry, I wanted to say. I should’ve seen the signs. I knew her manipulation firsthand. Why didn’t I see it? I suppose I was too wrapped up in my own shit, but that was no excuse.

The sentries watched me warily.

“My name is Aurelia Nygaard, Primal Born—and Feral born,” I said to the Ministry. “I’m a hybrid. Always have been, always will be.”

A clamor of confusion rushed through the room.

“This is ridiculous,” said Bellatrix. “Don’t listen to her!” There was no ripple of her powers. A slow grin spread across my lips, and her hands shook as she pressed them against the table until her knuckles whitened.

“Are you my biological mother?” I asked her.

“No,” she gritted out. “You’re no child of mine.”

A pang spread through my chest, and my voice shook. “Who is my real mother? Who is my father?”

“You’re Adelaide Nygaard’s bastard,” she said. “Your father was a savage from the Lucerin pack. My sister, the weakling she was, fell for him.”

A murmur went through the room, the lycans and vampires within the Ministry exchanging glances.

“So, they were in love. The stories are true. Who murdered my mother?”

“I did,” she growled.

“Ah, so there was never an attack on your sister, and the very thing that set off the last thirty-two years of dissention between the lycans and everyone else was a lie.”

The Ministry was in an uproar, people shouting over each other, trying to get more answers. Felix banged the flat of his palm against the table a few times to quiet everyone, and Bellatrix’s eyes flicked in his direction before she grabbed him, an arm around his neck. Several other members lurched to their feet, ready to jump to Felix’s defense. Even the guards’ attention deviated, their weapons now aimed at Bellatrix.

It was exactly what she needed, exactly the result she intended. In a blink, she disappeared from the spot and ended up right in front of me. I barely drew in a breath before Irving threw himself between us and sent me stumbling back a step.

It happened so fast. Bellatrix plunged her hand through Irving’s chest with such force it broke through his ribcage with a crack. His pulse staggered and tripped over itself, the organ struggling to pump beneath Bellatrix’s crushing grip.

“Stop!” I shrieked.

Against her desires, her body halted, still under the influence of the serum.

“Let him go!”

He fell with a sickening sound to the floor as the sentries rushed for Bellatrix. I couldn’t even hear anyone else anymore. I dropped down beside Irving, pulling his body into my lap, cradling him. Blood leaked from his mouth, his eyes trained on me as he faded quickly. “Stay with me,” I whispered. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I⁠—”

“I always told you I was too pretty to be undead,” he rasped. He let out a little laugh, and blood bubbled from his lips. “I never wanted this life. I’m ready to let go.”

A choked sob escaped me, but I shook my head. With an injury like this, he wouldn’t heal. He would slowly, torturously die, in pain. Gods, it could take days. Immortality was a strange thing.

“Please, Aura …”