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She hadn't known she'd say the last part until it was already out of her mouth.
"Why?" Bryon asked, giving her a dubious look. His gruff face held no kindness. Scars covered his arms, showing just how unforgiving and dangerous he was. There was even one on his neck, curving behind his ear and up his shaved head.
"Because my aunt destroyed that village, and they'rehermonsters. She owns the whole damn area. Whatever she's doing out there, I'm going to stop it. Do you haveanyidea what kind of power she has, or the things she's done?"
"More than you do," Bryon growled.
Maia bared her teeth in a smile. "I highly doubt that, Bryon. I highly fucking doubt that."
No one knew Ismene’s bestie was a dark saint with limitless power. Whatever her plan was in Venhaus, the saint was involved. The Dagger was right—everything was pushing them to the dark happenings across the border.
"You're coming with us," Maia decided. Ordered. "You can show us where you tracked Vawn to."
"Is that so, princess?" he growled, straightening to his impressive full height.
Maia matched his threat by crossing the hallway, getting in his face—as much as she could when he was six feet three and she was a full head shorter. "If you went after Vawn, I'm guessing that means you have some sort of moral compass. And that morality won't allow you to refuse helping me when I tell you what's happening out there could affect more than just Vawn.
"Take what Ismene has done to beastkind and imagine itsomuch worse—no freedom foranyone. No indentures, just people forced to bow to her power."
Bryon's lips pressed into a flat line. "Beastkind are already forced to do that. I don't know what airy world you live in—"
"Careful how you speak to my mate," Jaro said mildly, but with a dangerous undercurrent.
Bryon clearly thought Jaro was no threat, because he went on, "You might be a pampered princess up at the palace, but here you have no authority to order me around."
Maia saw red, her heart beating so fast, her blood boiling. She snapped her wings out and ignored the blinding shock of pain. There was no hiding the darkness leaking through her wing; it stood out against the pale silver-teal.
"Let me put it differently, since you're apparently too much of a braindead brute to see sense. Either you help us stop whatever my aunt is planning, or she wipes all of us off the map. Vawn, you, anyone you care about in this empire,all of us."
She bared her teeth, breathing hard. "She had me crucified because I refused to bow. She'll crucify every fae, and find much worse things than a cuff to keep beastkind chained to her commands. Butsure, if you want that to happen to everyone around you, if you'd be happier ass-kissing her so she doesn't hollow the soul from your body, don't help us." She forced a shrug. "Your choice, Bryon. And don't be mistaken; those are youronlychoices."
She was ranting at a brick wall; it was clear by the flat derision in his eyes that his position hadn't shifted a single inch.
"If you won't come with us, at least point out your route on the map." She gave him a smile that dripped sweet venom. "Don't worry, you can show Zamanya. Saints forbid you have to help me even a tiny bit."
She was being rude, and worse—unkind. Bryon had come with the others to break her out of the palace, and while she was grateful for that, she was shaken by the all-consuming dominance she'd felt in his soul and pissed all the way off by his bullishness.
She bared her teeth in another smile and backed off, Jaro rumbling a low, barely audible growl when she brushed his arm. Should she have been worried that he was more growly lately? Was it because his cuff had shattered and his jaguar was free, or something else?
"I'll work with Zamanya," Bryon grunted, his jaw set.
Maia rolled her eyes and tugged Jaro away from the bastard fae. She had amazing people in her life; she didn't need to spend another second with someone who thought she was a pathetic little princess.
"I don't like the way he looks at you," Jaro said, his growl calming as they put distance between them and Bryon.
"Me neither," she agreed with a huff. "Forget about him, he's just a dick." She linked their fingers and squeezed. "We need to find the others and tell them about Vawn being near those villages."
"What do you think it means?" Jaro asked, jade eyes pinched with worry when he looked at her.
Maia's legs automatically took her towards the map room where her friends and mates seemed to congregate. "I don't know yet, but whatever it is, we can't let it happen."
It was impossible to forget the torture inflicted on Maia by her aunt in the reflection room, with her dark saint's taunting words ringing around them, her power like a clamp on Maia’s lungs. Ismene had wanted her magic for a ritual—she'd said it in her villain monologue.
What if when she lost Maia's power, she found someone else's? What if the monsters in Venhaus were made withhismagic, fromhispain?
She squeezed Jaro's hand again and pushed open the map room door with her other. It didn't matter what any of them said; she couldn't leave Vawn to the unbearable fate her aunt would inflict on him. She'd find a way to repay Vawn, to rescue him.
She couldn't live with this guilt if she didn’t.
