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A collective gasp of fear rippled through the court. Some of her subjects started moving toward the exit.
Tianna laughed cruelly. “You think I care about any of them?”
I was the one who had bluffed. Some of the Fae could be my mother’s people.
“We accept Queen Tianna’s Challenge,” Iokul called. “We’ll play.”
My heart stilled for a moment, and when it started beating again, every inch of me hurt.
I wheeled toward Iokul, my eyes wild with disbelief. Just as I yelled at him, a chime vibrated in the air and the ripple spread and hit all of us.
Magic had sealed the bargain.
“What have you done?” I asked, bile rising up to my throat, tears flowing down my face. “How could you do this to me?”
“As I told you before, Daisy, you aren’t the only one who makes decisions for us,” Blaze said. “And this time, we outvoted you.”
They’d talked among themselves in telepathic dragon tongue while I’d focused on battling Tianna. They’d made the decision without me. I knew they weren’t happy that my voice was louder than theirs on some issues, but I hadn’t expected that their resentment ran that deep.
I’d thought we were one.
“If this is the only way we can get rid of our masks,” Rai said, “we aren’t going to pass it up, not even for you, Daisy.”
The three of them tried to avoid eye contact with me as fury blazed in my eyes.
“Excellent,” Tianna said. “This went better than I thought.”
“Maybe you should break the bastard demigod’s blood bond to you, Your Majesty,” Iokul said. “He’s insufferable. We brothers are heading in a new direction, and we don’t want him to hang around and cling to you like a nasty bulldog puppy.”
“Possessive, aren’t you, my ice dragon prince?” Tianna smiled on a sigh.
8
“Heart doesn’t know. Heart betrays. Heart breaks. Heart divides. Heart deceives. Only the boldest move wins the wicked game.”
Sphinx’s words rattled in my aching skull, mocking the doom of me and my consorts.
My mates had made the fatal decision and forced me to seal the deal.
Maybe they knew better?
Maybe it was the bold move that would win the wicked game?
I shook my head. I didn’t think so.
My heart bled as I watched them distance themselves from me.
The Challenge had started.
My mates moved halfway away from me and toward Tianna. I stretched my hands toward them, but they ignored my gesture.
I dropped my hands in defeat.
I was to be shattered into a thousand pieces.
No, I wouldn’t. I couldn’t allow myself to break. Elvey needed me.
He gazed up at me, his eyes full of regret and pain, and that pain was for me.
