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We walked out of the central palace. Arden had destroyed the vault and the room next to it, and the rest of the palace showed signs of damage from fighting. Some enforcers who were being healed on the ground saw her and immediately kneeled, bowing their heads. Arden’s cheeks flushed.
“That’s going to take some getting used to also,” she said, squeezing my hand.
The air outside smelled like smoke and metal. Off in the distance, sirens still blared, but it was much calmer than before. Some straggling Lunars stumbled away.
“The Moon Oracle is dead. And Chad, too,” Arden said. Had she felt my curiosity? “They got killed when I blasted through the wall.”
“Good.” I stopped, assessing the palace grounds. “That means we have to take care of Elias next.”
Lex beamed. “The Order failed. Does that mean I get to execute him for treason?”
“Yes, but not until we get the names of all the members of the Order. We need to get rid of them, too.” I looked around for a car, spotting an SUV that hadn’t been flipped over or half-crushed. “Let’s go to him now.”
“I’m driving,” Jagger said, cutting in front of us to get to the driver’s seat.
“This car isn’t like your sports car at all,” Arden argued, climbing into the backseat. “Are you sure it can handle your driving?”
“Of course it can.” Jagger grinned, starting up the car.
I was barely inside when he floored it, shooting us backward into the seat.
The SUV shook as he pushed it to top speed, getting us to the prisoners’ complex in record time.
The inside was still fully guarded, even though everything had collapsed into chaos. I nodded in acknowledgment to them, even as they fell to their knees in deference to Arden. Once she passed, they broke into whispers. I held back a satisfied smile. No one was going to deny that she was a rightful ruler.
We reached Elias’s cell. Seeing the devastation in his eyes when he saw Arden and experienced the power radiating off of her was going to satisfy me for years.
“No,” he whispered, casting his eyes down.
“Yes.” Arden stood in front of him. “The Order is done. The prophecy came true. Maybe even because you were trying to stop it. Tell us what other members of royal bloodlines are involved in the Order. All of them. There’s no point in trying to resist, but if you want to, I can make you hurt in a whole new range of ways.”
Elias’s cheeks reddened, his eyes alight with anger. He didn’t speak quickly enough, so Lex tightened his fist, the air seeping slowly from his lungs. He jerked and gasped, curling his feet up. The soles of his shoes were melting from Jagger’s heat.
He nodded frantically, wide-eyed. They backed off.
“Fine,” he gasped. “Give me some paper and a pen. It’s a long list.”
An enforcer grabbed something for him to write with. We waited, watching him write down name after name. It was disheartening, but it wasn’t as many fae as I’d thought. He pushed the pad of paper at us like a petulant child.
“There, Arden,” he hissed. “Are you happy?”
I growled, ready to stop the water in his blood for disrespecting our mate, but Arden got to him first. She pulled the concrete from the wall behind Elias’s head and looped it around his neck, choking him. He gasped for air, clawing at the collar.
“Address me as Your Highness,” she said. The concrete squeezed his neck even more.
“Y-Your Highness,” he choked out. Arden smiled.
“Do we need him anymore?” she asked, leaving the collar around Elias’s neck.
“Nope.” Lex stepped forward. “May I?”
Jagger stepped back. “Go ahead. I wouldn’t take this from you.”
With a tightening of his fist, Lex pulled all the oxygen from Elias’s lungs and other organs, killing him immediately.
“You did it fast?” Jagger’s brows furrowed. “I would have taken my sweet time.”
“Yeah, I did.” Lex took Arden’s hand. “I want to move past this. Make a better future.”
