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And there was the Alpha, facing off in human form against Jett. Jett, who spotted me as the portal began to shut. His gaze was more than furious. It was ravenous. Power-hungry. Obsessed.
He jerked his clawed hand forward.
The portal shut in time for me to see him rip the Wind-Blood Alpha’s still-beating heart out of his chest.
We’d landed in ourbedroom, atop the same bed I’d refused to sleep in since he’d left me.
I rolled over to tell him something, to say anything, only to find hiseyes shut.
Passed out. Not dead, I reassured myself, pressing fingers to his pulse and resting my ear against his chest. But recovering. My magic returned quickly, but Cole was already healing. His body seemed to heal before my eyes, new skin growing where patches of exposed muscle had been minutes before. More than shifter magic; the mantle of Hell had settled back into him.
But Tartarus was not an easy place to recover from.
I summoned Hecate with my magic, letting her know of our arrival. Her shock at Cole’s return was palpable. And then her eyes flickered to mine.
“Soteria,” she whispered.
How odd, how unchanged she was in my eyes. She recognized the knowledge in my gaze, the memories. They weren’t complete—more flashes of moments, conversations in the garden I built with her, jokes over dinner. Not just my teacher, but my friend. My confidant.
“It’s coming back to me,” I murmured. “Pieces. I think the pits returned a piece of me they’d held onto. I’m still me, but… Irememberthings. How to use my magic. How we met.” My gaze went back to the male who was still asleep.
She nodded. “It makes sense. The others?”
I shook my head. “Daphne will stay in the realm of the living. Hector… he didn’t make it.”
“He gave his life to protect you,” she assured me.
But that wasn’t true at all. “He lost his life because he was by my side and a cruel bastard wanted to punish him for that.” Another person I'd been too weak to protect.
I told her of Phaidros, and how the Moon-Ghosts attacked theWind-Bloods. In my entire life, I’d never heard of a pack invading another’s territory like that. Border disputes, squabbles, sparring during the full moon meets, yes. But neverwar.
“She’s making her move,” Hecate warned. “We will be ready.”
Would we?
I rested a hand in Cole’s hair, feeling the soft strands.
“I’ll stay with him until he wakes up,” I told her. “Please see to the rest of the castle. Let them know their king and queen have returned.”
I wouldn’t shy from the crown. The Moon Goddess would pay for what she had taken from me.
My body intertwined with Cole’s, I shut my eyes at last, breathing in the scent that, in my darkest hours, I’d thought was gone forever.
Sleep was a dark, deep embrace. In my dreams, I tried to find him. But there was only fire and pain and screams.
I woke with two hands locked around my throat.
Chapter XII
Someone was squeezing myneck like they wanted to murder me.
My eyes snapped open in an instant, magic already swirling in my palms to take down the intruder.
But the figure above me wasn’t an assassin.
It was Cole.
I fought to get out of his grip, but even in a weakened state, Cole’s brute strength outmatched mine. My magic sputtered, not wanting to hurt him. Survival won, and I tried to slam him with a ball of green energy, but it didn’t so much as shake him. His eyes… I’d never seen them like that. Pure rage tormented them, the amber shade darkened with shadows and fury.
