AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hey, bestie. I forgot to mention that I’m a body-hopping Evermore princess who also happens to be mated to the Winter Prince and, oh, the Darken probably wants me for his evil plans.
Also, just knowing this now puts you in grave danger. You’re welcome.
“Know what?” Mack asks, but she’s only half-listening, her face buried in the cream flyer Eclipsa brought in.
This is so not the time to drag Mack into all my unwanted—and dangerous—drama, so I change the subject. “Have they figured out what the darklings were in the vault for?”
“Not officially, but the prince and I have our suspicions.”
I lift an eyebrow. “And those are?”
The Lunar assassin regards Mack for a moment before saying, “Remember the Darken’s axe? The weapon that destroyed both our worlds and was broken into pieces after the war?”
A cold shadow of dread falls over me as I nod.
Mack slaps a hand over her mouth. “A piece of the Worldslayer was here, at the academy?”
Of course the Darken’s evil weapon has a terrifying name. Of course it does.
“We think one of the pieces was stored below the academy,” Eclipsa confirms, “inside the vault.”
“I think you’re right,” I murmur. “The thing Evelyn held, it looked like part of the axe’s blade. So that means whoever is controlling Evelyn is the same person working for the Darken?”
“It certainly appears that way, but—” Eclipsa pauses, and her head swings to face the door.
A second later, Valerian bursts through, trailed by Asher.
Before I can blink, Valerian is at my side. “How do you feel?”
“Other than the room spinning whenever I so much as breathe? Peachy.”
“There’s that smart tongue I missed.” Valerian’s intimate tone sets a fire low in my belly. The others look away as Valerian holds my stare, impervious to anyone but me. “I missed all of you actually, Princess.”
O-kay then. We’re doing this in front of everyone. “Thanks for coming to help us, even though I ordered you not to.”
Asher raises his eyebrows while Eclipsa swallows a laugh and Mack stares open-mouthed.
“Ordered?” A seductive grin dances over his lips as he leans down and whispers, “One, I wasn’t coming to help your shadow friends, I was coming for you. Never underestimate your value to me. Two, I’m an Evermore Prince. I don’t take orders, especially when they put my mate in danger. Understand?”
I glare at him, stubbornly refusing to back down. “No. I don’t. I’m your Shadow Guardian, and you should have listened to me.”
I don’t know why I’m suddenly furious with him. Maybe because he put himself in direct danger for me, and now, apparently, is in even more danger for showing the world that he cares for me.
A mortal.
His eyes soften. “I’m sorry for worrying you, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
My scowl melts as I recognize the hurt in his tone. Asher and Eclipsa find something on the wall to stare at. Thank God for mortals’ crap hearing because Mack is clueless, her face buried in that flyer.
Despite my annoyance with Valerian, I find myself grinning because I’ve learned two more truths about him just now. He’s shit when it comes to taking orders and the soulbond is strong enough to make him risk his life to protect me.
Not exactly love, but still significant considering how unapologetically selfish the Evermore are by nature.
“Whoa,” Mack blurts, holding up the flyer. “Have you seen this?”
“Just pretend I’ve been in a semi-coma for the past few days and haven’t seen anything,” I quip.
Valerian lobs Mack a conspiratorial look that screams, See what I have to deal with?
