AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Moments later, I appeared in the room I’d just dreamed of—but Sabine was already gone. I panted, realizing the dim light was not part of my dream but the reality of the setting. The walls were dull and dark.
“Esme!” I called out, trying to fight off the lingering dizziness that came with transporting myself. “Aunt Es—oh!”
I hurried to the chair where my aunt was slumped over, her eyes closed, blood running from her temple. I fought back tears as I smoothed my hand over her skin, trying to assess the damage. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered as I applied shaking fingers to her neck. She still had a pulse—it was faint, but still there. “I am so, so sorry. I’m going to get you out of here.”
I knelt down, trying to undo the knots that bound her in place. The ropes bit back, and I yelped, realizing after a moment that they were laced with silver thread. I just needed to get Esme out of here, and I was debating if I could transport my aunt, chair and all, when a rush of cold air hit my back.
“Hello there,” a familiar voice greeted me, and a chill ran down my spine.
I know that voice. That’s the person who freed me in Alaska.
I slowly stood up. As I turned, I saw a woman in the doorway. I wasn’t sure if I hadn’t noticed her presence in my panic, or if she’d somehow formed that door with her magic.
I swallowed hard and tried to subtly prepare a defensive spell. Just because the fire-wielder had freed me didn’t mean she was friendly—not if she was in this place. “What do you want?”
The figure stepped closer and pushed back her hood, revealing an elegant woman with wavy brown hair. She looked about my aunt’s age—before Sabine had fed off Esme, anyway. As she blinked, I realized there was something terrifying about her eyes. They weren’t…they weren’thuman. They were golden, almost glowing like the sun, and they looked like adragon’seyes.
I swallowed hard.Well, that fire makes sense now.
“Drop your defensive spell,” she purred.
To my horror, my hands stopped moving and I dropped my arms at my sides. “What? Wait, no!” I gasped, trying to force my arms to lift, but they felt like barbells.
The woman smiled in a way that made my skin crawl, and she prowled closer to me. “Good girl,” she purred. “Now, you will kneel.”
“I will n—” But my knees buckled and complied against my will. I hit the stone floor with a thump.
“I am Zyanya,” the witch said, studying me like a cat might a mouse. “Though I suspect you know me by my title.”
Eyes like the sun…
“The Solar Sovereign?” I managed to choke out, hating the way my voice trembled.
“Ah, you got it in one try. Living up to your reputation,” she said. “I am pleased to meet you, little one.”
“I’m not going to help you,” I managed to stammer out. “You aren’t going to kill the Lunar Lord.”
Zyanya beamed at me. “Oh no,” she said, reaching forward to stroke my hair. “You’llbe doing that, my dear. You’ll be doing just that.”
Chapter27
Celeste
???
Abu Ghurab, Egypt
I could barely hear my thoughts over the roar in my ears as Zyanya stared down at me, her smile small but predatory.Fenris was right this whole time.
I hadn’t doubted his senses—after all, he’d been alive for centuries longer than me—but I had wondered how someone could escape him for that long. Perhaps it was wishful thinking on my end, but some small corner of my mind hoped we’d make it to the eclipse and I’d be able to perform the ritual without interruption. Fenris’s friends and allies would be assembled, but in the end, we wouldn’t need any help at all because this “Solar Sovereign” had never appeared. It’d either be a rumor some upstart shifter had made up, or the Sovereign was simply too weak to face Fenris after all the time they’d spent hiding in the shadows.
Looking at Zyanya now, I could feel that last shred of hope splinter like a ship upon a rocky coast. I swallowed hard, trying to find any of my remaining nerves. If I had any hope of surviving, I had to get out of here.
Don’t panic,I told myself, trying to remember to keep breathing. I tried to pull my legs closer under myself to prop myself back up and stand, but nothing happened. I swallowed the rising horror and tried again, but my limbs remained dead weights. My arms wouldn’t swing forward, and I couldn’t even turn my head. I was stuck, staring up at Fenris’s mortal enemy.
My growing terror must have shown in my eyes, as Zyanya’s cruel grin spread further. “Having trouble?” she crooned, her mock concern sickening. “That’s what an alpha command feels like, little bird.”
What?
