Chapter 1
POV: Reid
The damp earth surrounded us.
The fire in my hand was the only light for the five of us as we raced underneath the kingdom toward freedom.
Our thundering footsteps echoed against the old tunnel system. Sweat dripped down the back of my neck, soaking into the dark fabric of my T-shirt.
My legs burned. We’d been running for miles, and normally that wouldn’t have phased me, but after fighting Dorron and the cerebus, I’d been pushed to my limits.
As if on cue, my dragon reached out, searching behind us for Vivian.
She’d been one hell of a fighter back there. I couldn’t wait to get back home and curl around her in bed, even if we had to share it with Colt.
My dragon halted, sending me to a screeching stop.
Ariel bumped into me. “What the hell, Reid? Why did you stop?”
I turned, immediately finding Colt’s gaze. He looked as bad as I felt, dirty and bruised from the fight, but alive nonetheless.
Nothing compared to Caleb, who looked two seconds from death. The boy couldn’t weigh more than a buck ten, which was runt weight in a wolf pack.
“Where is Vivian?” I asked.
Colt jabbed his finger over his shoulder and looked back. “She was just here.”
He turned, moving back the way we came, disappearing into the darkness. My heart thudded as we waited for him to come back.
Had Dorron gotten her?
Panic pulsed through me, and Ariel sensed it. “I’m sure she’s fine. We would have heard a fight if Dorron caught her.”
“I sure as hell hope so,” I grumbled.
Caleb leaned against the wall, groaning in pain.
“You going to make it?” I asked him.
I’d carry him if I had to, but I didn’t want or need the extra weight.
“I’ll be fine,” he said, his voice weak.
Seconds later, Colt walked back with Vivian beside him.
I sighed and swiped my free hand over my face. Vivian’s gaze shifted between the four of us, but landed back on Colt.
I was getting over my jealous ways—I mean, the best a dominant dragon prince could— but that stung deep in my chest. My dragon growled, vibrating my bones, and Ariel tossed me the side eye. “You OK?”
“I think someone is coming, my dragon is on edge,” I said.
“Let’s go then,” Ariel said. “What are we waiting for?”
We pushed through at least another two miles of tunnel before a safety grate came into view, light spilling through the bars.
“Finally,” I said, lowering my hand.
I stepped over and kicked the grate as hard as I could, one kick after the other, until it toppled over. Stepping to the side, I gestured Ariel out first and then Caleb. “You know the way to the woods? Or somewhere we can use as cover?”
Ariel nodded, her ponytail swaying as she rushed out of the tunnel. Caleb attempted to keep up behind her.
Colt and Vivian moved forward, and I reached out to grab Vivian’s hand. She winced at my touch, and a current of ice water rushed through my veins.
She stopped and relaxed, her smile not meeting her eyes. “We should hurry,” she told me.
My dragon growled again. Something felt off, but I couldn’t pinpoint it. We’d all been through hell, and I wasn’t one to judge anyone on their reaction to trauma.
“You’re right,” I said, dragging her close to me.
She inhaled deeply before I kissed her.
The kiss was cold, it was distant, and I immediately felt like vomiting.
Vivian put her hand on my chest and stepped backward against Colt. “We don’t know if he’s close. We need to hurry.”
Colt caught my stare; similar questions filled his eyes, but he jerked his head toward the exit. “Come on.”
I felt his unease as prominently as I felt mine, but I didn’t argue; they were right. Dorron could come alive and end all of us with his army.
We followed Ariel’s scent through a small trench and onto a hill near a tree line. Ariel and Caleb waited for us in the depths of the trees, and once we were safe under the canopy, I exhaled.
We’d done it.
All we had to do now was open a portal and get home.
With Vivian never opening a portal, I didn’t imagine it would be easy, but we had to try.
We trekked a bit further, and Ariel stopped in a clearing. “This should do. Ready, Viv?”
Vivian stepped forward. Everything about her was so damn perfect.
Her dark auburn hair was tied in a braid over her shoulder. Even the dirt and grim from the fighting was hot. When she glanced around, she stopped on Colt again, smiling widely.
My fingers curled into fists at my sides. I’d fought for her just like Colt had, and I would, forever, but she felt withdrawn from me.
Shaking my head, I slid my palm over my face and swallowed the acidic taste resting in the back of my throat.
I was overreacting. I was tired. Hungry.
We all needed a good night’s sleep before we attempted to check each other’s mental state.
Vivian closed her eyes, rolling her neck from side to side, as if trying to loosen her muscles, and a portal appeared.
I gawked at how easy that came from her. Was that normal? I had no freaking idea. I knew my girl was powerful, but that seemed effortless, perfected.
“Damn,” I said. “You learned that fast.”
Vivian gave me a tight smile. “Florence was right. I can do whatever the hell I want.”
Colt glanced at me quickly, his eyebrows furrowed, but the sound of thundering feet neared.
“The army is close,” Ariel said. “Everyone inside.”
Ariel leaped through first, Caleb stumbling in after her, and then Vivian followed. Colt reached for my wrist. “We need to talk.”
It was all he said before hundreds of soldiers entered the tree line, shouting as they noticed us. Colt jerked me into the portal as it closed, and we landed in the woods behind the East Wing.
I coughed loudly when I landed, having the breath knocked out of me. “God...I was not expecting that. I'm getting too old for this."
Colt crawled to his feet first and offered me his hand. When I got up, I dusted off my clothing. Ariel was checking Caleb’s pulse, and Vivan stood to the side, her smile aimed at Colt, who looked seconds away from doubling over from the jump. “We’re home,” Vivian said.
“Yeah.” I glanced around. “Now, we need to figure out how much time has passed.”
Leona had said it could be days, weeks, or years. Was the East Wing still alive and thriving?
“We need to find Patch,” Colt growled.
I felt his pain. After what he did to Leona, I wanted to rip his heart from his chest, too. But something told me it wouldn’t be that simple.
“It’s summer,” I said. “We know at least a few seasons have passed.”
“At least a year,” Colt said. “It’s July or August.”
Colt fell into line with me, Vivian, Caleb, and Arield behind us. Colt glanced my way, and I looked over at him. “Something’s wrong,” I mouthed.
Colt nodded, but put a finger to his mouth to quiet me.
We broke free of the tree line, and the East Wing came into view.
From the backside, everything looked normal.
Everything looked put together.
Colt moved toward the back door, but I put my arm out, seconds before an arrow sliced through the air, hitting the tree behind us.
Gerald, the little bastard, flew forward. I knew I didn’t like that little guy.
“Who put the pipsqueak in charge?” I grumbled.
Gerald jumped, his foot outstretched as he attempted a double leg takedown on me. I caught his neck in midair, his legs dangling by his sides. “Help,” he croaked, clawing at my hands.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I asked.
Colt watched in amusement as Vivian walked toward him, stopping by his side. I ignored how easily she seemed to be near him, as if I didn’t exist.
“Who put you in charge?” I asked.
“The Queen,” he said. “They’ll come looking for me. I swear it.”
“Will they? You were never that important before,” I said. “Who’s they? What Queen?”
“Queen Stephanie. The new Fae Queen.”
I dropped Gerald to the ground and glared as he gasped for breath. “Stephanie, as in Vivian’s stepmother? How in the hell did she get appointed queen? She’s not even Fae,” I barked.
Gerald climbed to his feet and squared his shoulders. “Don’t you dare speak ill of our queen...”
I backhanded Gerald, and he grabbed his face as he fell back to the ground. “Don’t tell me what to do. Where’s Lucian...”
“Dead,” Gerald said. “His honor to her,” he said, gesturing toward Vivian, “earned him a death sentence.”
Anger rumbled in my chest, and heat raced up my skin. Colt glanced at me, and I saw the same anger residing in his eyes. Vivian glanced down when I looked at her.
No sadness.
No remorse.
Which confused the hell out of me. Where was my sympathetic Ember? The one who cared about her staff? Had Dorron sucked the empathy from her? Had the portal knocked her senseless?
“What year is it?” Colt asked.
Gerald looked confused. “2027.”
A year had passed. Placing my hands on my hips, I imagined the things that could have changed in a year. “Let’s go,” I said, turning back toward the woods.
“You’re not welcome here,” Gerald shouted at me. “When Queen Stephanie and King Patch find out, you’ll all be...” Gerald shouted and crumbled to the ground.
I didn’t have to look back to know Colt had decked him.
He deserved it.
I pushed past Caleb and Ariel back into the depths of the woods. Gerald would run back and tell them we were back. Patch would waste no time killing us.
“We need to get somewhere now,” Colt said, jogging over.
“Exactly. I need to speak with my mother. Can you take us to the dragon kingdom?” I asked Vivian.
She nodded. “Sure, but why are we going there?”
“Because Patch is King now, however that happened, we need to be away from his land before he finds out we’re alive.”
Vivian nodded, though none of that seemed as if it made sense to her. What wasn’t she getting? Patch would kill us without a second thought.
Caleb wobbled over to me as Vivian prepared the portal. “I need some medical attention. Will there be a doctor there?”
“Of course,” I said, my mind elsewhere.
“What’s wrong with her?” Caleb asked.
Colt and I both looked at Caleb.
Caleb shrugged as the portal opened. “I know I’m not mated to her anymore, but that doesn’t seem like the Vivan I knew before my life was ripped apart.”
He moved slowly toward the portal and stepped inside.
Ariel smiled at us before she followed him.
Vivian looked back, a satisfied smile on her face. She jumped in, and Colt grabbed my arm suddenly. “I don’t think that’s Vivian, Reid.”
My heart sank into my stomach. “It can’t be Florence. She has our marks.”
Colt bared his teeth. “She’s a fae, Reid. She has magic. I think we left Vivan in the other realm with Dorron.”
My chest erupted with anger. I stalked toward the portal, but Colt stopped me. “We have to make sure, and we need her alive to get us back there," Colt said.
I ground my teeth together. “If she’s not Vivian,” I said softly, but fiercely. “Then I’m going to kill her. We'll find our own way back."
