Preparing for another battle with the prince, Jassyn dragged a hand over his face. It was bound to be a long night.

CHAPTER 24

SERENNA

Ripped back into consciousness, Serenna sucked in a startled breath. She hacked on dust and then swallowed, throat raw from her previous screaming.

With a groan, she rolled over onto her back, inventorying her injuries from the fallen rocks. Gingerly feeling the throbbing lump on the side of her head, nothing seemed battered worse than her pounding skull.

Pained tears blurred the edge of her vision as she blinked up at a sheen of violet. Rubbing some life back into her eyes, and then regretting the action when dirt scraped into her skin, Serenna registered a crystalline lattice restraining the ceiling. Lykor had managed to tie off a shield, but there were gaping holes where the gold-laced rocks had disintegrated the magic, breaking through the ward.

With every muscle screaming in protest, Serenna hesitantly pushed herself to a sitting position. Torches now extinguished, the shield was the only source of light, faintly illuminating her domed prison with a purple glow. Her heart catapulted up her throat when she saw Lykor collapsed on his back beside her.

Black blood had congealed on his pale skin, a dried rivulet descending from underneath his dark hair. Incapacitated—but still breathing—she eyed him for a moment before glancing around the settled dusting of shattered stone. The rubble had reduced Lykor’s torture chamber to half its size, the area now smaller than her sitting room.

Serenna shied away from that terrifying fact that he’d stolen portaling from her, wondering if Lykor had included her in the shield so he could steal the rest of her power. Reminded of her defenselessness, Serenna clawed at the golden shackle latched around her wrist.

When the metal didn’t budge under her frantic grappling, Serenna reined in her rising panic, reluctantly acknowledging defeat. Glancing over at her captor again, she scrutinized something familiar about his deceptively attractive face. Rather than accepting the simple fact that Lykor might be missing a few spokes in the wheel, Serenna replayed the mayhem in the war room.

The name that other elf-like wraith had mentioned… I know I sensed another presence taking over through the bond. Serenna picked at a dry sliver of skin on her lip, combing through the havoc, turning over the events like soil. If Lykor is truly harboring Aesar…

A glimmer in the shield’s dim light snagged her attention, the hilt of a dagger gleaming at Lykor’s belt. Serenna didn’t think twice before scrambling over to his prone form.

Eyes riveted on the rise and fall of his chest, she hovered above Lykor’s waist, her wild heartbeat blocking her throat. Despite reassuring herself that he was unconscious, apprehension hammered against Serenna’s ribs as she considered stealing the knife. I can’t kill Lykor if Vesryn’s twin is somewhere in there, but I won’t be defenseless.

Feeling like she was about to disturb a sleeping lion, desperation fueled her determination. In one fluid motion, Serenna yanked the blade from its sheath, clutching the weapon to her chest. With her shred of protection, she scooted back to the edge of their reduced space. Slumping against the rubble, she waited for Lykor to wake.

While Serenna inspected her elongated fingers, she considered working up the courage to probe Lykor’s pockets for the key to her tether. Until a sudden intruding thought jabbed her, sharp like the knife she clenched.

This is all Vesryn’s fault! Serenna banged her hand on the ground, furious at the prince while hurt carved a hole in her heart. If he hadn’t kept her in the dark about whatever was going on with Ayla, she wouldn’t have overreacted and portaled to retrieve answers.

Scorched by shame for what had unfolded on Vesryn’s balcony, Serenna banished any further thoughts about the prince, knowing it would do no good to wallow in self-pity. There were more pressing matters to worry about now than her wounded feelings.

Serenna jumped when Lykor’s eyes snapped open. He sat up, palming his head, dried blood flaking from his face. Swiveling his attention to her, Lykor’s fiery gaze narrowed on the blade she held between them.

Without a word, he reached forward for the weapon. Leaning into the wreckage, Serenna tightened her grip, her mind too dulled to consider striking him with the blade. Lykor wordlessly snarled, prying her fingers off the hilt, wrestling the dagger free from her fist.

Serenna wasted a scowl while he absorbed himself in idly tracing the edge of the golden blade. Chills erupted over her skin as she registered the familiar vine-covered handle.

“Where did you get that knife?” she thoughtlessly demanded, forgetting her self-preservation. Lykor’s fangs flashed in the shield’s violet light but Serenna’s curiosity continued to stifle her common sense. “That’s not yours—I’d recognize Jassyn’s daggers anywhere.”

Lykor’s eyes snapped to hers so quickly that Serenna flinched, alarm bells clanging in her head to keep silent. His gaze flicked back to the blade.

“Don’t be fucking stupid,” he said, sheathing the weapon. “I doubt this dagger is the only one of its kind ever crafted.”

Suspicion flaring, embers of realization fanned in Serenna’s stomach, an accusation combusting from her mouth. “You’re the one who attacked Jassyn.”

Something that she couldn’t decipher flashed across Lykor’s face, convincing her to swallow any further remark. He mumbled something inaudible like he was talking to himself before growling, “We need to accept the bond.”

Serenna’s blood chilled, the unexpected statement stunning her speechless. She clicked her teeth shut, staring at him before a disgusted laugh spilled out of her mouth. “I don’t think so. If anything, I want to reject it.” Assembling fragments of her confidence, Serenna crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “Tell me how.”

Lykor ignored her, seizing her wrist. “I need Essence.” He unfolded from the ground, yanking her up with him, his head nearly grazing the collapsed ceiling.

“And I need you to let go of me,” Serenna bit out, unsuccessfully tugging against him to reclaim her limb.

“I don’t have enough magic remaining to suffer your simpleminded objections.” Lykor’s claw tightened around her arm. “If I don’t reinforce this shield, it’s going to unravel and dump the remainder of the ceiling on our heads.”

“I’m not accepting the bond,” Serenna snapped, skin crawling under his feverish fingers. “Portal us out of here.”

“If you haven’t noticed, we’re stuck in a gold-woven prison. I can’t portal through.” A sneer bracketed his fangs. “Unless you manage to spontaneously manifest illumination and provide me with what’s left in your Well, you’ll accept the bond.” Lykor’s shoulders twitched, spine popping. “This is not a request.”

How does he know I don’t have access to that talent yet? Concealing the flash of panic locking her knees, Serenna battled Lykor’s scowl with her own while her mind raced.

What happens if we accept it? A sinking feeling settled in her stomach. Lykor would likely possess even more control over her magic than the prince had exploited during their training. Bonds go both ways, but I know nothing about them.

Unable to submit to Lykor’s unnerving preternatural stillness, Serenna broke first. “And if I refuse?”

“Your insolence will not be the death of me,” Lykor snarled, the unnatural heat from his claw nearly scalding her arm. Serenna shifted her feet, finding some place to anchor her fear while he raged. “I’ll obtain your power one way or another. I won’t hesitate to drain your remaining talents until you’re a wraith.” A vein thrashed in Lykor’s forehead as he glared at her with fire in his eyes. “Half don’t survive the transformation if you wish to gamble with your life.”

The crushing silence of the dungeon became too loud. Terror drummed in Serenna’s chest while she frantically tried to think of an alternative to either option. If he turns me into a wraith and I live, my magic will be gone. Would that cause the bond to break with the prince? If so, I’ll be stuck here forever.

Serenna’s nails dug into her palms. She hesitantly acknowledged that she’d rather bond to someone like Lykor instead of experiencing the agony of losing more talents. Surely he wouldn’t kill her once they were fully bonded.

“I’m going to untether you and you will accept the bond.” Lykor jerked her wrist. “If you try anything with your power, or if you reject this abominable connection…” Eyes glazing over, Lykor muttered under his breath, arguing with himself again. His focus pinned back on her. “We’ll see if Aesar can stop me. I assure you, his control doesn’t extend as far as he believes.”

Thoughts circling around explanations, Serenna blinked up at Lykor. “You—you’re really the prince?”

“Don’t worry, he’ll be more than fucking happy to explain.” Lykor dug the key from his trouser pocket and unlocked the tether, finally releasing her.

Serenna flinched when the metal dropped, clanging against the stone. Lykor’s awareness invaded her mind, his presence overwhelming—a malignant mass of shadows coiling around a bottomless pit of anger and hatred.

But there was someone else behind his eyes, obscured and hazy like she was peering through frosted glass. If my bond is somehow connected to Aesar too… Serenna bit the inside of her cheek, uncertainty dwindling her resolve to resist. I need to stay alive long enough to find out more.

Recoiling from the bond with Lykor, Serenna thought about the one she wanted instead. The connection to the prince was a faint thread, barely there compared to the beacon blazing in her mind. Vesryn won’t be able to portal to me in these dungeons, but could he get close?

Before Serenna could consider the possibility of the prince appearing, dazzling silver lights suddenly sprang from Lykor. The magic arched to settle on her like hundreds of shooting stars spiraling across the sky.

Serenna’s disbelief ignited alongside Lykor’s power, the collapsed chambers pulsing with light from the radiant glow. She recognized the magic—the same that Vesryn had spun while half-delirious, wounded by the wraith’s arrows.

“No,” Serenna whispered, covering her mouth. Vesryn tried to complete the bond with me. She squeezed her eyes shut, swallowing a sick feeling burning in her throat. I didn’t even know.

Lykor’s irritation roiled through their connection, wrenching her mind back to the dungeon. “Stop being so fucking dramatic and accept the bond.”

“I don’t want to be bonded to you,” Serenna choked out, eyes welling up. Overwhelmed by dread and a strange sorrow, she brushed away falling tears.

“Are you ready to die then?” Lykor snarled, stooping in her face. “Do you think I want to be shackled any more than you do with this stars-cursed chain of fate? You don’t see me weeping about it.”

Serenna sniffed and clenched her jaw, meeting his fiery gaze. She straightened, a collision of anger and fear steeling her spine. Attempting to stall for more unfettered moments so that the prince could locate her, Serenna hardened her resolve and asked, “What—what do I do?”