“I’m not your sister!” I cried, my voice breaking.
Sin reached through the bars, grabbing my hands to stop me from hurting myself. “Yes, you are, and it’s okay. But you can’t deny our connection. You’ve always tried to protect me, and with you, I could finally be myself. We were lied to, Eboenia, and the damage is already done. I’m begging you—just join me,” he pleaded.
“War would’ve told me,” I shot back.
Sin let go of my hands, his eyes searching mine. “You’ll believe him over me?” he asked quietly.
“Yes, Sin! I’ll believe him over you because he saved me from drowning in misery.”
“He probably didn’t tell you because everyone who knew is dead! But if War looked into my eyes right now, he’d know I’m telling the truth about what Dove told me,” Sin insisted.
“Dove is a miserable bitch who despised my ancestors. She killed Clover for Hoax, so I won’t believe a damn thing thatcomes out of her mouth. She wanted me to suffer and I won’t let her. I don’t believe any of it and I refuse to. We don’t even look alike! We have different personalities!” I snapped.
“We have the same birthday, for fuck’s sake!” Sin yelled.
Suddenly, my stomach twisted and bile surged up my throat. I covered my mouth, dizzy and nauseous, my vision swimming. I stumbled up the stairs as fast as I could.
“Get back here, goddamn it!” Sin roared behind me.
I barely made it out of the dungeon before I collapsed in the hallway, the cold metal around my neck clanking against the floor as everything faded to black...
The forest was a suffocating sea of black trees, their twisted limbs blocking out the moonlight. Black unicorns with onyx eyes thundered past, nearly trampling me as they ran wild through the shadows.
In the heart of this nightmare, Hoax lounged on a throne grown from a living tree, its branches writhing and coiling like pythons. He clutched his dragon staff, a wicked smirk curling his lips as he watched me. Rising slowly, he extended a hand—long, deep gray fingers tipped with razor-sharp nails—beckoning me closer.
“What’s the matter, Eboenia?” he purred, his grin widening. “You look lost. Or maybe you’re just starting to see the truth.”
Disoriented, I glanced around, trying to piece together how I’d ended up in this hellscape. “The only truth I see is that you ruin everything you touch,” I spat, venom lacing my words.
Suddenly, something cold snaked around my legs—roots, thick and gnarled, erupting from the earth. They yanked meoff my feet, dragging me across the ground toward his throne. Before I could scream, Hoax seized me by my locs, jerking my face inches from his.
He leaned in, his breath sour with rot. “You want to know why you have no family? Why Charmden’s forest echo with emptiness? It’s because I made it that way. Most of the soldiers that marches for me carries my blood. I took their mothers, broke their fathers, erased their names. I built my army out of myself, piece by piece, until all that’s left is me—my will, my legacy.”
Roots burst from the soil, coiling tighter around my arms and pinning me in place. I couldn’t move. Hoax’s tongue slithered across my cheek as he groped my breast, his nails puncturing my flesh.
“Your mother tried to hide her power, tried to keep her secrets from me. But I always find a way. I would have killed her sooner had I known Clover’s wand still existed. You will join her and the rest of them sooner,” he said.
With a savage motion, he ripped open my dress and dragged his sharp nail down my torso, slicing my skin and leaving a burning trail of blood.
“So young, so fresh. If my son hadn’t deflowered you, you might have been worthy of being mine. I like my breeders pure, just like your mother was when I first ripped her open,” he taunted.
“No seed from you would’ve been born alive. I’ll kill all of your offspring!” I screamed, thrashing against the roots, desperate to break free.
He leaned closer, voice low. “You think you’re different? You’re just another piece in my collection. I took your family, your future, your hope. I made sure no one in Charmden could ever rise against me. Most of the children were mine!”
He pressed his weight onto me, saliva smearing my face as his hand slid between my thighs. Summoning every ounce of fury, I tore a chunk from his face with my teeth. He roared and backhanded me, the blow snapping my head to the side.
“Release your brother, or the city you love will perish! Everything you cherish will be left as nothing but hollow bone!” he thundered.
He rose, and Lune landed beside him, her presence cold and distant.
“Why are you siding with the one who destroyed Charmden?” I cried out. “He’s the ruin of our families, Lune!”
Lune’s eyes were dead. “I don’t care anymore, Eboenia. You killed my child. Everything I felt for you is gone.”
A sword materialized in her hand. Without hesitation, she drove it into my chest, twisting the blade as pain exploded through me.
“Eboenia! Wake your ass up!” Crash Out’s voice echoed through the darkness, pulling me back from the edge…
