My heart breaks at the rawness in her tone—at how much she seems to believe it.
“That man isn’t your family,” I tell her. “Whatever you feel for him isn’t real. He’s been controlling you—just like how the queen controlled Matt.”
The moment I say Matt’s name, she stops fighting me.
“How do you know about Matt?” she asks so calmly that my hold on her loosens.
“I talked to him,” I tell her, taking a tentative step closer. “He came to me from the Underworld. He told me about the queen… and about Aerix.”
My gaze shifts to where Riven is going head-to-head against Aerix.
The Night Prince is skilled, but Riven fights with brutal efficiency, ice magic and blade work combining in deadly harmony. He’s lethal—raised to kill—and that’s exactly what he’s determined to do right now.
So, my focus returns to Zoey.
Her eyes narrow, as if she doesn’t even know me anymore. “Matt didn’t have what it takes to survive here,” she all but growls at me. “And he’s dead because of it. Gone. You can’t have talked to him. It’s impossible.”
“He spoke to me through a ritual.” I keep my voice steady, even though I want to scream at her to stop staring at me like I’m a stranger. “He told me you’d been taken here. He warned me about what Aerix did to you.”
“He was lying.” Her face twists with something that might be pain, but she shakes her head, centering herself. “He never understood what Aerix and I have together. He didn’t understand that Aerix loves me.”
Her words are a dagger to the heart, and when I search her eyes for signs of doubt, I find none.
This can’t be happening.
My best friend can’t have been turned into… this.
“Zoey, listen to yourself,” I plead, but even as I speak, she starts fighting my restraints again. “Aerix is dangerous. Hekidnappedyou. He’s manipulating you.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” She laughs, sharp and bitter in a way I’ve never heard from her before. “You and your Winter Prince come in here and try to kill him, even though you know nothing about him. You know nothing aboutus.I’m telling you that I love him, and that he loves me, and you don’t even care. It’s just aboutyou.It’salwaysabout you.”
Her accusation tears through my heart at the same time as the sound of steel meeting ice echoes behind us.
I glance over to see Riven landing a solid blow across Aerix’s shoulder. The Night Prince staggers but doesn’t fall, his wings lowering as he regains his footing.
As he does, I notice the corpse crumpled near the wall behind him. A woman with dark hair and wings lying in a puddle of blood, her neck twisted at an unnatural angle.
“That was Princess Cierra.” Zoey scoffs. “She threatened me, and Aerix killed her. That’s what Aerix does for me—he kills anyone who touches me. He protects me. Because helovesme.”
Ice floods my veins, and I flinch back. Because my failure to protect her is why Zoey’s here in the first place. I let her get taken at the waterfall, and now she thinks she’s in love with her captor.
“I’m sorry I didn’t protect you before,” I say softly, praying for her to see reason. “But I’m here now, and I’m not leaving without you.”
She keeps her eyes locked with mine, and for a moment, I think I’ve gotten through to her. But only for a moment. Because a second later, she’s grabbing my water restraint and trying to yank it apart, so violently that I’m forced to heat it up to burn her skin.
She writhes against the scalding water, her face contorting in pain as she drops to her knees.
I instantly cool the restraint. Not enough to free her, but enough to stop hurting her.
“Remember that sleepover?” My voice softens as I move closer to her, kneeling so we’re eye level with each other. “The one right after Matt and I started dating? We stayed up until four in the morning watching those terrible horror movies.”
Her struggles slow, recognition crossing her face.
“You made those disgusting nachos with marshmallows on top,” I continue, desperate to reach her. “And we promised we’d never choose a guy over each other. No matter what. No matter who. Remember?”
Her eyes soften, and for a heartbeat, I seemyZoey. The one who defended me against high school bullies, who dragged me to parties when I wanted to stay home, and who always knew what to say to make me laugh. My best friend. My sister in everything but blood.
But as the words leave my lips, a cold realization washes over me. Because that promise we made each other all those years ago isn’t true anymore, is it?
