And I will not oblige.
You will always be a villain to the world. And soon, everyone will see the darkness within—even your precious mate.
They will all turn on you because that is your fate, oh child of shadow. To live alone in the darkness you created. Empty. Hollow. Abandoned.
I look forward to that day, when we meet again and you are no different from me.
Until then, my pet.
I jerk my eyes away from the scrawled text, heart pounding, mouth dry. Even as Rev pulls me into his warm embrace, I can feel their claws raking down my soul.
“He’s just saying what he knows will get under your skin,” Rev murmurs against my hair.
I nod into his shoulder. He’s right; it’s just, that doesn’t mean the Night Bringer’s words weren’t true. I have never been naïve enough to believe that Rev’s bargain would keep me from their clutches. Not for long anyway.
Iknowthe Night Bringer will attempt to take every precious thing from me, including Rev. And they’ve already successfully proven just how easy that would be in less than the two weeks since we helped them escape the Schorchedlands.
They have a powerful ally on their side that can very easily hurt us. An ally with massive influence, if not outright control, of a major ruling court. We might be stronger than Drake, prince of the Whirling Court, but he has a lot of influence, and with the added power the Night Bringer granted him for his help...
Raven is with Drake’s brother. That’s one checkmark on the Night Bringer’s list. I love Raven, and he’s taken her from me. I don’t know if she’s still alive or if she’s okay.
The spell book has assured me she was well when they left the fae realm last, but it’s not enough to reassure me. Its knowledge doesn’t extend outside of this world, so she’s lost to me no matter what.
The Night Bringer’s games have already resulted in me being named a traitor—again—by the ruling courts. I onlybarelyconvinced the council to reverse that decision when I saved the High Court from complete destruction.
And Rev doesn’t see it, doesn’t feel it the way I do—how that monster’s darkness is still inside of me. His evil shades every move I make. It pulls at me, dragging me down, like a weight I cannot shed.
The desperate bargain Rev made to save me might have halted the progression of my soul’s descent—because the Night Bringer can’t actively attack—but he’s still in me. That cannot be undone.
So, even if his words are classic goading, trying to get me to freak out and lose my shit, they still ring true.I swallow back the stinging in the back of my throat.
He might destroy me like he promises. But I intend to destroy him first.
Perhaps by the end, I will have a long and terrible life like he claims.
But I will not have that sad ending without also putting that bastard in the ground for good.
“What are you thinking?” Rev asks, his adoring eyes still dark, but there is a fragment of soft silver.
“I’m thinking about killing them.”
“Good.” His voice dips low, and one side of my mouth twitches in what is almost a smile.
He runs the pad of his thumb along my bottom lip and wets his own. I close my eyes and lean into his touch.
“You do not belong to him,” he tells me, voice so low it’s near a growl. “You are mine.”
My stomach flips pleasantly, even as the acid of fear lingers.
Then, his lips meet mine in a claiming, devouring kiss. I melt into him, relishing the zing of pleasure that floods my body every place we touch. His arm curls around my back and tugs me even closer.
Then, he pulls back and rests his forehead against mine, panting softly.
“Are you okay?” Rev whispers.
I nod.
“Don’t fall back into old habits, Cae. You are worthy of happiness. You can win this, without losing everything.”
