I narrowed my eyes into dangerous slits, letting my defiance flow through me as I stared at him. Every muscle in my body screamed to lash out, to make him pay for every humiliation, but I clamped down on that fury with iron will. He wanted a reaction—some sign that he'd broken me, that he still held power over my emotions. It was a reaction I refused to give him, no matter how much my hands itched to wrap around his throat.
Brynn kept her eyes downcast, her dark lashes casting shadows on her pale cheeks as she clasped her palms behind her back. The bandage around her cut hand was hidden from view. I prayed desperately that Ari wouldn't notice anything amiss. One wrong glance, one suspicious movement, and our fragile plan would crumble to ash.
I lifted my chin with deliberate arrogance and walked past him toward the door, my bare feet silent on the cold stone. The white dress flowed around me like liquid silk, making me appear every inch the innocent sacrifice they believed me to be. But Ari's footsteps echoed behind me with predatory intent, and suddenly his iron grip clamped around my arm like a shackle. His fingers dug into my flesh with bruising force, and I could smell his cologne, tainted with the underlying scent of cruelty.
"Don't ever turn your back on me, girl." His breath was hot against my ear, carrying a promise of violence that made my skin crawl.
Once again, I bit my tongue until I tasted copper and didn't say a word. The silence stretched between us like a taut wire as he escorted me down the hallway, his grip never loosening. The corridor was usually bustling with activity, but now it felt eerily empty—just the echo of our footsteps and the distant flicker of torchlight casting dancing shadows on the stone walls. There were minimal guards stationed at their posts, and only a handful of servants scurried past with averted eyes. The emptiness made my skin prickle with unease.
Where had everyone gone?
But when Ari crossed the threshold to the outside courtyard, dragging me with him into the cool night air, I gasped. The sound escaped my lips before I could stop it, hissing with shock and terror.
It was an ocean of Unseelie soldiers stretching as far as the eye could see. Hundreds—maybe thousands—of warriors in gleaming plate armor filled every inch of the courtyard, their faces turned toward us with hungry anticipation. The metallic ring of swords at their sides and the soft whisper of leather and chainmail filled the air, while military banners bearing the royal crest snapped in the night breeze like the wings of carrion birds. Moonlight caught on the edges of countless blades—longswords, rapiers, and curved sabers that promised swift death to anyone who stood in their way.
The soldiers stood in perfect formation, their armor polished to mirror brightness despite the darkness. Along the raised balconies and terraces surrounding the courtyard, the Unseelie nobility had gathered to witness the historic moment. They wore rich velvets and brocades in deep purples and midnight blues, their pale faces marked with the otherworldly beauty andcold cruelty of the fae courts. Some raised jeweled goblets in silent toasts, others leaned forward with eager expressions, all of them watching with the detached fascination of spectators at a gladiatorial event.
I wanted to scream at the nobility. The cold, heartless Unseelie gentry that showed no mercy here and would not even think of what would happen to the people and supernaturals in my world.
This wasn't just an army—it was an invasion force of seasoned warriors, and they were all waiting for me to open the portal that would unleash them upon my world while their nobility cheered them on from the safety of their balconies.
As soon as I opened the portal, Ari or the queen would kill me. My only chance was that they didn't realize I could slip my fingers free of the bracelets long enough to summon my shadows and cause chaos.
Maybe if I opened it, I could use my shadows to blind the soldiers, giving whoever was still alive on the other side—Enzo, Angelo, Dimitri, anyone—a fighting chance to close the portal before the army crossed through. It was a desperate plan built on hope and blind faith that someone had survived and would be there to act.
And it was worth dying for.