Xander’s heart might have been too broken to deal with this properly, but we were partners. Equals. An insult to him was an insult to me.
“You scaly bitch,” I seethed, releasing the anger bubbling up inside of me. “He’s just trying to help you.”
“Help?” Saena laughed, and the sound was like chewing on broken glass. “I don’t want yourhelp.”
“What do you want?” Xander asked, sounding tired.
“The Gilded Amulet.” Saena looked at Xander expectantly.
The amulet burned a hole in my pocket, and I resisted the urge to move my hand and touch it reassuringly. She didn’t know I had it, and somehow, I knew we had to keep it that way.
My dragon shifter shook his head wearily. “I’m sorry, little sister. I don’t have it.”
“Is that so?” The queen pursed her lips, and she studied us both carefully. “I don’t believe you, Elyxander. In fact, I have it on good authority that you came here because of a map.”
I stiffened. No one knew about the map. Just the six of us, and…
My heart stuttered, and Xander released my hand. He drew in a sharp breath, and when he spoke again, his voice was as cold as ice.
“What did you do, Saena?”
The queen’s lips tilted up, and she raised a brow. “I did what I had to, brother. I told you, nothing and no one will get in my way.”
“What did you do?” he repeated the question. His voice rose, and dread unfurled within me.
Saena looked behind her. “Ranor!” she yelled.
Another Winged Soldier broke away from the ranks, approaching quickly. He held a stained canvas bag in his fist, and as he approached, a foul odor filled the air. Bile rose in my throat, and the sickness churning through me had nothing to do with the secret I was keeping.
Ranor landed with a thump beside Saena. He knelt, placing his fist over his heart. “You summoned me, my queen?”
She smiled, and evil permeated her expression.
I shuddered, and beneath my feet, the earth begged me to move. To act. To do something. Anything. But I couldn’t. My eyes were glued to the canvas, freezing me in a place as a horrible red drop fell from the bag, falling slowly to the ground.
My heart thundered in my chest.
Turn away, High Lady of Life,the land urged me.You don’t need to see this.
I wanted to. Gods, how I wanted to. But I couldn’t move. I couldn’t do anything.
“Oh Elyxander?” Saena said in a saccharine-sweet voice. “I have a message for you.” She paused, raising a single manicured brow. “Your dear old grandmother says hello.”
A sound that I had never heard before came out of Xander. It was disbelief and horror and fury all mixed into one. It grew into a roar as Saena told Ranor to open the bag.
I glimpsed the white hair, and familiar, and I screamed.
Heartbreak or Death
DAEGAL
Nonna’s head rolled on the ground, and my stomach churned. Aileana’s scream ended in a choking sound as she vomited to the side. Maiela moaned wordlessly behind me, and Kysha swore.
Xanderroared, his aura pulsing as his skin rippled with scales. “How could you?”
His voice echoed through the valley, and I shifted my grip on my sword.
Saena cackled, her eyes flashing into those black voids once more. “How could I? Killing her was as easy as breathing,brother,” she sneered.