The king wore black, as always, and shadows swarmed his legs. His feet were planted on the ground, and his dark gaze stared straight ahead. Luna wore a crimson gown, the velvet fabric hugging her curves before sweeping out before her. That, in and of itself, wasn’t what caught Marius’s attention.
The grim expression on Sebastian’s face and the look of horror on Luna’s made Marius feel like he would throw up.
A messenger stood before the royals, his back to Marius. The man’s voice warbled, and the vision started as he spoke the last word. “… dead.”
The word was barely out of the messenger’s mouth before an ear-piercing, glass-shattering scream ripped from Luna’s throat.
She fell to her knees in front of her throne, hands clutching her crimson gown. The crown tumbled off her head, rolling away on the stone floor. Red tears streaked down her face. Shadows streamed from her hands.
The scream went on and on. It was never-ending. Gods, why wouldn’t it end?
The king leaped from his throne.
“Everybody out!” he roared, shadows darkening the space.
Vampires jumped into action, some shadowing away while others ran as fast as possible. Marius was there, but not, and no one touched him.
Within seconds, the messenger and the royals were the only ones who remained.
Sebastian crouched, his attention fully on his wife as he reached for her. “Luna?—”
Her scream morphed into a wail, and she trembled. “My brother!”
Her grief was a sharp sword, carving Marius’s heart out of his chest.
The vision wasn’t over, but he couldn’t bear to watch anymore. His heart galloped, and his breath came in heavy bursts. He threw the path to the side and crawled backward, shaking his head.
He couldn’t allow that future to come to pass.
Stupid.
He’d been so gods-damned stupid thinking that Luna would be okay with him leaving. Why did he think a note would help ease the pain of his disappearance?
He was officially the worst brother in the entire world.
If Marius returned to Castle Sanguis a failure, he would deserve thequeen’s scolding. He was certain she would force a contingent of guards to follow him for the remainder of his life. Forget three bodyguards—he’d never know a minute of solitude again.
Frantically, he grabbed another path. This one ended like the others. He threw it away, already reaching for another.
There had to be a future that didn’t end in violence, failure, and death.
Time had no meaning as he sifted through the paths. His vision blurred, and his head throbbed as he kept Looking ahead. Exhaustion slowed his movements, and his well of magic was nearly depleted when he picked up yet another iteration of the future.
Bracing himself for more visions of pain and death, he traced the path. His heart caught in his throat, and he could barely believe what the path contained.
The future it foretold was still dangerous, but that was nothing new. Marius had been in danger ever since the Council of Lords sold his sister to the vampires.
It was the lack of death and grieving that gave Marius hope.Thiswas the path they needed to follow. Even though it was malleable and the smallest decision could alter its course, it was better than nothing.
He was about to release the path and leave the silver planes when the future shifted. A new vision replaced the first, and a bolt of fear ran through his heart.
Oh, gods.
He cursed and dropped the path. There was no time to waste. They were all in danger, and he needed to warn the others.
Relinquishing his grip on his magic, Marius fled the silver planes. He swayed as the magic released him back into his body, his head throbbing against the confines of his skull.
Pain held him in its grip. Everything hurt, and breathing took all hisconcentration. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and every part of him ached.