SAGE
I was dimly aware of Adam before I even opened my eyes, before his arms ca around , before his voice reached —raw, frantic, cutting through the ringing emptiness in my head as he shouted my na like it was a lifeline.
Strong arms tightened around , hauling up before my knees could even think of giving out. I felt him pull against his chest, felt the way his grip tightened, even more, possessively, violently, as though daring anyone to co closer.
"Don’t touch her," he snarled at soone. "Get back. All of you."
I smiled faintly to myself, even as exhaustion dragged at my bones. He really was exactly where I wanted him.
Adam carried as if I weighed nothing, his strides long and purposeful. I heard him bark orders as we moved—telling them to go ho, telling them they were safe now, telling them that I had completed my side of the bargain.
His voice carried authority, certainty, and the unmistakable thread of relief.
Smug satisfaction curled through , warming even my depleted limbs. The do was done. The trap was finally set. The last stage of my plan was about to be crowned gloriously.
Hah!
Anticipation sharpened my tiredness into sothing almost pleasant. I could already taste what was coming next—the confusion, the rage, the fallout. I ignored the sudden silence in my mind where El should have been.
If my other was angry, she could sulk. I had work to finish.
Adam didn’t care how he looked as he carried . Didn’t care who watched or what conclusions they drew. I could feel the unbotheredness through our shared bond.
He thought he was shielding from the world... I wanted to laugh. The irony of it all sat deliciously on my tongue.
As we moved, I summoned a thin wisp of magic, subtle enough not to ripple the bond. Smoke curled from my fingers, shaping itself into a small apparition—a parrot, shimring faintly, clever eyes glinting with intent.
It darted away on a current of air, already carrying my ssage to the queen. It’s done. Prepare.
Adam was too consud by his own thoughts to notice. His brothers followed close behind him, their presence loud but unfocused, their attention fixed on in his arms, not on the thin grey smoke dissolving into the night.
I listened as Noah and Daniel questioned him, their voices overlapping.
"Where are you taking her?"
"Is she—"
"My room," Adam cut in sharply. "The doctor will attend to her there."
He didn’t hesitate or explain himself. He rather sent Timothy ahead to summon the doctor, and I almost laughed again.
Everything was falling into place with ridiculous ease.
We reached the gates of the royal mansion, when Adam stopped abruptly. I felt the tension roll off him in waves as he turned to face his brothers, his body angling instinctively to keep shielded.
His voice dropped, steel-hard, dangerous. "Stop thinking of Sage and sex in the sa sentence."
My breath caught. Not because of tenderness. Because of surprise. What are you doing, you idiot?
Noah barked out a laugh. "Why?"
Adam didn’t hesitate. "Because she’s my mate. And I won’t be sharing. She isn’t your mate."
Silence slamd down at the gates. Charged enough to light a human town. Even through my exhaustion, I felt it—felt the way the world seed to hold its breath.
Daniel laughed then, loud and easy, pushing the gates open. "You don’t have to chase us off with that lie, Adam. We’re not staying back from her."
I waited for Adam to argue. To assert himself.
He didn’t. He said nothing. He simply walked forward, carrying into the mansion as though the conversation had ended exactly where he wanted it to.
Interesting.
He didn’t stop until we reached his quarters. He locked the door behind us before his brothers could follow, the click loud in the quiet corridor. Only then did he carry into the bedroom, laying gently on the bed as though I were sothing fragile.
His hands cupped my face, brushed through my hair, trembling despite his attempts at control.
"You’re my mate," he said softly, reverently. Like it was a truth he’d only just been brave enough to say out loud.
I smiled, weakly. "I know."
The look on his face was priceless. Shock flashed across his features, raw and unguarded. I savored it, committing it to mory even as sleep tugged at .
Satisfied, I let my eyes drift closed. My revenge was unfolding beautifully.
—
The dream did not begin gently.
It tore out of sleep like a blade ripping through silk.
I stood barefoot on cracked earth, the ground warm beneath my soles as though it still rembered fire. The sky above churned—black clouds folding into themselves, bruised purple and sickly green, lightning crawling through them like veins of light.
The air tasted of ash and iron. Bodies lay everywhere.
So were whole, eyes staring sightlessly at the sky. Others were not. Limbs were scattered like broken branches, armor lted into flesh, weapons half-buried in mud turned red and black. The stench of blood was overwhelming, thick enough to coat my tongue.
I staggered forward, my heart pounding, my breath shallow.
The land stretched endlessly, a war-fested wasteland scarred by trenches and craters. Burned villages smoldered in the distance, skeletal remains of hos jutting from the earth like accusing fingers.
I saw banners torn in half—werewolf sigils soaked beyond recognition. Lightning struck nearby, splitting the ground open with a sound like bone snapping.
And then I saw him.
Adam knelt among the dead, his hands drenched in blood that was not his own. His eyes were wild, hollow, glowing faintly as though sothing else wore his skin. He looked up at , mouth opening—but no sound ca out.
I tried to run to them. For so reason, I tried to. But I couldn’t move.
Chains erupted from the ground, coiling around my ankles, my wrists, my throat. They burned cold, etched with ancient symbols I recognized too well. My magic. My doing. But how?
Why would I chain myself?
The woman appeared then.
She stepped out of the storm as though it bowed to her, her form draped in shadow and light, both eyes blazing like twin suns. Her voice echoed everywhere and nowhere.
"You spilled innocent blood."
I shook my head violently. "No. I did what I had to."
She lifted a hand. The vision shifted.
I saw the do collapsing inward. Vampires poured through like a tide of night, their screams feral, their eyes empty. Werewolves fought back, claws ripping, bones snapping.
The ground drowned in blood. The screams of children almost drowned .
"This is the path you chose," the woman said softly. "And these are the consequences... you now have blood on your hands, chosen one..."
Lightning struck again. And this ti, it struck .
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