I had imagined this mont a thousand different ways.
In so versions, Adam scread. In others, he begged. Sotis he went quiet in that hollow, terrifying way that ant sothing inside him had shattered beyond repair.
I had rehearsed the angle of my smile, the tilt of my head, the exact cadence of my voice when I finally told him the truth.
But reality?
Reality tasted better.
I watched it happen from the bed, watched comprehension ripple through the room like a slow-moving plague. Disbelief first. Then hurt. Then sothing darker, sothing rawer, carving its way into Adam’s face as if an unseen hand was peeling him open layer by layer.
His brothers looked no better.
Noah’s fury faltered, confusion edging into his glare. Daniel’s confidence cracked, eyes flicking between Adam and as if he were trying to force the pieces to fit.
Claire’s rage wavered, uncertainty tightening her mouth. Naomi looked lost. Rachel looked afraid, just like the others. After all, the vampires were no joke.
Good.
I smiled.
Slowly, I pushed myself upright, savoring the thick, suffocating silence that followed my confession. It pressed against my skin like velvet, indulgent.
My head still ached from the magic I had poured into dismantling the do and creating an illusion, my body humming with exhaustion, but satisfaction drowned out the weakness.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and let my bare feet touch the floor.
Adam was still standing in front of , as if his body had decided to shield even now, even after what I had said. He hadn’t moved. He hadn’t spoken. He was staring at like I was a wound he didn’t know how to stop touching.
I flicked my fingers at him, an impatient gesture. "Move."
He didn’t.
I clicked my tongue, irritation flaring. "Honestly," I muttered, and then, without warning, I unleashed my magic.
It struck him squarely in the chest.
Adam flew sideways, crashing into the wall with a sickening thud, the air knocked clean out of his lungs.
Gasps tore through the room. Soone cried out his na. Several of them stumbled back instinctively, fear finally overtaking outrage.
Only Noah and Daniel held their ground. Even though they rembered what I was, what I could do, easily.
I rose to my feet fully then, straightening, rolling my shoulders as if I were shaking off a long sleep. The silence stretched again, taut and trembling.
"How does it feel?" I asked lightly.
No one answered.
I turned in a slow circle, letting my gaze drag over each of them, drinking in their expressions. "How does it feel," I repeated, louder now, "to be betrayed?"
Confusion rippled through them like a poorly contained lie.
Naomi shook her head. "What are you talking about?" she asked, voice thin. "When did we betray you?"
I laughed.
The sound surprised even , bright and unrestrained, bubbling up from sowhere deep and viciously pleased.
I stepped away from the bed and walked toward the wall, leaning back against it, folding my arms lazily over my chest as if we were discussing the weather.
"When did you betray ?" I echoed, amusent dancing along my spine. "Oh, sweetheart. You’ll know soon enough."
I paused, then laughed again, unable to stop myself. "When my friends arrive."
The word tasted sweet.
Friends.
All this ti, El had been silent in my head, the bond I once clung to eerily empty. I didn’t care. I didn’t need guidance anymore. I had already won.
"Oh, I’m enjoying this far too much," I admitted, eyes bright with satisfaction.
Adam pushed himself upright.
The movent tugged at sothing in my chest, a traitorous flutter that I crushed imdiately. Weakness had no place here. Not now. Not after everything.
He turned to face slowly, pain written so clearly on his face that it nearly startled . Tears slipped down his cheeks unchecked, carving hot tracks through the fury and disbelief.
"Why?" he asked hoarsely.
I opened my mouth, ready to deliver the speech I had practiced so ticulously. "I said when my friends—"
"I know who you are."
The words cut through mine like a blade.
The room stilled. Every eye snapped to us.
I blinked, genuinely caught off guard this ti. Then I tilted my head, curiosity sparking. "Oh?" I drawled. "Do you now?"
Adam’s hands clenched at his sides, knuckles whitening. He took a step toward , then another, as if drawn by sothing neither of us could see.
"You’re my true mate," he said.
Gasps exploded around the room.
I laughed sharply, more defensive than amused. "And so what?" I snapped. "Is that supposed to an sothing?"
His eyes searched my face, raw, desperate. "Why?" he asked again. "Why, Maya?"
The na hit like a slap.
For a fraction of a second, my carefully constructed composure slipped.
Then I recovered. "What are you talking about?" I scoffed. "Who is Maya?"
Shock rippled outward, especially among his brothers. Noah swore under his breath. Daniel looked like the ground had shifted beneath him.
Adam didn’t look away.
"You still bear my mark," he said quietly. "You couldn’t erase it. Not as Dora. Not even as Sage."
He ignored the renewed gasps, the murmurs, the chaos blooming behind him. His world had narrowed to , and mine—damn it—threatened to do the sa.
"Tell ," he whispered, voice breaking. "Why do you hurt ?"
The room faded.
Not completely—but enough.
Because suddenly, I was sowhere else.
Not here in stone walls and simring magic, but standing barefoot in ash.
The vision ca for without warning, dragging under even as I stood awake, my vision darkening at the edges. The air grew heavy, acrid, thick with smoke and iron.
Lightning split the sky overhead, jagged and white, illuminating a land ravaged beyond recognition.
Bodies littered the ground. Wolves. Witches. Vampires. Humans. Even Ancients. I could recognize Xanth.
No side spared.
Blood soaked into cracked earth, pooling in craters left behind by magic so violent it had torn the land open. Towers lay in ruins, their stones blackened and lted, banners shredded and burning.
Fires raged unchecked, casting monstrous shadows that writhed and danced across the devastation.
I stumbled forward, heart pounding, my breath coming fast.
The sky roared again, thunder rolling like an endless growl of fury. A woman appeared before , her form erging from the smoke. She wore no crown, no armor, yet power radiated from her in crushing waves.
It was the sa woman from my dreams.
"You did this," she accused, her voice echoing from every direction at once.
"I didn’t," I tried to say, but my throat closed, my words dissolving into ash.
She lifted her arm.
I saw flashes then—future upon future—each worse than the last.
Adam standing on a battlefield, bloodied and broken, reaching for as the light drained from his eyes. His brothers falling one by one. The palace collapsing. Kingdoms burning. Emptiness stretching on long after the last scream faded.
"This is the price," the woman intoned. "Innocent blood for vengeance."
"No," I whispered, sinking to my knees. "I wanted justice."
Lightning struck the ground between us, splitting it open, fire roaring up from the fissure. And I scread—
And snapped back into the room, breath ragged, heart racing.
Adam was still standing in front of .
Still waiting for my answer.
I inhaled deeply, realizing I had unconsciously struck up an illusion over my face... they couldn’t see I was breathing fast, or that I was scared.
Good.
I got rid of the illusion, and I smiled anyway, despite the realness of the vision. Because it was already too late to turn back.
Not that I wanted to... not really.
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