Page 70 of The Stolen Bride

“So you manipulated us all.”

“And yet I must still go the backup route.”

“Let me guess. I’m supposed to convince Viktor to kill me.”

“You will,” she said. “You made him fall in love with you. It’s time.”

Apprehension crept down my spine, new suspicions dancing across my mind in a sinister ballet. She was going to make me choose: Viktor or Juniper.

“You can’t know I made him fall in love. He’s never professed his feelings.” But I was pretty sure I’d fallen totally, completely, and utterly in love with him. “Why don’t you kill me and ignite his turning yourself?”

“I’ve learned from trial and error. The only way to ensure the transformation from sentinel to primordial sticks is for the king to do the slaying.” Another smile flashed. “Since you won his affections, I’ll give you a reward. At least in part. Allow me to introduce you to your mother.” Spreading her arms, she announced, “Me.”

“No you are not,” I grated. I hadn’t wished to meetthiswoman for my entire life. Not her, the one who’d planned my death centuries before I was even born. But, as I studied her with a more critical eye, I began to notice our similarities. The gray in our eyes. The shape of our chins. The single dimple in one of our cheeks.

“I promise you, I am.” With languid, unhurried steps, she stalked a circle around me. I moved with her, not letting her stand at my back. “Did Viktor not tell you? I’m a dreamseer, able to peer into the future through my dreams. I can even reveal snippets to others in their dreams. Once upon a time, I foresaw your importance to him. Well, yours or Juniper’s. I only see in pictures. From the beginning, I knew only three facts. Who I must seduce to produce you, one ofyou would be Viktor’s firebrand, and the other must be used as bait. Too bad I chose wrong. Had Juniper ended up with him, he would have killed her, you would have attacked him, and he would have killed you too. Alas.”

Such cold, callous words from the woman who might have birthed me. It was an invisible dagger to the gut. But now I had confirmation. She had indeed shaped my dream. “Who is our father? Why separate twins?” No doubt Juniper would’ve been even stronger bait if we’d stayed together.

“Your father is irrelevant. A griffin of no importance. He was of zero use to me once you were born, and I couldn’t allow him to try and save you from your own mother, now, could I?”

The response hit its target: my heart. She’d killed him. All these years, what had I imagined? A mother and father unable to take care of me, who still loved the child they’d created. Now I knew my father wasn’t given a chance to get to know his twins, and our mother hadn’t cared about us. I pressed my fingers to the fluttering pulse in my throat. Anguish spread through me. I didn’t bottle it, but I looked past it, because I must. I hadn’t missed her avoidance of my other question. Why separate twins, weakening a bond she planned to utilize? Only one answer made sense. We were stronger together.

Stronger.

Stronger.The word echoed inside my head until a light bulb exploded. My spine straightened with a snap. “You fear us.”

Her eyes narrowed the slightest bit, confirming my suspicions. “I fearnothing.”

Lie! But I set the truth aside for a moment, letting it simmer in favor of digging up more information. “Why are you collecting the primordials?”

She spread her arms to indicate the entire group. “Because they are mine, my pets, and humans taint everything they touch. But soon, my darling turul will return to me, and I will reclaim all that belongs to me.”

I was about to reply, “Over my dead body,” but that’s precisely what she wanted, wasn’t it?

Chapter

Nineteen

Between a Berserker and a Hard Place: Finding the Least Worst Option

–HOW TO TRAIN YOUR BERSERKER

By Elizabeth “Elle” Darcy-Bruce

As those threatening words againstmyberserker rang in my head, Valkara—my supposed mother—pulled the pin on a dozen rage-grenades. Viktor was not hers. His turul wasn’t hers, either. Not ever again.

She tsk-tsked, not the least bit frightened by my pending berserkerage. “Better keep yourself under control, daughter. Harm me, and both you and your sister will pay a terrible price.”

“Too bad for you, complying with my enemy isn’t in my wheelhouse,” I retorted, but I didn’t attack. Any second, Viktor and Bodi would blaze into this chamber. No way Deco and his band of shifters could overcome the royal brothers.

“Don’t think your firebrand will rush to your rescue,” Valkara stated.

“I don’t need rescue.” But backup would be nice. Viktor’s presence would ensure I didn’t kill someone I shouldn’t. “You can’t say the same.”

She lowered her chin. “You think so? Let me show you what I can do.”

A sharp pain cut through my head, and I grunted. In a split second, I lost sight of the world around me. A thick fog enveloped my brain, so much thicker than what I’d encountered in my dreams. My name whispered in a thousand distinct tones, becoming a scream. The sensation felt unsettling and foreign, yet somehow familiar. Sweat beaded on my brow, my nape, and my lower back.

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