Page 72 of The Stolen Bride

My thoughts drifted to Viktor, my love. The man who might kill me–an act so horrific that it would shatter him. He’d break and forever descend into his primordial self.

By following Valkara’s orders, I would condemn us both, but possibly save Juniper. Perhaps even a world. The greater good. I wracked my brain. There must be another way. An out that didn’t involve our deaths. My hands trembled, and my eyes brimmed with the tears I refused to shed in front of the tyrant who’d birthed me. If I died, my only regrets would be not receiving Viktor’s mark and never getting to know my twin.

And why weren’t we allowed to be together? There was a reason Valkara had separated us at birth. I’d sensed it before, and I knew it now.

I popped to my feet and began to pace. That power, our connection, both had zapped between us even through a hologram. Our mother must fear what we’d be able to do if we were physically close. Yes, yes. That made sense.

My gaze returned to Valkara. Her eyes were closed, herlips moving. Was she distracting Viktor even now? My chest clenched. How did I overcome this situation?

If I could get to Juniper, we could figure out whatever it was our mother feared we could do–something with our hands, I’d bet, because I hadn’t forgotten the warm tingles or magnetic pull. Maybe, just maybe, we’d have the strength to end the reign of Valkara and Deco before they harmed my guy.

Team Good.

If the heroine I’d read about in those cozy mysteries could have Team Truth, then I could have Team Good and live happily ever after. A family.

Pounding, racing footsteps caught my attention, and my ears twitched.Please be Viktor, alive and well, ready to take care of business.

Rusty hinges groaned as the dungeon door burst open. It was indeed Viktor. He blazed inside the chamber, spotted me, and picked up the pace. My heart thudded. He didn’t stop at the bars, but crashed into them. No. Wrong. He ghosted through. But his body seized, as if caught in the grips of an electrical shock. Dread clogged my throat as his muscles bunched and veins bulged. Then he dropped, unconscious.

With a mewl of concern, I swooped down and checked his vitals. Relief welled from an internal spring. Still alive!

A grinning Deco sauntered through the doorway, carrying an incapacitated Bodi over his shoulder. “Poor Vik. He forgot life’s most important lesson. There are unseen forces far more powerful than even an original sentinel.”

A third man dragged in a bound Juniper.

“Let me go,” she demanded.

At the sight of her, warm tingles returned to my hands.An urge to press our palms together grew. What did this mean? What would happen?

Valkara helped the soldier anchor my twin to the rack, rougher than necessary. Icy rage invaded my bloodstream when Juniper grimaced with pain.

“I said be gentle with her,” the shifter king snapped as he entered the cell next to mine. He did this without opening a door or experiencing a shock. He simply ghosted through the bars and tossed the berserker prince to the ground. Then he ghosted out and strode toward Valkara.

How in the world? I tried to bolt after him, but the bars stopped me, solid to the touch. Impact rang my bell, slamming my brain against my skull. Dizziness flared and died as greater anger surged to the fore.

Both berserkers remained unconscious, littered with blood and gashes. Holographic scenes began to play over the air around us, courtesy of the vargbane root. A memory taken from today’s battle, displayed over and over again on repeat. How Viktor had watched me fly across the throne room and disappear through a hole in the floor.

“I’m here, baby. I’m good, I promise, and you better be good, too.” I returned to his side and checked his pulse. Too swift, but stronger. “I need you to wake up for me.”

“Oh, he’ll awaken soon enough,” Deco called, so proud of himself. “After your disappearance, he and Bodi broke into a full-on berserkerage. For a moment, I feared they might overcome my forces. But Valkara did her thing, making Viktor believe he chased you and a captor, and here we are.”

See! Valkara was a liar. What she’d shown him wasn’t the truth. Unless she’d projected a future event. Ugh.

Deco stopped in front of Juniper. “Did you miss me,nyuszi?” Smiling, he stroked the back of his knuckles across her cheek, surprisingly gentle.

Her eyes spit fire at him. “I hate you.”

Chuckling, he stuffed a gag into her mouth. “But you want me, too.”

“Don’t touch my sister,” I shouted.

He twisted to blow me a kiss. “Well, that depends on you, doesn’t it? Is the little firebrand going to cooperate?”

“She still thinks to resist,” Valkara said.

Panic frayed the edges of my composure. I darted my attention between the shifter king and my twin, asking, “How did you walk through the metal?” Could Viktor walk through when he awoke or would he seize again?

Deco spread his arms. “Valkara is full of tricks. You really should have stayed on your mother’s good side.”

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