Page 131 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“You’re right, I am.” I launched into her mind. Running for the library of her thoughts as fast as I could. She wanted to eject me, but she couldn’t, she wasn’t fast enough. The walls closed in on me, tighter and tighter until I could barely move, barelybreathe. My hand touched the brass knob of the library. With my last ounce of strength, I pulled the door open, using it as a shield. The big cat pounced but hit the closing corridor and knocked himself unconscious. I ran into the library, shutting the door behind me.

Baylis appeared in a cornflower blue silk dress. She clapped her elegant hands together slowly.

“Very clever, sister. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Rage boiled in my blood. My own sister had betrayed me. Had this been her plan all along? How could she love Gideon after everything he’d done to me? How could he be good to her when he wasn’t good to me? Was I so undeserving of love?

Chest heaving, I tried to still my breath and organize my thoughts.

“You… you did this?” I pointed to the library, which was now intact, every book where it should be.

She gazed up at the shelves of books then back to where the feline had lingered.

“I had help, of course… but yes, this was my idea.” A wicked smile crossed her delicate face. The ghost of the girl I used to know stared back at me. This was not my sister. This was one of Erissa’s creations. A monster posing as a lamb.

“Why? He destroyed our home…” My voice cracked just like my heart.

“Youdestroyed our home,” she snapped at me.

“You can’t possibly believe that.” Tears streamed down my cheeks. I truly had no one left. Everyone I loved was gone. Caiden was a stranger, my mother was locked in a tower, and my sister hated me. My knees buckled beneath me. I was alone—a ghost with no past.

Her eyes narrowed at me.

“You were the one who told him where the weaknesses were. You were the one who told him to attack. He showed me.” She tapped her temple.

Ice ran through my veins. He’d changed the memory. His own memory to suit his needs—to get Baylis to hate me. Bile lapped at the back of my throat. She’d never trust me again.

“That’s not what happened. You have to believe me.”

“I have all the proof I need.” The room filled with smoke, clogging my lungs. I coughed, and she pushed me out of her mind.

The same smoke filled the temple. Choking, I reached for my sister, but the smoke didn’t affect her.

“See, I can play games too,” she said.

The world went dark.

31THARAN

Tharan tried to sleep,but his mind was a mess of tangled thoughts. The escape from Elohim left them all scarred. He twisted the whisper stone, not caring if anyone saw him talking on it. He needed to hear Aelia’s voice, but nothing came through the line. Worry tugged at his heart, but he pushed it to the side, he had other things to worry about. Aelia could take care of herself.

Driving the horses as fast as they could go, they raced through the elven Kingdom of Eden toward the Woodland Realm. If they were lucky, they could find a portal along the way, but Tharan knew word of their treachery would spread quickly, and a sylph traveling with six elven maidens and four dire wolves would look suspicious on an average day.

When the horses needed a rest, they stopped beside a babbling brook. The women flung themselves out of the carriage, running down to the stream.

Tharan threw up a silencing shield.

“What are we going to do with them?” Hopper asked, hands on his hips.

Tharan brushed his auburn locks out of his eyes.

“We’re going to give them a home in the Woodlands if that’s what they choose. Otherwise, they are free to live wherever they like.”

“You think our kingdom is just going to accept them? And what about the kingdoms they came from? Won’t they be wanting their women back?” Hopper paced back and forth in the pale moonlight, rubbing his sharp jaw. “This is a mess. We could have six different elven kingdoms knocking at our door, and for what? They will hunt these girls down if need be. I will not let sylphs die for these women. Figure out something to do with them, Tharan.”

“Okay, well, I can’t really send them back.”

“You can, and you will.”

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