Page 438 of Primal Bonds

Her quartz twanged, the crystals humming with joy at reconnecting to the alpha’s quartz.

Adric.

She’d found him, and he was still alive—but she was trapped on the wrong side of this fucking ward.

The air in front of her shimmered, and right before her eyes, a portal opened. A Marjani-size portal.

The hair on her nape lifted. She eyed it suspiciously. Still, what choice did she have? She pulled the dagger from the sheath around her neck and inched forward.

Footsteps pounded up behind her. She raised a hand, signaling Fane and Jace to halt as she peered through the opening.

What she saw there made her entire body ice.

Adric was on the ground in front of Prince Langdon. Several black-garbed night fae had pinned him down while others loomed nightmarishly over him. Rosana do Rio had her back to Marjani, her hands stretched out to Langdon. Nearby, a dark fire flickered.

Marjani shot a glance over her shoulder and then gulped as her brain caught up to what her nose had already told her. Fane and Jace were no longer behind her. Somehow, in her mad dash to reach Adric, she’d lost them—and picked up Lady Blaer and Luc instead.

Luc grabbed her arm. “Play along,” he muttered, and stepped forward with her through the portal. “Your highness. Here’s the fada that murdered your son.”

Chapter 46

Adric had resigned himself to dying. He’d never surrender Merry in return for his own life.

But gods, it hurt to die leaving Rosana still trapped at New Moon. He had to believe that her brothers and Cleia would get her away from the prince.

Then Rosana made her offer. Let Adric live, and she’d join Langdon’s court as a Seer.

No. Fucking. Way.

Adric’s muscles bunched. If only he had his quartz… But without it, he couldn’t shift—or cloak himself.

Langdon’s gaze went past Rosana to a point behind Adric. His smile made Adric’s insides ice.

“Marjani Savonett.” The prince deliberately spoke her full name in an attempt to establish power over her. “Welcome to my court.”

Adric flung a look over his shoulder in time to see his sister enter the circle along with Luc and Blaer. And instead of helping her, Luc gripped her arm, urging her forward.

“No, Jani!” he said in a low, urgent voice. “Get the fuck out of here.”

Blaer came up on Marjani’s other side. A chill slipped up Adric’s spine. This woman knew the secret incantation. If she shared it with Langdon, his clan was well-and-truly fucked. With Blaer’s knowledge and Langdon’s resources, the night fae could enslave every single member.

Horror gripped him as he recalled Rosana’s prophecy.

The Darktime isn’t over. The prince will destroy your clan from the inside out.

“Peace to you and yours, my lord.” The tall blond fae lady bowed to Langdon. “I apologize for interrupting the ritual, but I believe you’ve been looking for this woman.”

No.

Adric bucked wildly, fighting to get free of the night fae pinning him down.

Neoma tightened her grip on his pendant. The pain was almost unbearable, but he gritted his teeth and kept fighting. He had to get free. Had to somehow stop this.

The prince jerked his head at Marjani. “Take her,” he commanded.

Twisting away from Luc, Marjani dropped into a crouch, a dagger in each hand. Two warriors broke from the circle to approach her, their own blades out, but she slashed about her, keeping them at bay.

At the same time, Luc saw Adric pinned down in the center of the circle. He growled and started forward.

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