Page 102 of Shattered & Returned

“We can’t always live in fear, Bloom.”She looked at me with something close to pity.“That isn’t living.”

“We don’t have time to debate this.”The festival noise suddenly roared in my ears.“This is our only shot.”

“And go where?”She laughed, the sound sharp.“To what?”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“Bloom.”She cut me off.“I’m not leaving.”

I blinked.“I thought we had an understanding?—”

“No, we don’t.”Her voice left no room for argument.“I’m staying. And you should too. You’ve never been able to see what’s right in front of you. Homeschooled, sheltered…you never got to live in the real world. But now you’ve got a second chance.”

I stared at her, barely recognizing the girl in front of me. One ride with Sebastian was all it had taken.

A thunderous crash cut her off.

My head snapped around, and my eyes widened as a herd of buffalo stampeded through the festival. Wood splintered as stalls overturned. Lanterns were wrenched free, spiraling like dying fireflies. The crowd surged in a screaming tide, tearing Sindy from my grasp before my fingers could close around hers.

I twisted through the chaos, dodging panicked bodies, sidestepping thrashing horns, when a flicker of movement cut through the frenzy.

I whirled to run.

CRACK.

White-hot pain split my skull. The world tilted. My knees hit the ground.

No!The scream never left my throat as darkness claimed me.

Chapter

Thirty-Three

Ravencrux

Fates of Three

Zeus, the king of the fucking gods, summoned me. He claimed it was for the greater good, a chance to negotiate peace and new terms between us.

I was unwilling to leave Bloom alone in the academy, but I had to. This constant fear of losing her was driving me mad.

“It could be a trap,” Morrigan said.

“I know it’s a trap,” I replied. “But if there’s even a sliver of a chance to keep my mate alive, I’ll take it.” Morrigan pursed her lips together as worry furrowed her brow. “Zeus says they want to offer new terms. At the very least, I’ll pry something useful from the Fates, some hint of how they’ll try to kill Bloom this time. Then we can stop it before it happens.”

My team had stood by me for nearly two thousand years, loyal to the end. There were eight of them once. Now only three remained. The rest had fallen in battle, torn apart by hunters and monsters hell-bent on destroying my mate.

“Hold the fort, Morrigan. Watch over Bloom,” I said.

“I should go with you,” she argued. “If you face Zeus again, you’ll need healing.”

I shook my head. “Stay. In her mortal form, Bloom is vulnerable. If she’s hurt while I’m gone, you’re the only one who can save her. We’ll be back in a few hours.”

The moment we crossed the gate, I summoned Belladonna, my Pegasus. She materialized from the mist with a sharp whinny, her midnight coat glimmering with trapped starlight, wings spreading like living darkness against the sky. She nudged me with her muzzle in greeting.

Orren shifted into his true form—a hellhound with jagged wings. He rarely took this shape within the academy grounds, and then only in the tower or Obsidian Wilds, but beyond the wards, he could embrace his full power.

I swung onto Belladonna, running a hand along her neck in silent reassurance. Orren’s wings snapped open as Dante climbed onto his back. The hellhound let out a displeased rumble.

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