Chapter 27
27
D izzying apprehension washed over me at Evangeline’s words. Verofer?
“I will not tell you again,” Enver spoke, his voice laced with malice, his shadows rising around him. “Release Evangeline. Now.”
My hands shook, my stomach twisting at the revelation. No . Enver couldn’t be Verofer. Verofer had been the man sitting on the dais, hadn’t he? Did Enver have a twin that he couldn’t remember? It had to be that. This couldn’t be Enver… but then why did he look and sound exactly like him? How could he control shadows like Enver did? Why, despite trying to convince myself it wasn’t him, did I instinctively know it was?
I had to be in Enver’s past. Isla had mentioned that nobody knew Enver’s real name and that he never introduced himself to any of the labyrinth participants by it. I thought she’d meant he simply never revealed his name to anyone. Not that no one knew him by the name of Enver .
It hit me then. The statue of Evangeline in his garden. The unexplained warmth he felt around it. The dresses that filled his wardrobe. The way they fit me perfectly—like the one I wore now, despite it being bought for her.
The world seemed to tilt under my feet.
I once wondered how Enver had become such a skilled lover. Suspected that he must have had a partner before. Now I knew that person was Evangeline. She was the one he’d forgotten when he’d lost his emotions and memories. But she was more than just his lover—Kayn had said Evangeline was set to marry Verofer.
Evangeline was Enver’s fiancée .
The thought had me taking in a shaky breath, my body trembling as a deep cold settled into my veins. The familiarity he’d said he felt with me that he couldn’t explain, the way he believed he instinctively belonged to me and I to him, and the warmth he said I gave him…
They were echoes of what he must have felt for Evangeline.
He didn’t belong to me. He belonged to her.
“ Shadowspawn ?” Kayn said, his tone caught between disbelief and anger, causing me to pull myself from my thoughts. His eyes narrowed at the shadows writhing in the air as he held Evangeline’s limp body against his chest. “I knew you were hiding something. How is this possible? Your kind was destroyed.”
“You will find out firsthand what it means to be destroyed, if you do not release her,” Enver threatened, his shadows growing.
“Does she know what you are, monster?” Kayn asked, a sneer on his lips. “Does she know about the darkness that fills your veins? Does she know what will happen if you lose control of it?”
Enver’s silence caused Kayn to bark out a bitter laugh.
“She doesn’t know,” he concluded. “What do you think would happen if she found out? Do you think she would love you? Do you think Solomon would still accept you? No. He would kill you within a heartbeat. You are nothing more than an abomination. A monster that has no place in our kingdom. You should be dead.”
Enver took a step forward, his gaze turning murderous. “You know so much about me yet still dare to provoke me? You seem to have a death wish. One I will happily grant for you. Release her or die.”
“You want her? Be my guest,” Kayn said, shoving Evangeline toward Enver roughly.
Enver caught her as she pitched forward, his arms circling her waist, holding her tightly to him. He lowered himself onto one knee, keeping Evangeline in his hold, moving with gentle caution as he checked her over. “Evangeline,” he said softly, as if afraid his voice would wound her further.
Seeing him hold her so tenderly made my heart stop and something inside me splinter. He delicately brushed strands of hair away from her face, his fingertips tracing her cheek, the curve of her jaw. His gaze was gentle and full of something I’d never seen from him before.
Love.
It was full of love.
Evangeline stirred in his arms, moaning softly as her eyes fluttered open. “Verofer,” she whispered, her voice barely audible as she tried to raise a shaking hand to his face. His lips parted as he leaned into her touch. “You need to… get out of… here.”
He shook his head. “No, Evangeline?—”
“Please, I…” she broke into a harsh coughing fit, her hand falling to her side as she went limp in his arms again.
Enver swore under his breath, readjusting her in his arms, keeping her head supported with his hand. “What have you done to her?” Enver asked, his anger barely restrained.
“I would be more worried about yourself if I were you,” Kayn said. “I wonder what Solomon will do to you when he realizes you’re Shadowspawn. Although it will probably pale in comparison to what he’ll do to you for killing his daughter.”
Enver’s gaze narrowed, the muscles in his jaw clenching. “Killing?” He glanced down at Evangeline again, his free hand quickly moving to her neck, checking her pulse. His body tensed, and he picked up her wrist, checking there as well. “Evangeline? Evangeline!” He turned back to Kayn, his face contorting into a snarl. “ What did you do to her ?”
Suddenly, the shadows surged again, exploding outward. I flinched as they slammed into Kayn, sending him crashing against the gazebo. The force caused one of the stone pillars to crack. “I take it she’s dead already?” Kayn asked as he grinned over at Enver, his breathing labored. “That was fast.”
Dead? He’d killed her? That wasn’t possible. Evangeline was at Enver’s castle, one of the labyrinth’s many servants. She couldn’t be dead. Kayn had to be lying.
Wind rushed by me as shadows struck Kayn again, slamming him into the ground. He groaned, his bottom lip splitting, blood pouring out as he pushed himself up. “You know, it’s your fault it had to be like this,” he spat at Enver. “I told you to leave her. You refused to listen. I warned you.”
I turned back to Enver, opening my mouth to tell him Kayn was lying, but my voice died in my throat. He still held Evangeline in his arms, his entire body shaking, his face twisting with agony as he cupped her face. “No. No. Evangeline. Wake up,” he urged.
The sight of him cradling her lifeless body tore at my heart, the desperation in his expression shredding it apart further. But before I could do anything, Kayn shifted, drawing my attention back to him. He brought back the dagger he’d used to stab Evangeline, aiming it at Enver. “Enver!” I cried out in warning.
Enver’s head snapped toward me at the sound of his name, and as our eyes locked together for the first time, he inhaled sharply. His dark gaze bore into mine, the familiar intensity of it searing through me, causing a painful longing to rise in my chest. His brow creased, a myriad of emotions flickering through his expression. Confusion. Shock. Realization. Anger. But there was something else there, too, something that made my heart race even faster—recognition.
Every instinct inside me urged me to go to him, but as I stepped toward him, he held onto Evangeline tighter, his knuckles turning white. He searched my face, the unease in his expression morphing into something stricken, his voice strained as he spoke. “You?—”
Kayn launched the dagger at Enver, making me jolt forward, my body moving before my mind, instinctively moving to protect him. Enver’s gaze never left mine as his hand shot out and caught the dagger effortlessly, rotating it to reposition it better in his hand, gripping the hilt firmly.
“Who are you?” he demanded, curling Evangeline into him with his other arm as if protecting her from me, too.
The question and his actions made me stop in my tracks, my throat tight.
I was wrong. He didn’t recognize me.
“Do you have time to get distracted?” Kayn asked Enver casually. “The poison will kill her unless I give her the antidote. We don’t have much time to heal her wounds, either.”
Enver dragged his attention from me, glaring at Kayn as he rose to his feet. He lifted Evangeline with him, his hold on her still delicate. His shadows pulsed in the air, his rage palpable. “You poisoned her?”
“Yes, so make your next decisions wisely.”
“What is it you want?”
“I want you gone,” Kayn said simply. “Solomon will arrive soon. You will admit to attempting to murder Evie. Then you will rot in prison. Once that is done, I will feed her the antidote and tend to her wounds. I won’t even mention the fact you’re Shadowspawn. ”
Enver’s nostrils flared. “She trusted you. She cared for you. And you harmed her to this extent? Just to rid her of me?”
“You left me with no choice,” Kayn reminded him harshly. “I told you to leave her. You chose not to listen to me. I won’t let a monster be with Evie.”
“I will kill you,” Enver said, his voice dropping dangerously. “I promise you that. I will end your miserable existence for daring to harm her.”
“Ah, I don’t think so. I have the antidote, remember? It’s not on me, either, nor would you find it in time if you tried. If you kill me, then Evie will die as well.”
Pure hatred laced Enver’s features at Kayn’s threat. “This will not make her love you.”
“It will be enough for me to know she will never be with you,” Kayn replied. “But since you seem interested, who knows what will happen in our future? Perhaps Solomon will grant me her hand in marriage in return for protecting her from you. A monster like you could never deserve Evie.”
I turned toward Kayn, anger coursing through me, my fingers curling into fists. I tried to reel it in, knowing I only had a limited amount of time to get him to change his mind. I couldn’t afford to antagonize him. “Kayn, this isn’t going to get you what you want,” I said, gaining his attention.
He spared me a glance. “This again? I already told you it is.”
“No, it’s not,” I said. “What did you want from the labyrinth? Evangeline? Doing this will only make you fail! It won’t make her love you. You’ll lose her forever if you go through with this.”
Kayn rounded on me, and I faltered back a step as he strode toward me. “What do you know? I suggest you keep your mouth shut before I decide to silence you myself. You have nothing to do with this.”
Shadows rose between us, preventing him from getting any closer to me. “Stay away from her,” Enver warned.
Kayn scowled. “Why are you protecting her? She lured Evie out here for me. You’d protect her even though she’s the reason your fiancée is dying in your arms?”
My heart dropped. “No, I?—”
“She’s been helping me all this time,” Kayn continued.
I didn’t dare look at Enver for fear of what I’d see on his face. “Kayn, stop this,” I tried again. “Listen to me. You will fail if you go through with this. You’ll be trapped in the labyrinth?—”
“What are you talking about?” Kayn snapped, and the shadows lurched toward him threateningly. “You keep mentioning a labyrinth. What does that have to do with me?”
I stared at him, unable to find my voice for a moment. “What? You’re doing the labyrinth, aren’t you?”
“Take a look around you,” he said, throwing out his arm. “Do you see a labyrinth anywhere? Have you lost your mind?”
“No, that’s…” I trailed off, my eyes widening. If it wasn’t Kayn doing the labyrinth, then who was?
The sound of shouting voices and approaching footsteps filled the air. I turned toward the source of the noise and saw a group of people moving toward us, torches in some of their hands, flames billowing in the wind. My stomach lurched, and I turned back to Enver, who was still glowering at Kayn.
Kayn smirked, giving Enver a self-satisfied look. “Here they come. Remember, choose wisely. Admit to your crimes, and I’ll give her the antidote. Don’t, and Evangeline dies. And as for you?” Kayn shrugged at me. “Sorry, but you’re of no more use to me. I sincerely hope you led a fulfilling life up to this point. I don’t think Solomon will let you go.”
“Enver, don’t do this,” I said, ignoring Kayn, my mind scrambling to come up with a solution as I turned toward Enver. “There has to be another way?—”
Our gazes met again, and for a moment, his expression softened, causing my breath to hitch. He was looking at me like he did in the future. Not as a stranger, but as someone more profound. As a lover. His eyes were full of warmth and longing and…
“I am sorry,” he whispered.
“Enver—” I started, but his shadows shot toward me without warning. Not expecting it, I plunged backward, tumbling into the garden hedge. The shadows twisted around me, holding me still and sliding over my mouth to prevent me from crying out or speaking.
“Even after knowing the truth, you still protect her,” Kayn mused. “How noble. Well, it doesn’t matter to me. Nothing she could say would save you.”
I struggled against the shadows but found I couldn’t move, couldn’t make a sound. As the gathering of people grew closer, one figure broke out and rushed ahead, dark hair flying out behind her. “Evangeline!” she screamed, and the familiarity in her voice made my heart sink.
Isla.
It was Isla running at Enver and a lifeless Evangeline.
He took the heart of someone he should have never touched in the first place.
Do you know what happened to his first love? He killed her!
I went completely still, terror dawning. It all made sense now. It was never a physical heart she’d been referring to.
And I knew exactly what was going to happen now. Why she would come to believe Enver had killed Evangeline.
But Enver didn’t.
I screamed into the shadows, fighting against them with all my strength, desperate to get them to release me. I needed to stop this. I needed to save Enver. If I could, then he wouldn’t be cursed. He wouldn’t lose his memories or emotions. He wouldn’t be trapped. He wouldn’t be alone anymore.
He wouldn’t be with you , my mind whispered.
A lump rose in my throat, but I pushed it back. I didn’t care. I didn’t want his love at the cost of his suffering .
“What have you done?” Isla cried shrilly, running up to them, coming to a dead stop as she noticed the blood staining Enver’s clothing and dripping to the ground. “Oh, gods—Evangeline! Let go of her, you monster!”
Enver stood stiffly, not reacting to Isla, turning Evangeline away as Isla tried to touch her.
The shadows muffled my cries as I tried to call out, my muscles burning as I fought against the bindings that kept me hidden and silent.
The rest of the group arrived, and Kayn put on a show, dropping onto the ground on one knee, coughing hard. “Solomon, hurry, please. There’s something wrong with Evie!”
An older man stepped up to Enver. Tall and intimidating, his dark hair was streaked with grey, and a silver crown sat on his head. His eyes widened at the sight of Evangeline, and he rushed forward, closing the distance between them. “Evangeline!”
Enver still didn’t say anything, remaining silent and motionless, clutching Evangeline to his chest.
“What have you done to my daughter?” Solomon seethed, reaching for Evangeline, but Enver didn’t budge, refusing to hand her over. Solomon reacted immediately. He struck his hand out, striking Enver across the face. “Release her, now! ”
Finally, Enver relented, allowing another man who moved forward to remove Evangeline from his grasp. But his hands remained in the same position, as though he were still holding her, his gaze fixed on her limp body. The man who took Evangeline knelt on the ground, laying her on a patch of grass, and two others dropped beside her to check on her.
“I attempted to end her life,” Enver said, his expression devoid of emotion, his voice detached. “She asked to call off our marriage, and I retaliated.”
No! I tried to scream, tears welling up in my eyes, my throat aching .
Solomon recoiled, but before he could say anything, Isla screamed, drawing my attention to her. She knelt beside Evangeline, her hand on her wrist, her eyes wild. “She has no pulse! Solomon!”
A smirk flashed across Kayn’s face, and I realized he’d planned this, too—for someone to notice that she didn’t have a pulse. He didn’t want Solomon to believe Enver had attempted to kill his daughter. He wanted Solomon to believe Enver had killed his daughter.
And Enver wasn’t going to correct him.
He was going to sacrifice himself for Evangeline.
Solomon brushed past Enver, crouching beside Evangeline, shoving the other people surrounding her away, checking her pulse for himself. Kayn staggered toward them, the blood and bruises on his face adding to his performance. “Evie, no, she can’t be,” Kayn gasped, falling to his knees beside them and touching Evangeline’s face. “Evie, no.” His voice cracked, and he turned toward Solomon with tears in his eyes. “He has magic, Solomon. Shadows. He killed her…”
“Evangeline,” Solomon said, his voice hoarse. “This can’t be.”
“Solomon, he is Shadowspawn!” Kayn cried. “He used shadows to kill her. I saw it happen. I couldn’t stop him.”
Solomon went deathly still for a moment, but within the blink of an eye, he was on his feet again in front of Enver, gripping Enver’s shirt tightly. “Is this true?”
“Yes,” Enver said, still staring at Evangeline.
Tears streamed down my cheeks, my chest hurting so much I struggled to breathe. I kept fighting against the shadows, but I already knew it was too late. It’d been too late from the second Kayn threatened Enver with Evangeline’s life. There was nothing I could do.
Rage swept across Solomon’s face at Enver’s admission. “Did you believe you would get away with this, that you could get away with murdering my daughter, you vile creature? I trusted you to care for her and protect her, and you betrayed her in the worst way. You deserve a fate worse than death.”
Enver didn’t react. Didn’t try to defend himself. Didn’t try to stop what was about to happen. Only looked at Evangeline.
I thrashed against the shadows, my tears blurring my vision. No . No!
“You took everything from her,” Solomon said, his voice raw with pain and anger, raising his hand, a light forming in his palm. “You took her happiness. Her future. Her past.”
Enver’s hands clenched into fists.
“You stole her heart.”
My breath hitched, and I tried to get myself to close my eyes, to not have to witness what would happen next, but I couldn’t. I stared, going still, watching as Solomon’s magic grew brighter.
“I will take everything from you,” Solomon vowed, his expression darkening.
Suddenly, Enver’s gaze lifted, finding mine through the darkness. The light from Solomon’s hand revealed the pain etched into his face and the wetness in his eyes.
His lips moved, barely noticeable.
Save her .
Then Solomon thrust his hand into Enver’s chest.
Enver jolted, a blinding flash of light filling the air, making me snap my eyes shut. The shadows disappeared and I collapsed into the dirt, blinking the lingering white spots away. I looked back at Enver and Solomon, seeing Solomon pull his hand free of Enver’s chest, a dark, shadowy object in his grasp. It pulsed in his hold, tendrils creeping out of it and curling around Solomon’s wrist.
Enver’s heart.
“I will make sure you never speak her name again,” Solomon said. “Never remember the warmth of her love. Never recall the light she brought to your life. Never feel anything ever again—the same fate you have condemned her to.”
Enver collapsed to his knees, his hand going to the gaping hole in his chest. Blood coated his torso and hand, flowing in torrents to the ground.
“I will not let you die,” Solomon continued, using his free hand to fist it in Enver’s hair and turn Enver’s head up toward him. “You will suffer for all of eternity in a prison of my creation. Alone. Until you lose all sense of time and self. Until you beg for a death that will not come.”
It took everything in me to remain still and not run to Enver. If I did, him protecting me would have been in vain. I needed to stay hidden and silent.
A trickle of blood spilled from the corner of Enver’s mouth.
“You will never harm anyone again, Shadowspawn,” Solomon snarled, his hand going from Enver’s hair to his throat, squeezing it. “I should have turned you away the moment Evangeline brought you into our lives. I should have never considered you my family. I will regret that until the day I die. She deserved so much more than this. Than you. A monster wearing the skin of a fae. You will suffer your fate where your kind suffered their own demise.”
Enver said nothing, staring blankly ahead. When Solomon released him, he slumped forward, collapsing into the crimson-stained grass. Our gazes met, but his eyes were now vacant and devoid of life. As they closed, a single tear fell from his lashes.
My body moved before I could stop it, and I surged to my feet, but another flash of light blinded. I froze, blinking rapidly, my eyes readjusting to the night, only to find Enver gone, just a pool of his blood remaining.
Solomon’s figure slumped to the ground beside Evangeline, sobs breaking the silence of the night. Isla wrapped her arms around him, crying as she repeated Evangeline’s name over and over .
“My daughter, my Evangeline. My light,” Solomon whispered, his hand cupping Evangeline’s cheek.
Evangeline’s body glowed faintly, and Isla gasped as Solomon brought the shadow heart to her chest. “What are you doing?” Isla demanded, whipping her head toward him.
“I’m hiding this somewhere he will never find it,” Solomon responded as Enver’s heart seemed to disappear into her chest, the light fading along with it.
“His heart doesn’t deserve to be near her,” Isla hissed, her shoulders shaking. “I will make him pay. I will kill him for taking her away from us. From me.”
“There is no need for you to sully your hands, Isla. The curse has been placed. He will pay for what he has done for all of eternity.”
Isla shook her head. “No. That’s not enough.”
I held my breath, waiting. Waiting for Kayn to give Evangeline the antidote. To save her. But he didn’t. Instead, he stood above Solomon and Isla, a pleased expression growing on his face, letting them grieve over Evangeline’s body. As if sensing my gaze, he looked directly at me, his lips curling into a triumphant smirk. He pressed a finger to them, warning me to stay silent.
My stomach churned. He wasn’t planning on saving her. Not in front of them. Then what happened to Evangeline after this? How did she end up in the labyrinth? Kayn must have saved her at some point. Had he stolen her away from them under the guise that she’d been killed? Let Solomon believe his daughter was dead? Be the reason why Isla believed Enver had killed Evangeline?
No. I wouldn’t let that happen. I could stop this, at the very least.
I launched myself out of the brush, and Kayn’s eyes widened. Solomon turned toward me first, straightening out in alarm .
“He poisoned her—” I began, my voice a shrill cry, but shadows rose from the ground, slamming into my chest, cutting me off. I gasped, trying to push through them, but the world tilted as the shadows enveloped me, and I recognized the feeling of being transported as I fell backward.