Beltane (Midsummer #4)

1. Miri

1

Miri

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

I gasped as I stared at the television in the safety of my private apartments in Kensington.

“Ivy and Lex are missing.” The newscaster touched his ear and glanced at his fellow reporters, hoping to get a clue. “As are Katherine and Jon Washington. Half the bridal party’s gone.”

This had to have been the fairy king. It couldn’t have been anyone else. Icy-cold fear shot straight through me, the memories of how he’d manipulated my mind squeezing my chest. If he’d gotten to Ivy and Lex, I was next.

“What the bloody hell?” My cousin, Edward, crossed his arms and stood next to me. He’d been surprisingly helpful these last few months, staying at Aberdeen to make sure I wasn’t a complete invalid. If I didn’t know any better, I’d suspect Gran had sent him to force me to take care of myself. But he hardly qualified as a life coach seeing as he’d fucked half of the Commonwealth by now.

The wedding guests talked among themselves in the background, and even though there were no obvious signs the king had returned, only one thing could have stopped today from happening.

My phone buzzed in my hand, Carter’s name flashing across the top. I’d called him a few minutes ago but I no longer had privacy. Maybe it didn’t matter anymore. Maybe he was right and I needed to play my part in this. I couldn’t hide anymore. Hiding never quite did me any good anyway, and it certainly hadn’t made anyone safer.

Before I could answer, shadows played across the light streaming in from the windows, a powerful force hitting me in the gut, nearly bringing me to my knees. Tingles cascaded over my skin, echoing down my spine and the back of my legs. The worst had happened. The king was here.

“Edward, run.” I grabbed his arm, trying to yank him to the door, but it was too late. Obsidian spirals slammed against the windows, spilling to either side, darkening the space like an eclipse in the middle of the day, casting everything in gray shadows.

“What is that?” Edward froze, transfixed by the display of paranormal power. When it coalesced into a human form on the front yard, I pushed my cousin behind me, realizing we were too late. Alberich was already here, and judging by the scowl between his dark eyebrows, he was furious.

“Oh, my dear Little Thistle,” the king called, stepping closer. His dark coat dusted the grass, emphasizing his matching clothes and long hair. Magic radiated out of him in such magnificence, I wanted to wilt. Instead, I stood taller, jutting my chin out, reminding him I was the one who kept him out last time, and I’d figure out a way to do it again.

“Alberich,” I said.

“Do you know him?” Edward turned to the guards in the room. “Get security.” When they didn’t move, he went to investigate. I focused on the king, waiting for his next play, wondering why he hadn’t just blown a hole in the wall.

“Let me in, my dear.” He held his arms out to either side, a tempting gesture of solidarity. “We have much to discuss.”

“Go away,” I said. “You and I have nothing between us.”

Even from the third story, I saw a smirk mar his perfect lips. The king was beautiful in the way of all majestic things. He was tall and proportionate, and the sharp edges of his cheekbones and jaw would make Michelangelo weep.

“We have a debt to settle.” His gaze echoed with amusement, like he was messing with me. “A life for a life.”

“I never asked you to save me.” It might have been better if I’d died in the car accident with my parents, but the king had reached in and grabbed me at the last second, sparing me but forcing me to live my life without them.

“Miri, what are you saying? What’s going on?” Edward tried to break me from the spell, grabbing my shoulders to maneuver me so I had to look at him. But I couldn’t lose focus. I stared at Alberich, daring him to do anything spectacular. The hum of the surrounding trees echoed in my blood, though we were far from any real forest. But I’d gotten so weak in my separation from my beloveds. I doubted I could muster much, even if I was prepared to do anything to protect my family.

“Would you have preferred I let you die?” Alberich raised an eyebrow.

“We’ll never know now.”

He chuckled, the sound echoing around the room despite the thick stone and glass between us. “Miriam, this story has always ended this way. There’s no stopping it. You might as well… submit.” The word weighed on my shoulders, tightening the tension in the room to the point where I could pop it with a pin. It rang through me, shaking my joints, willing me to give in to his commands.

But…

Something was different about him, even in this display of his prowess. His energy had dampened, that radiance that had once made him so terrifying in Faerie now reduced to a blip. Why hadn’t he burst into my room like a juggernaut monster? Why hadn’t he brought his army of fairies with him?

“I’d sooner slit my own throat.”

“Be careful what you wish for.” The fairy king twisted his lips, obsidian spirals emanating out of his body, writhing as they descended on Kensington once more, shrouding my castle in his hatred.

I reached out using my gift, searching for my plant allies on this side of the realm. Kensington didn’t have a huge garden, but the nearby park supplied more than enough. Now that I needed their assistance, the energy in them reciprocated with hearty agreement.

Grow, I commanded, sensing my magic shudder as I attempted to use it.

Yes, they replied, seeking my presence, reaching out for me. But I wasn’t as strong as I used to be, my body too frail from having been isolated for so long. Somewhere deep down inside, I knew the reason the king had been able to get out was because I had failed to hold on to that energy. Whatever he’d done to me that night in Monaco, whatever I’d allowed him to do, it had caused this.

“Edward,” I shouted, backing away from the glass. We’d have to hide somewhere safe, somewhere I could control the plants and keep the king from hurting us. “Edward, let’s go.”

I turned to look for my cousin, but he was gone. The guards that stood sentry at the doors stared at the ceiling with their eyes hazed over in dark spirals, seemingly entranced by something only they could see.

“Edward?” I raced into the hallway but pulled up short at the sight from the other end. My cousin stood with his green eyes wide and his mouth open in a silent scream. Poppy had appeared next to him, one hand wrapped around his, the other grasping Lizzie, Carter’s sister.

“Poppy, what are you doing?” I took a step closer, but the changeling shook her head.

“Miri, I’m sorry. I really am.” Tears streaked her blushed cheeks, her hair in wild blond curls around her head.

“You don’t have to do this,” I told her, holding out a hand. “Come with me. We’ll go to Lex and Ivy. We’ll tell them what you’ve done, and they’ll fix it.”

Alberich’s spirals pricked at the windows like rain on a tin roof, sending pinpoint screeches through the entire building. My pulse raced and I clenched my hands into fists, preparing to lunge at her if I had to.

“It’s too late to fix it.” Poppy sighed and held them tighter. “I wish things could have been different.”

“Poppy, stop that,” I barked. “You are in control of yourself. Remember who we’re fighting. Remember who the real enemy is.”

“I know.” Poppy sobbed, wiping her eyes on her shoulder before taking a deep breath and righting herself. “That’s why I have to do this. Don’t you see? If I don’t, I’ll never see her again.”

“Who?” I furrowed my brows. “Ivy? We can go to her right now.”

“No.” Poppy regained her composure and held on to my cousin tighter, his look of horror intensifying. “No, it has to be this way.”

Tick, tick, tick. Alberich’s magic pressed on the walls, suffocating me, pulling my focus from protecting us. If I thought dealing with watching two loves of my life marry each other was terrible, add in Alberich and Poppy, and I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out again. My gut churned and the hot sting of panic squeezed my lungs harder.

“Tell Lex I’m sorry. Tell Ivy…Tell them all. I’m just so”—Poppy sucked in a ragged breath—“so sorry.”

I scrambled to reach for them, to stop her from disappearing or maybe attach myself to wherever they ended up. Just as I brushed a fine yellow curl, they vanished, leaving me shocked and standing in the hallway.

The chaos outside erupted, the dark spirals banging harder on the glass, the king’s torment now furious for how long I’d been denying him. I ran into my room, only to see him still standing outside, his tendrils of majestic power stifling the magic in my plants. They tried to overpower him, to wrap around his arms and legs, but no matter what they did, he broke them to pieces.

“ Little Thistle,” he hissed, his voice seeming to boom from every direction all at once. “I will break through these walls, and when I do, I will have you.”

“No,” I snarled, desperate for a way to escape. I’d been hiding here for months, certain staying away from my beloveds would protect them. He could get inside my mind, manipulate my memories, and make me do things I didn’t remember. But in doing so, I’d put my family at risk.

Who the bloody hell knew where Poppy had taken Edward? And if I stayed, the king might hurt my grandparents or the staff. Was there no place safe?

I had to get out. I had to get to Carter as soon as I could.

He was still in London. I’d just talked to him less than an hour ago, so when I pressed call on my phone, he picked up after the second ring.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice coming out in a rushed panic.

“The king is here,” I whispered as I raced through the palace, running down to my grandmother’s rooms. But she, too, had been transfixed.

“ Come to me, Little Thistle.” The king’s voice bounced off the walls in a threatening display of horror.

“Poppy, too,” I said to Carter, ignoring the king’s exacting demands. “She took Edward. She has Lizzie.”

“I’m coming to you,” Carter said.

“No,” I cut in. “No, stay there. He’s done something to my family. He has to be stopped.”

“Miri,” Carter said, exasperated. “We have to get back to Ivy and Lex. We’re stronger together.”

Tears streamed down my face as scalding shame reverberated through my body. I’d been vulnerable; I still was. Going to them would put them at risk, but what other choice did I have? I couldn’t stay here. Any second, the king would break through the walls and grab me. Then what?

“Okay,” I said to Carter. “Okay. Meet me at the airport.”

“I have a private charter,” he said. “It can take us home to DC.”

“Are you trying to run, Little Thistle?” Alberich made an indignant tsking sound with his teeth, as if to suggest that was the most idiotic idea I’d come up with. “Where will you go? Back to them? What will they do with you now?”

“Carter,” I said, trying to block out the sound of the king’s voice. “I love you. Be careful.”

“I love you,” he told me. “See you soon.”

I hung up and closed my eyes, searching for the plants or whatever trees had decided to help me. My power was weak, but they were surely there, growing and seeking out the source of my terror.

“Help me,” I called to them. “Help me.”

“Oh, come now,” Alberich said as I ran through the palace, my heart pumping and my legs nearly unable to carry me. “Don’t you remember how much fun we had?”

No. No, don’t think about it. Don’t focus on it. Just get to Carter. Get to the airport.

I burst through the entrance and out into the evening air, certain Alberich’s tendrils would wrap around me and yank me into oblivion. I froze, my knees locking into place when I finally met his gaze a hundred yards ahead. Dark and intimidating, his threatening aura held the weight of the terrible things he could do to me. But rather than seek me out, he tilted his head to the side and smirked.

“Are you planning to run back to them?” he said, and even though he was so far away, I heard the words as if he were right next to me. “Are you going to try to escape me? How adorable.”

Fight him. You are stronger than this.

But I didn’t feel like it. I’d been separated from my spouses for months, telling myself it would protect them, that I was the weak link. And here was the proof. He held me in his terrible clutches, and I could barely access my gifts. Even if I could fend him off, how would I get away? Everyone around me, my family and the staff, they were under his spell…transfixed into some kind of dream state.

“What do you want, Alberich?” I said, standing tall, forcing myself to maintain a sense of confidence I didn’t feel.

“I want my wife,” he said, taking a slow step toward me. “I will make you a deal…the same deal I offered to Ivette and Alexei. I will remove this so-called gift. In exchange, you will deliver the queen to me.”

I took a deep breath and shifted my gaze to the impending threat behind the king. Finally, my earthly allies had caught up, their vines and roots twisting through the atmosphere like a tsunami wall of vegetation.

Devour him, I commanded, and they were all too willing to comply. They descended upon his body, snaking around his legs and arms, seemingly intent on bringing him down.

“Have you forgotten who I am?” he taunted, pulling his lips back into a sneer. With one simple jut of his chin, the ropes of ivy closest to him turned black and charred, crumbling away as they disintegrated to ash. A stab went through my midsection at their loss, and I dropped to my knees in agony, instinctively wrapping my arms around myself. I gasped, struggling to inhale even the slightest bit of air.

“Give up this tedious charade,” Alberich said, his footsteps coming closer. “There is nowhere for you to run. Where will you go? Back to your beloveds?” He tutted and shook his head, squatting down so he was eye level with me. “Will they even have you after what you did?”

I narrowed my gaze, choking back a sob as more tears ran down my cheeks. What did he mean? I focused on that memory from Monaco, the one with the shimmer around it, the one where I’d been certain something had been done to me…but what? It had only been a dream, right? A terribly realistic dream?

No, no, no.

“You were always meant to end up here, my darling,” he said, grabbing my chin, his fingers surprisingly gentle despite our altercation. He tilted my head up so I had to look him in the eye. “This is where it ends. You and me, forever in this dance of wills.”

I hated him, and I hated what he’d done, whatever it was. I hated that he could manipulate my memories, make it so I couldn’t trust my mind. Was any of this real? Or was I like my family, standing in my room somewhere with obsidian eyes, locked inside my mind with whatever visions he decided to give to me?

“Let me go,” I whimpered, the words sounding pathetically weak to even my own ears.

“That, I’m afraid, I cannot do.” The king shook his head, his features softening as if he were taking pity on poor pathetic me. “Come now. It is not so bad. I will take care of you…if you take care of me.”

“No.” I couldn’t…I wouldn’t. Bleeding Christ, I had been such a fool. How could I ever think I could protect anyone? I could barely protect myself. A wave of anguish rose in me, so desperate and overwhelming that it had nowhere else to go. I couldn’t hold on to it. I couldn’t contain it. I dug my fingers into the grass, gripping it for dear life.

This was a fairy tale cut from my worst nightmares, and I had no idea how the princess would save herself in this one.

I stared up at him, willing the energy to coalesce around me. The branches from my plants regrew, spiraling toward us, wrapping around his neck and body, yanking his limbs back faster than he could defeat them. I poured myself into them, sucking in air as hot, sticky liquid dripped from my nose, over my lips, and down my chin.

“Grow,” I said, holding my hands out to reach for them, to give them whatever I had left…which admittedly wasn’t much. “Grow!”

He burned through them as quickly as I could get them around his body, and just when he’d gotten free, just when he was about to go for me again, a big black blur slammed into him from the right, catapulting him to the left with a sickening crunch.

I blinked, gaze rooted to the spot where he’d once been as I focused on the dark SUV in front of me.

“Miri!” called Carter’s voice as the back door opened. “Get in!”

* * *

Carter danced his fingers through my hair as he sat on the sofa in the chartered jet with my head in his lap. He’d called Ivy and Lex to let them know we were coming and explained he had hit the king with a Range Rover.

“Knowing that piece of shit, he’ll be after us again no matter what.” Carter had told them. “I’ve only bought us some time.”

“ Come home,” I heard Ivy say. “We need to regroup and figure out our next steps.”

“How did you know to come for me?” I asked him once he’d gotten off the call.

“My luck told me you wouldn’t make it to the airport,” he said. “I was supposed to come rescue you.”

“I’m glad you did,” I said. “I nearly exhausted myself trying to get away from him.”

Because of Carter’s newfound fame and connections, he had spared no expense on his publicity tour. Now, his agent, who also happened to be my cousin, was on the phone in the back, doing damage control to his career while we passed the eight-hour flight to DC watching the newest season of a Scottish television show about a woman who goes back in time through a set of stones.

Honestly, even with the chaos that had ensued, I would have given anything to fall into a big rock and wake up in the arms of some six-foot-six ginger who had no idea who I was or where I came from.

“I’m sorry for staying away,” I said, glancing up at Carter. “Please forgive me.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he said, his features soft and adoring. “And there’s nothing to forgive, Miri. I love you.”

“Are they properly upset with me?” I murmured, a small tremor shooting through my nerves at the thought of seeing Ivy and Lex again. Ever since we spent the summer in California together, Carter had become a safe haven for me—my best friend and confidant. The love between us didn’t simmer like it did with Ivy, nor did it slice sharply inside me like Lex. But that was what made my relationship with Carter so unique. Lex and Ivy were a force unto themselves, and loving them often came with a harsh smack of reality. Carter was the only other person on this earth who knew that as well as me.

He sighed and glanced down at me, brushing away a tear that had trickled over the side of my face.

“They’re worried about you,” he said. “We all are.”

I swallowed my shame, admitting my isolation tactic had perhaps been ill-advised at best. I thought I was protecting them. I thought staying away would keep us safe. I’d ruined everything because of it.

“Miri,” Carter said, gently brushing his fingers against my scalp, massaging certain areas to make me more relaxed. “Yesterday, when I met you in the closet at Danae, you said we weren’t safe with you, not anymore.”

I tensed, recalling my breakdown. In the fluster of trying to get him to leave before he got caught, I’d overstepped my own boundaries.

“I said a lot of things I didn’t mean.” I’d told him I was tired of coming in third, that Ivy would end up with either him or Lex, and I’d get screwed in the end. But those were lies. I’d only said them to get him to go, to protect him from whatever the king had done to me.

“You’re not third, Miri.” He swallowed hard and shook his head. “I’m sorry if we ever made you feel that way.”

“You didn’t.” Damn my poor pathetic heart. I couldn’t have him blaming himself, especially not when I’d been the dishonorable one. “I’ve…” Clearing my throat, I clenched my hands together and sighed, deciding enough was enough. Of the four of us, Carter had always been the more empathetic, the one who would grab a strange child from the queen of fairies to protect her. If I were going to come clean to anyone first, it helped that it was him. “Something’s wrong with me.” The words came out in a whisper, as if speaking them any louder might make the damage worse.

He furrowed his eyebrows, straightening upright so he could turn to face me. “Whatever it is, it’s not as bad as you think.”

“This is all my fault, Carter.” My throat scratched like I’d swallowed an entire beach. I had to tell someone , but maybe it was better to wait until I could tell them all together. I believed something happened to me that night in Monaco. I’d woken up sure that I’d had intercourse the night before. But I didn’t remember having anyone in my bed. The same glimmer existed on that memory as the one with my parents. The king did something to me; I knew it. He’d get to me again. “If you hadn’t come for me…if you hadn’t hit him when he wasn’t suspecting it…” I didn’t dare look at Carter, knowing I would see anger and disappointment in his stare. “Don’t you see?” I turned to face him, my vision blurring as water welled in the corners of my eyes. “I’m the easy target. I’m the liability.”

“No, you’re not,” he said. “But fault doesn’t matter. You’re alive, and you’re here with me, and that’s all we need.”

I sucked in a deep, desperate breath. “Is this real?”

Carter’s features broke, his chest sagging like he couldn’t believe I’d had to ask. More tears streamed over his cheeks, and this time, I wiped them away. I didn’t like that he had to cry for me. I didn’t like that I had become something worth crying over.

He turned me around in his lap, putting my legs to either side of his hips so I straddled his thighs. He leaned me on his massive chest and held me in his strong arms, his steady heartbeat a soothing metronome to the chaos inside my mind.

“Yes, it’s real, Juliet.”

“How can you be sure?” I closed my eyes, letting his scent and his energy coax me into relaxing.

“I’ll tell you when it’s not, okay?” He kissed my temple, holding me tighter. “Just ask me, and I’ll tell you.”

“Okay,” I said, tucking farther under his chin like a kitten might to a new owner. The relief his promise brought me evaporated some of the tension in my chest. “Thank you.”

It spoke volumes about our relationship that Carter didn’t immediately try to fix me. He didn’t try to tell me things would be okay or that he’d get some demented toxic revenge for my honor. He didn’t make me feel lesser, and for that, I owed him my eternal gratitude.

Exhausted from the battle with the king and the separation from my source of strength, I closed my eyes and let unconsciousness take me.

* * *

I stared up at the two-story cabin and took a deep breath, squeezing Carter’s hand tighter. The last time I’d escaped from my family and ran to the States, we’d been in the middle of a terrible lust. I had craved their connection the way a dying plant prayed for rain, knowing if I didn’t get it, I would wilt away to dust.

Not much was different this time except for the possibility it was more likely they’d turn me away. I hadn’t been gone quite as long, certainly not long enough to draw out the lust again, but once they learned how vulnerable I was, they might not want me anymore.

“Will they even have you now?” The king’s voice haunted me.

I was still a threat, a sleeper cell wearing their lover’s costume. I simply could not be trusted.

Carter gave me a wink and soft smile before climbing the porch steps to the sliding glass doors and pushing one aside. My heart in my throat, my blood on fire, I ascended the stairs and wrapped my arms around my ribs, turning the corner to come face-to-face with my spouses.

Lex pushed to his feet from the sofa, a cigarette between two fingers, his dark hair sticking out at odd angles. Ivy paced behind him, her soft ginger plait hanging down the side of her body, one of Carter’s old college hoodies swallowing her Amazonian frame. My stomach dropped to my ankles, the weight of the time between us choking the words in my throat.

At my entrance, they both froze.

“Fuck,” Lex said. I expected as much from my prince of darkness, but Ivy didn’t say anything. Her face turned a bright shade of pink, the X on her neck standing out against the rest of her porcelain skin. Dark bags hung under her eyes, hinting at recent sleepless nights, and she’d lost at least twenty pounds since February. Her once muscular frame now seemed almost as frail and lifeless as mine. We were a matching set. Objectively, I looked worse than her, but Carter had been right. The few months apart had not been kind to either of us.

Carter closed the door and stepped next to me, taking my hand again, reminding me he’d rescued me and brought me to them. I wasn’t alone. In some twisted way, it reminded me of when I’d absconded with him to Malibu.

All we have is us.

“Look at you.” Lex raised an eyebrow. “Like death warmed over.”

“Lex,” Carter cut in, giving him a cut-her-some-slack expression, but I squeezed his hand to let him know it was okay. I deserved this.

“Fuck that.” Lex shifted his glare from Carter to me. “Poppy’s gone, the fucking fairy king has Jon and Kit, the queen’s mind is fried, and here you are.” He chuckled incredulously, rubbing his thumb over his eyebrow before inhaling deep on his cigarette and stabbing it out. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Lex, knock it off.” Carter’s curt tone slapped with righteous justice.

I opened my mouth, knowing I should spill my guts. “I, uh…” I cleared my throat and straightened my shoulders, staring them dead in the eye as I said, “I know my absence has been challenging, and I apologize for any inconvenience.”

“Inconvenience.” Lex’s features dropped, all pretense gone. “This is a goddamn nightmare.”

Ivy stepped toward me, her gray eyes going from accusatory to curious. She touched Lex’s arm, giving him a glance that made him clench his jaw and shift his shoulders.

“C’mon, Princess,” he continued. “You owe us an explanation.”

“What happened to you, Miri?” she murmured, her features so calm and welcoming despite all I’d put her through, all the world had put her through.

Excuses flipped through my mind faster than I could rationalize them, but in the end, I only dropped my head and murmured, “I don’t know, and I’m scared.”

Ivy nodded and closed the rest of the distance between us to pull me into her arms, tucking her head into my neck so she could inhale me deeply. God, how I had missed her. Her vanilla-sugar scent wrapped around me, reminding me of what it was like to love her, to truly be hers in every way that mattered. It took me back to that dorm room at boarding school, just her and me and our secret kisses between us. I wrapped my arms around her chest and held her so tight, I thought I might break her in two. Ivy had always been tall and statuesque, but now the hard edges of her bones dug into my skin when we touched. We were two skeletons, holding each other up. We needed rest. We needed a break.

We needed each other.

Stinging tears poured down my cheeks when she stepped away and cupped my face, bringing her soft lips to mine for a wet, loving kiss.

“I missed you,” Ivy said. “I’m so mad at you, but I love you and I missed you.”

“Please forgive me.” My chest cracked in two at the broken words, seaming itself back together again at the same time. I had longed for the rest of them as much as I had for Ivy, but there was something about my wife that set her apart. “I have so much to tell you. I just…” My heart broke, and I didn’t have the strength to say it all, even as I knew they deserved the truth.

“I forgive you,” Ivy said, kissing me again. “Whatever it is, whatever happened to you, I forgive you.” She said it over and over, kissing my nose and my cheeks, wiping away my tears with her thumbs. A weight lifted off my chest, one she didn’t even know existed, but it made me love her infinitely more. “You’re home now. That’s all that matters. I’ll take you any way I can have you.”

I choked on the guilt that came with that because I knew, even as I nodded and leaned in to kiss her again, that I was greedy for wanting a life with them. I didn’t deserve them, and my very presence put them in danger. We needed to defeat the fairy king, break this curse, and get our family back, but after that? Would they ever be safe with me here? If I were gone, they could live their lives in peace, and nothing like the scandal that had erupted when pictures of Ivy and me hit the press would happen again.

I didn’t tell Ivy that. I let her pull me into her arms and run her fingers through my hair, brushing it back from my face.

“Isn’t this a fucking picture-perfect moment?” Lex snapped, forcing Ivy to take a step away from me so she could face him. “Should I run upstairs and grab my Nokia? Or do you remember that the rest of us have been dealing with this mess by ourselves for the last three months?” His hazel eyes pierced me with his icy cruelty, holding me in my spot.

I understood what this was. I had scared him, and now, he wanted to punish me to make sure I knew, really knew, how it had impacted him. This time, my absence had done more than break his heart. I had allowed Ivy to waste away, and whether it was because we were so connected or because this would have happened anyway, I had put us in danger.

Worst of all, I’d left him. Him, who had picked me up eight years ago after I returned home from boarding school, brokenhearted from leaving Ivy in the first place. Him, who had loved me and accepted me the way I was, no questions asked.

In college, Lex and I had a tumultuous relationship. We were together as much as we were broken up, which meant we’d seen the worst of each other. I called him my prince of darkness because when he got angry, he burned so cold, it hurt to be near him. He thrived in the shadows, but I, too, had a foot in the frost. I’d once reveled in his darkness with him, and when he lost his way, it was always me there leading him back to himself.

“What do you suppose I’ve been dealing with?” I couldn’t help the tremble in my voice and the shake in my limbs as the truth spilled out of me before I could stop it. I had wanted to ease into this confession, but even before his fairy gift, Lex always had a way of getting me to spill the beans. “The king is messing with my mind, and if he can do that, who knows what else he can do? There is no place safe. You should get as far away from me as you can.”

Ivy balked and recoiled while Lex raised an eyebrow. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

“You don’t always have to be a dick to get what you want.” Carter shoved at Lex’s shoulder, but Lex only refocused on me and shook his head, accusation in his stare.

I opened my mouth to tell him to sod off, but a loud thump from upstairs stole my attention, and I glanced at Ivy with a raised eyebrow.

“Ah, shit,” Lex said, heading toward the second floor.