Chapter 2
VALERIO
The house had been at peace only minutes ago, the words Maize had said to me before she went upstairs ringing softly in my ears.
She’d told me that I had made her realize she could trust herself, that she didn’t need to fear her magic. It was a sense of victory, a surge of pride I wouldn’t soon forget.
But that peace had been ripped away by the scream torn from Maize’s throat.
I sprinted upstairs and found Maddox cradling her on the floor, pushing through our bond and trying to reach her.
He was thrown out violently, and now magic sparked along his arms as if he might electrify anyone who touched him.
Blood seeped between his fingers where Maize had cracked her head on the stone floor of the bathroom.
Her familiars, Sy and Lu, moved through the space in frantic circles, feeding off the panic.
The house didn’t feel peaceful now; it pulsed with raw, furious magic like an open artery. Every wall shook with Maize’s fractured power, restless and rattling the foundation. I could feel her magic, but something was disrupting the link that would allow for a real connection.
Something was siphoning magic from our bond while holding her captive.
Or someone.
“We have a fucking issue,” Cannon said from the doorway. Maddox lifted Maize from the floor and carried her limp body to the bed.
“What?” I snapped, my eyes still fixed on her.
“David,” Maddox ground out. “David is outside our house, and he’s not alone.”
For a heartbeat, everything stilled as I weighed what he was saying.
My gaze stayed on the faint rise and fall of my mate’s chest, the pink pulse of her power fluttering beneath pale skin.
She was alive. That was all that mattered.
I had to remind myself of that, or else I’d do something rash that, while I wouldn’t regret it, would possibly put our family in more danger.
“Maddox, what happened?” I asked, forcing David momentarily from my mind. It wasn’t his turn. Not yet.
“Oberon,” he spit out in fury. The name confirmed what I’d feared: until we handled whoever stood outside threatening our home, we couldn’t truly focus on helping Maize.
“Keep her safe,” I said quietly, turning to the hall and burying my fear and fury under familiar commands. “You and her don’t move until I return. Cannon and Chait, watch over them.”
As I moved down the stairs—not waiting for a response—I found Charm, Philip, and Zed standing at the front door like sentinels, their attention turning toward me.
“What the fuck is David doing?” I demanded.
“Making a fool of himself,” Philip scoffed.
“And he’s brought an audience,” Zed agreed.
Charm clarified. “An SE unit—possibly two, nearly thirty strong—are outside demanding Maize’s arrest for treason.”
Over my dead body. No one was taking Maize from us. Not again.
“David is leading them?” I asked, moving to the window.
Instantly, I clocked him—uniform picture-perfect, the SE insignia bright on his chest. He only wore the badge because our Queen and her Royal Guard hadn’t tracked him down yet.
His smug smile said that he’d waited for this moment—this chance to pretend they were making an arrest in order to take our mate from us.
It was more than reason enough to slaughter every single one of them.
“What’s going on?” A young voice cut through my thoughts. I looked back at the four boys standing near the kitchen, Maize’s brothers who were under our care. Relic and Lyric flanked the island, and Harland stood behind them, nearly shaking with fear.
I crouched in front of Cairo, who’d asked the question. “We’ve got people outside trying to hurt Maize,” I said bluntly. His eyes widened, the truth landing harder than I’d expected. “I need you four to go upstairs and guard her. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes.” He nodded sharply. I stood and moved toward the front door as they ran upstairs. The boys would be fine—giving kids their age purpose always helped, especially now. Their magic fed on darkness and danger, the very things that would fill the air in seconds.
“You good?” Philip asked, casual but keeping a critical eye on me.
I could feel my power leaking out, gathering the fears of those around me and twisting it into a demented, lethal weapon.
Whether I meant to or not, the men outside would feel the full extent of my magic.
My mate was threatened, and my power wouldn’t hide away while that was the case.
“It’s time to remind David he’s already lost this battle.”
The February air was sharp, thick snow mixed with barely visible grass on the ground, and upon seeing us, David’s smile spread—thrilled, almost gleeful. He wouldn’t have that expression for long. The other three followed behind in silence.
The front yard—the same one Maize had happily walked across barely twenty minutes ago, eager to be home—was lined with SE soldiers. Unlike David, they didn’t look excited. They looked terrified. Good. That would make this easy.
I knew Zed and Philip could shift into combat in a heartbeat, and Charm, much like myself, would use his power to infiltrate their minds—twisting desires into nightmares.
“What are you doing, David?” I asked, my tone making two of the soldiers flinch. He must’ve scraped the bottom of the barrel for this unit.
“By order of the Royal Guard, Maize is to surrender to our custody. She stands accused of treason against the Horde as a threat to our territory and our majesty.”
A smile tugged at my lips. “Is that right? And tell me, does our majesty know you’re here? Because she’s looking for you, David. Queen Gray is well aware of what you’ve been part of.”
There it was. The fear.
I continued, “You have no authority here, especially on Red Masque Academy grounds.”
“We answer to a higher lineage than Queen Gray,” he snarled, immediately changing up his story to reveal the truth.
Zagan. He meant Zagan—and Oberon, though he likely had no idea about the latter’s involvement.
“You’re playing with forces far larger than yourself,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ll give each of you one more chance. If you aren’t gone in three—”
One of the SE soldiers charged forward with a roar, hurling a blast of blue icy elemental power straight at my chest.
And just like that, our front yard descended into chaos.
My power exploded outward, black and cold, hitting not just the bastard who’d attacked me but five more in the blast. Shadows crawled over their eyes, turning them glassy, empty.
Two screamed. One sobbed. Another dropped to his knees, begging for help.
My dagger was in my hand before I realized it. A flash of silver. A slice to the throat. A twist into the gut. One down.
Another.
The air filled with the wet sound of blood being spilled onto fresh snow.
Zed’s magic crackled, electrifying the nearby air as he cornered David, while Philip and Charm carved through the others.
The ground itself vibrated with our united power, as if the house recognized we were defending our home—our family.
I fed off it. The fear of the soldiers around me slid under my skin like a drug, sharpening every movement. I moved faster. Hit harder. The more they screamed, the more my power devoured.
But beneath it all, her name burned in the back of my mind.
Maize.
Her name alone made me drive forward with ruthless focus—to make sure none of this would ever touch her again.
As if my thoughts had summoned her, I stumbled to my knees as agonizing pain lanced through me, the bond between Maize and me snapping like a broken wire. Terror held me captive, soaking into my very being. My head whipped toward the house, unable to process why our bond would have broken.
Her magic—the familiar strength I’d come to rely on—was gone.
“Valerio, watch out!” Charm shouted. I turned, slit another throat, and shoved the body aside.
“You didn’t feel that?!” I shouted back.
“Handle them first,” Zed grunted, slamming David back with a surge of power that sent him into a large tree, the force of it causing the massive trunk to crack loudly.
I moved toward him, cutting down more soldiers as my magic clouded their senses and stole their will to run. It wasn’t until the last body fell that David threw up his hands in surrender before trying to bolt.
I locked him in place with my power. David screamed, and the sound curdled the air along with the disgusting scent of urine.
“We have to get to Maize. We can handle David later,” Philip snapped.
I nodded once, jaw tight. We’d bind him fast to the tree—then get to her.
“I think we can take him off your hands.”
I’d never been so damned glad to hear Cirdan’s voice. The several-century-old wizard stood on the front path to our home, his focus locked on David. He’d appeared out of nowhere with two of his teammates and Brielle, who’d survived hell at David’s hands.
“We need to question him,” I said, forcing the words out even though I wanted with every fiber of my being to sprint inside.
“We’ll take him to the castle for questioning—and disposal,” Cirdan promised.
Brielle nodded. “Go to Maize. I can feel her life force…” she murmured, tilting her head toward the house with concern.
I released my hold on David and Cirdan took over. I turned and stormed toward the house, trusting them to do the rest. If they chose to kill first and ask questions later, then so be it.
I needed Maize.
Why couldn’t I feel her? Why couldn’t I feel our bond?
Bounding up the stairs, I passed her brothers gathered in the upstairs living room with Cannon. Voices murmured around me as I shoved into the bedroom; I stumbled to the edge of the bed, my knees giving out completely.
I could hear her heartbeat, faint but real.
If I hadn’t been able to feel that flutter as my lips traced over the pulse of her wrist, I might have mistaken it for my own heart. I threaded my hand through hers, ignoring the massive snake and spider curled on her chest. Pressure released in my ribs as I stared down at her beautiful face.
We kept almost losing her.
“Oberon has to die.” Maddox’s voice was thick with guilt. He sounded like he blamed himself for Maize not waking. “It’s the only way this ends.”
Killing an ancient fae god.
It fit the course of everything that had been done to and required of us so far.
Unable to offer any more plans or tactical thoughts to Maddox, I just focused on her.
Searching for Maize’s power, trying to pull on it like a thin ribbon, frustration surged through me.
Normally it would be easy to grasp, her power vibrantly lethal and always wrapping around me like the venomous snake on her chest. But right now?
Her magic didn’t answer at all. I could swear I still tasted it, a brief flicker in the breeze, but the instant I thought I felt it, it disappeared once more.
“He’s blocking us,” Philip said pointedly as the others gathered around the bed. “He’s siphoning magic from her and blocking us. He’s imprisoned her in her own damn head.”
“How do we pull her out of it?” Chait demanded.
“We can’t,” Maddox answered. “She has to break out of it.”
“Come on, birdy.” Charm’s voice carried the same thread of terror as the others. I couldn’t find it in me to comfort any of them. I might have been the leader of our family, but in the face of losing Maize, I was a shell of a man.
“I’m going to take the boys downstairs,” Cannon called, and I nodded in understanding. They didn’t need to experience this, but I could feel his hesitancy to leave Maize’s side.
Retaking her hand, I pressed my thumb over her pulse and rubbed softly in round circles, a reminder to myself. For once, I even prayed to the Maker.
Release her. Release her from his grip.
A finger twitched against my thumb. I froze.
“Did you see that?” I breathed, hardly daring to hope.
The air shifted before anyone could answer.
Maize’s wild, dangerous, and beautiful magic erupted outward in a violent bloom. It slammed into the walls and raced across the ceiling, nearly throwing me back from the bed. The force of her power rolled through every floorboard and rattled the windows in passing.
Philip’s hand clamped onto my shoulder, his voice breaking with disbelief and relief all at once. “She’s back—she’s fucking back! I can feel her.”
Maize’s eyelids fluttered; a single, shallow breath moved her chest. Relief and hope cracked through me as I memorized the way her lips moved just slightly, as if trying to say something.
I leaned in, pressing my forehead to hers, the familiar hum of her power thrumming against my skin. “Stay with us,” I whispered. “Stay with me.”
Her fingers tightened on mine just for a heartbeat, but it was enough. Enough to make every part of me sharpen again, to make every plan rolling through my head turn ruthless and clear.
Oberon would die.