Eden
The letter smells like roses, but not the fresh kind, Not sweet. Not soft. These roses smell dead. Wilted, Buried. It is definitely an insult to what the Nightmare court once was, and I can feel Azriel’s anger through the male bond
“My sister is a bitch,” he mutters and picks up the letter, his brow furrowed.
“What is it?” | ask.
“Just checking it for curses
Azriel concentrates, and I feel his power ripple around him. He is so powerful that I have to light the urge to bow down. Even my floor is on her guard.
The most powerful high be, she whispers. He wasn’t lying when he said he was more powerful than Mara
I shiver at that while Azriel opens the parchment.
A single sentence is scrawled in that same elegant red ink.
You are cordially invited to dine with Her Majesty, Queen Mara of the Nightmare Court.
The date written underneath is tonight.
“Dinner with my sister…” Azriel murmurs.
Axel growls softly. He’s back in human form now, standing behind me with his muscular arms crossed. “It’s obviously a trap. That crazy high–fae has invited us to our own funeral
Azriel doesn’t deny it. “Most definitely. But it’s a trap we have to walk into since Mara would find us regardless of where we went. Not going means making her angrier than she already is. And going means she might show us some mercy for listening to her”
1 glance between them. “So that means we’re actually going?”
“If we don’t,” Azriel says, folding the letter neatly, “she’ll take that as, defiance. This is her way of playing games before killing is. It will buy us time.”
I swallow hard “I don’t like the sound of that”
Arriel touches my arm. Stay close to me tonight. No matter what.”
Axel shits back into a well. I ride on his back through the twisting, shadow–laced woods. Ariel is flying aboveus, his wings stretched wide and silent. The deeper we go, the stranger the forest becomes. The trees bend as if watching us, branches twisted into clawed fingers.
Then thear the whispers coming from the souls stuck inside. Soft. Erie.
Little Box, little flame.
She waits for you…..
You should have stayed dead.
Robom just to die.
I dig my fingers into Axel’s fur and squeeze my eyes shut. “Make it stop,” I whisper
Azriel looks down at me from where he is gliding above. “They can’t hurt you. It’s just the forest’s memory speaking, ignore them.”
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Chapter 56
Ttry my hardest to do as he says, and eventually, the trees thin, and the Nightmare Castle comes into view
It’s haunting
Tall towers spiraling into an endless violet sky, the walls made of obsidian and bone, yet beneath the decay and dread, there are hints of elegance. Once, long ago, this place could have been beautiful. I feel the phantom of dreams that linger in the stones.
Now it’s a prison of nightmares
Aline of le guards awaits us at the gates. They’re pale, monstrous, and far too silent.
One of them comes up to us, wearing armor of black glass and magic. “The Queen awaits.”
Ariel lands on the ground. Once standing straight his posture shifts to rigid and formal. His violet eyes burn with mild irritation, but he bows his head.
“Lead the way.”
They
sey take us inside.
The dining hall is enormous. A dark banquet table is lit by floating candelabras and shadows that move wrong, Every comer feels like it’s breathing
And at the head of the table sits Mara.
she is stum
Just like her brother she is stunning.
Beautiful in the way predators are, or natural disasters. All porcelain skin and violet eyes the same color as the ones belonging to my mate. Her hair is dark and cascading in waves shot through with silver. Her gown is spun from what looks like shadows and broken dreams. But her smile is the detail that makes my blood freeze. Too wide. Like the smile belonging to a cartoonish woll in a picture book.
“Eden,” she purrs, rising with the grace of a serpent. “We finally meet.”
I want to say something brave, but my throat is dry.
Azriel takes my hand
Mara’s eyes flicker to him immediately. “Brother,” she says like it’s an insult. “How loyal of you to escort your little pet to supper”
Azriel doesn’t flinch at her tone. “We received your invitation”
“And you came.” Her smile deepens. “How… obedient.”
The food appears on the table in a glitter of magic. There are roasted meats, golden fruit, and sparkling wine.
Axel sits down beside me. I watch him lick his lips, and then he dies in. Azriel doesn’t touch anything
Lih a poblet to my lips, but hesitate, Something is… off.
The fruit is too perfect. The bread too golden. I glance at Axel. His eyes a are half–lidded, like he’s in a trance. Crumbs fall from his lips as he chews.
Ireach out and place my palm flat against the table, letting my fox magic rise.
And just like that the illusion shatters.
The least melts into filth Moldy bread, Maggot–infested meat, Wine that stinks like vinegar and decay
Axel chokes. Gags. He bends over with a horrid hork noise like a cat trying to cough up a hairball.
Islap his back, fighting laughter and dispup. You okay!”
“Y–you saw that it was take?” he gasps.
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Chapter 56
“Yeah…sorry for letting you sat it.”
Mara claps, delighted. “How impressive No one has broken my glamour in years. What a clever little for you are.”
Artel is staring at me now. Not with amusement, but something else. Worry, Warning
Mara stands.
Everyone in the room goes still, watching their queen hover over the floor until appearing by her brother’s side. I stare at her and she winks before leaning down to whisper something into Azriel’s eat.
No ohr
else hears it
But see her lips move.
Ariel jerks
He gasps softly, like something just grabbed his soul
Then, slowly, blankly, he picks up a knife from the table and turns toward me.
His eyes are empty. The mate bond is blocked. By Mara’s magic, probably. These are her grounds and fear takes over when Ariel’s hand rises. He is holding a knife and everything inside me goes cold when it’s pressed to my throat.
Kill her,” Mara says.
AD
