Evermore Academy (Evermore Academy #3) - Audrey Grey Page 0,126

matter what they do, that will never change.”

Deep down, I must have known this wouldn’t work. Must have known the bond was too weak, Hellebore’s magic too strong. And yet, still, I cling to the illusion that, if I just keep touching him, talking to him, I can keep him with me. Can fix this somehow.

“I’m glad it was here,” he says, tucking my hair behind my ear. “My mother loved this place. It’s where she learned to harness her immense powers.”

“Immense?”

“Who do you think I got my magic from?” He grins, the look so boyish that I reach up to run my fingers through his dark-blue hair—

He’s gone. One second he was here, smiling, his dimple flashing and eyes filled with love and now—gone.

Gone.

My heart stops. Fingers hovering where he just was.

He’s gone.

I stumble from bed in a panic. Looking for something, anything, to make this nightmare go away. My dress is still wet as I slide it over me, shivering, vision blurred with unshed tears.

And then something catches my eye.

A small potted flower sits on a little table near the back window, its ivory bloom hanging like a teardrop. That means . . .

I don’t allow myself to truly think the answer as I rush around the room, yanking open drawers, searching for a pen, a—

There! I grab a Sharpie and scrawl over the wood nightstand as fast as I can.

I get ten words in before there’s a quiet snap inside my head like a whip and then—

Then I’m sprawled on the courtyard stones in front of my fiancé. My dress askew, hair messy and cheeks flushed, Valerian’s scent plastered to every part of me. Countless Spring Court soldiers litter the courtyard, their dark-silver blood filling the cracks between the cobblestones. Valerian must have fought. Even without magic, he fought to the end.

Eclipsa and Asher are on their knees, arms chained behind their backs. Two iron-tipped arrows protrude from the dragon shifter’s back, his moss-green eyes tight with pain and fury. Luminescent blood drips from Eclipsa’s wounds. I almost stop breathing when I see Ruby bound and struggling next to Eclipsa. I can’t find Mack.

The wedding party gathers on all sides, their narrowed eyes saying they know exactly where I’ve been.

“Someone’s been naughty,” Hellebore purrs, staring down at me like I’m nothing. Less than nothing. He takes off his jacket and throws it at me. “Cover yourself, darling.”

“Where is he?” I snarl, my gaze racing wildly over the crowd.

He arches an eyebrow. “Who?”

The noise I make is more animal than human as I jump to my feet and glare at Hellebore.

“Oh? You mean the male you fucked on our wedding night? He’s back in his cage.”

I’m going to kill him. Going to rip his throat out. Even though I know it’s a death sentence, I reach out for my magic—only to find it gone. My stomach drops, icy dread flooding my chest, my arms and legs, my bones.

A miasma of energy writhes all around me, but I can’t access it. I try again, and again, only to find my fingers empty. Even my own powers are barren, as if scraped out of me until not even a drop remained.

What the hell?

My mother appears. For some reason, I notice how every single hair is still in place, not a bit of makeup smeared, despite the humidity. I’m expecting disappointment, not the sympathy I catch in her expression.

“My magic . . .” I stare down at my hands.

“He forced himself on you,” she muses, lifting the strap of my dress so that it sits on my shoulder. “The trauma must have caused you to forget how to use it.”

“No, that—that’s not what happened at all.”

I throw up my hand, willing something—anything—to come, but nothing does.

Devastation crashes over me. I’m magicless. Powerless. Without my mate.

And in less than twenty-four hours, I’ll be trapped forever.

“You poor dear.” My mother kisses my forehead. “See you in the room? I’ll draw you a warm bath, have some tea brewed, and then we can talk about all the exciting things happening tomorrow.”

I watch her go, a wild panic bubbling up inside me. They put him back in a cage. A cage!

My growing panic turns to fury. A lethal calm comes over me as I focus that fury on Hellebore’s smug face. With an enraged cry, I lunge for my fiancé, prepared to claw his eyes out—

Spring Court guards appear from nowhere and grab me. I struggle in their arms, clawing my way to Hellebore. “If