it as my own.
She turned around. “Archer,” she said. “You aren’t your father’s blood. You’re you. You're already part of me.”
“No,” I said. “I can’t. I won’t. I love you too much to risk that.”
Tears flowed down her cheeks. She knew my heart. My resolve.
“You have to go,” I said. “Back to Durness. Don’t ever come back here. Don’t ever try to find me.”
“What?”
The storm outside raged. There was chaos in the air.
“They aren’t here for you,” I said and knew it in my bones. If I listened, I could almost hear Krall’s voice in the wind. It seemed as if he was the wind.
“Follow the bend in the river,” I said. “Your people know how to find you. You can call to your father if you need to. You’ve been able to all along.”
She swallowed hard. “Yes, but…”
“Go,” I said. “I’m heading back up the ridge. I’ll meet Krall and Moren head on. It should be enough time for you to get away.”
“I won’t leave you,” she said, her words choking out of her.
“This is the way.”
“Then what? This is insane. They already know who you are. They think they can turn you. Why in the world would you give them the chance?”
“They know you’re my fated mate. They know the only way they could turn me is if they used you against me. They’d hurt you to get to me. If you care about what happens to me, then you’ll go. You’ll never look back.”
“Archer…”
“Go!” My voice boomed. I was no longer fully human. My wolf tore at me. Rage choked me. I would use it. I’d killed J.C. I could kill Krall. It wasn’t the plan Phaedra hoped for, but it would do real damage to the Ring. And it would feel fucking good!
She was scared of me. I saw it in her eyes, felt it in her pulse.
I lunged at her. I swear, I felt my father’s blood then. It had been easy for him. The pull. The rage. The power. Phaedra could deny it all she wanted, but the evil that was in my father was also in me.
I let my wolf out and bared my teeth. Phaedra scrambled backward. I drove her out of the cave. She climbed to the riverbank. Turning at last, she reached for me. I snapped my teeth, startling her.
I loved her. I would save her. I would have to let her go.
“Archer,” she mouthed. Behind me, a tornado took shape. I knew Krall was at the center of it. He was waiting for me. Of course he was.
I managed a single word to Phaedra.
“Run!”
Tears welling in her eyes, with lightning crackling all around, she did.
Then I turned to face my true fate.
18
Phaedra
I ran. With each step, I felt my heart leave my body.
My fire burned bright as I made my way along the riverbank. The water churned and swirled. Archer may have been worried about his father’s blood, but it was his mother’s I felt that day. He didn’t know it. Couldn’t see it. When he closed the door on his heart, he took a piece of me with him.
“Phaedra!”
A different part of me rose up. My own mother’s voice called to me. They felt. They knew. They’d come for me. They were calling me home.
I scrambled up a hill and reached the borderlands. The forest was too dense here for a proper checkpoint. Beyond the rise was a small, unpatrolled strip of the Neutral Zone. The Ring protected it with fae magic. With the chaos swirling from the destruction of the Taurus, I hedged my bets. Their defenses would be weakest now. Archer knew what he was doing.
So did I.
I climbed higher. They were close. If I kept on running, I’d reach my parents in an hour. Maybe two.
A voice slammed inside of my head.
“Phaedra!”
It was my father. He was somewhere close, circling high. Cloaked. But he hadn’t breached the Neutral Zone. Even with his magic that was far too dangerous with pure-blooded fae out and about.
“Don’t worry about me,” I said, pressing my palms to my ears. He was angry. His fury lit the sky.
“Come home,” he said. “Cross over.”
I wanted to. God. I missed them so much. I could let go. I could drop the cloaking spell I’d kept in place for so long. My fire ached to come out.
“Not yet,” I said. “I need you to tell Mom to gather the coven. I’m going to need help.”
I could see my father’s dragon in my mind’s