Krall said, walking over to Phaedra. He lifted her up by her hair. I went wild. Charging toward him, I shoved Krall back. He hit me with another blast of light, driving me away from her.
“Careful,” he said.
“Or what?” I said. “You need me. I’m the one you made for this, remember? Able Valent’s son. You knew my line was destined to mate with a witch. It’s what you’ve planned for all this time.”
He waved a dismissive hand. “What makes you so sure you’re the only one, Archer? There were a lot of women at Birch Haven.”
I felt sick. Could I have a brother out there somewhere? I felt strangely protective over a person who might not even exist.
“You can have her,” Krall said. “That’s what I’m offering you. Cooperate. Become the Tyrannous you were made to be. The pack you’ll command will be legion. You can keep Phaedra. She’ll have to stay in chains, but you can keep her. Hell, that might even be fun for you. Mate with her a thousand times. I don’t care. She’ll stay alive. You’ll get to sate your baser urges, and we’ll make the world into something greater than it is.”
I lunged at him. Rage turned me into a monster. Krall disappeared into a point of light then reappeared on the other side of the room.
It was hopeless. Useless. I had brute strength. He had magic I didn’t know how to fight.
“Archer?” Phaedra’s ragged voice pulled me back into myself. I tried to go to her. Krall put up an invisible wall. Lightning shot straight into my brain. I lunged sideways then fell to my knees.
“I’m here, my love,” I whispered. “Don’t be afraid.”
But I was.
“I’ll leave you two a couple of minutes alone,” Krall said. “Say your goodbyes or your hellos or whatever. Then it’s up to you, Archer. It’s in your blood and your heart. This is easy. I’m offering you the world.”
He disappeared. I wasn’t dumb enough to think he wasn’t still here somewhere, floating as a point of fucking light like Tinkerbell.
“Phaedra,” I said. She took in our surroundings, disoriented. Her skin was glimmering and blue.
“I can’t feel it,” she said. “I can’t call my fire.”
“Some kind of fae spell,” I said. “Why did you come back? Dammit. Why didn’t you go to your father?”
She met my eyes. “You know why.”
I clawed at my chest. I wanted to rip my damn heart out. This was my fault. She came back for me.
“Whatever he told you,” she said. “Don’t believe it. Whatever he’s promised you.”
“He wants me to be what my father was,” I said. “He wants to turn me.”
“He can’t,” she said. “I don’t care what kind of magic he’s got. He doesn’t have yours. You can’t make someone turn into a Tyrannous Alpha.”
“No,” I said. “It would have to be my choice.”
“Fine,” she said. My Phaedra. Even with all Krall had taken from her, she rose to her feet. “Let him do his worst. Pain! Is that what you’ve got, Krall? You think I care about getting hurt? You’re not going to kill me. I know what I am. And you know it too!”
My beautiful, strong Phaedra. She yelled at the purple sky.
“Stop!” I said.
“I’m not afraid,” she said. “He used someone against your father. I saw it too, Archer. That fire witch. She was his fated mate. He gave up because he thought it would save her. It didn’t. I’ve heard about her. I’ve seen her picture. I’m a fire witch too, remember? Krall killed her anyway. Tortured her. Turned her fire against her. Valent turned for nothing.”
I pulled her to me. “I’m not going to let them hurt you.”
“He’s not going to,” she whispered. No. It wasn’t a whisper. It was a thought. Phaedra held my eyes and spoke to me without words.
“How?” I asked.
She said one more thing. “Trust me.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Come out, come out wherever you are!” Phaedra shouted. “I’ve got my own deal to make. You ready to hear it, Krall?”
Then he was there. He descended the staircase. His eyes sparked with amusement. Instinct poured through me. Only Phaedra’s steadying hand on my arm kept me from turning pure wolf. I knew in the depths of my soul that’s exactly what Krall wanted. The more I gave in to the beast, the easier it would be for him to convince me to turn.
“You know what I am,” Phaedra said. “I thought I could fool you, but I can’t. You felt it. But I