a chair as if it’s a throne, his hands resting on the armrests. His gaze finds me as soon as I enter, despite all the other prisoners huddled around me. The guard who brought me goes to stand at the back with the other guards. My heart racing, I waste no time and march straight up to Gold.
“Zavier, what in the name of Selena is going on?” I hiss in a whisper.
He doesn’t even look at me, his eyes focused on the crowd. “Go stand with the other prisoners.”
I frown at him, my heart sinking to my stomach. “What are you saying?”
For a moment, he looks at me and in his eyes, I swear I see the man I was falling for, the man I trusted to stand beside me and fight for me, but it’s gone so quickly I could almost think I imagined it.
The muscles in his jaw clench hard as he continues scanning the others. “I’m saying… Leave. Me. Alone.”
Every word is gritty, and the vein in his temple thrashes with barely contained rage. Still, I reach out for his hand, but he swats me away as if I just stung him. The shock and confusion at his coldness wraps around my neck until I can hardly breathe.
This isn’t Gold.
He’s looking at me as if I mean nothing to him—as if I am nothing, only the enemy.
“I just want to talk in private,” I say around the lump in my throat. “Please… I need your help, Gold.”
Now he looks at me, his eyes narrow into molten slits. “But I no longer need you. Go stand with the others where you belong.”
His cruel reply really hits home that my mother was right about Gold, and possibly even Luke. They never loved or cared about me. They were just being paid to pretend. I react to all this before I even register what I’m doing. Lifting my hand, I slap Gold in the face, and his head snaps to the side from the impact. A bright red handprint swells on his left cheek and a tinge of remorse fills me. I never imagined I would ever hit one of my guys, but this betrayal, this heartache shattering me into pieces… is completely devastating. How could he do this to me? How could I have been so stupid to let my guard down and think he wouldn’t?
Hands seize my shoulder and pull me away before I can hit him again. Guards rush over to Gold, who waves them off with his eyes pressed only on me. Gods, I want to smack some sense into him!
“Calm down,” Axel whispers in my ear, muffing my face to his chest. His familiar scent grounds me and my anger fades. “Take a deep breath for me, cutie. That’s it. I’ve got you now.”
My tears seep through his black t-shirt. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” he answers, running a hand soothingly through my hair. “I’ve no fucking clue what’s happening.”
I look up to see his wings moving softly behind him. “We’ve all been turned into Light Fae, Gold’s acting as if he doesn’t know me, and the Princess of Helios is parading around like a fucking peacock. We’re in hell, Axel, that’s what I think is happening!”
A burst of deep laughter rumbles in his chest. “Well, at least we’re together.”
“Got room for one more?” a familiar voice asks.
I pull away from Axel and leap into Professor Mune’s arms.
He holds me close, his hand falling to the small of my back, and his lips press lightly to the top of my head. He’s the only one in this room who doesn’t have wings. Letting me go, he turns to Axel with a smile on his face. They pat each other on the backs as though they are old friends or something.
“You know each other?” I ask, watching their exchange.
Scott slaps Axel fondly on the shoulder. “This is my baby brother.”
“Oh…” I glance between them, kicking myself for not noticing how similar they look until now. “Oooh. So Axel is the one who got falsely convicted?”
The Mune brothers laugh at my surprised expression, and for the first time since this nightmare began, I laugh too. It’s quiet and short, but it’s something that gives me hope in all this madness. Before I can say anything more, a buzzer sounds overhead and Gold stands from his chair.
“Listen up. Things have changed around here. Shadowborn Prison was your tester, but this prison