Colt’s POV

I watch her sleep. The sight of her resting is a rare, blissful sanctuary in a world rapidly falling apart. I can’t find rest myself, so I slip out of bed, heading to the small kitchenette in her room. There’s nothing here strong enough to dull the edges of my mind—just juice and water.

Before I can even pour a glass, a soft knock echoes at the door. I open it to find Julia standing there, looking stricken.

"So, you

are

staying here," she whispers.

"Yes. I am. What do you want, Julia?" I step out, closing the door behind me to keep her away from Cass.

"I just wanted to know how you were. It's been days... my father told me everything, but..." Her eyes well up. "Do you love her?"

"Yes," I say, my voice steady. "I adore her. She is my mate."

She gasps, her gaze darting to the mark-to-be on my neck. "No!" she cries, turning and sprinting away into the darkness.

I feel a pang of guilt, but it’s fleeting. I was always direct with her; I never led her on. With a sigh, I return to the bedroom and wrap my arms around Cass, pulling her against me.

Cass’s POV

"I told you I wouldn't let you be happy."

Ezra’s voice echoes in my head. My eyes fly open, and there he is—sitting in a high-backed leather chair, his face a sickening mirror of the man I love. The room is blindingly white, sterile, and windowless. A nightmare.

"A dream," I mutter, sitting up on the velvet chaise. "Great. Now you haunt my sleep, too."

He grins, a feral, twisted expression. "I’ll haunt you until your last breath."

"No," I correct him, my voice cold. "Until you breathe your last."

His smile falters. He glances to the side as if listening to something I cannot hear. "Time to go," he winks. "Oh, and by the way? When I slit your sister's throat, she didn't die immediately. You should have heard how she screamed."

I lunge, but the world dissolves into black. I wake up in my own room, gasping, my heart hammering against my ribs.

The morning is heavy, and the halls feel uncomfortably empty. I feel unsafe, conditioned by weeks of being constantly guarded. I turn a corner and stop dead: Bryn is waiting for me outside my bedroom. She charges at me, her hands fluttering near her mouth, her eyes wild with rage. She’s still silenced from yesterday.

She drops to her knees, clasping her hands in a desperate plea.

"Okay, okay," I sigh, though I have no idea how to reverse it. "Stare into my eyes."

She obeys, her green eyes wide and panicked. I concentrate, trying to replicate the flow of power I felt before.

You may speak again.

Nothing.

"Oops," I mutter. "Well, you're screwed for now. I haven't mastered the undo button."

Her eyes ignite with fury, and as I try to dash past her into my room, she tackles me. We tumble to the floor, hair flying, until Colt strides in and hauls her off me by the back of her shirt like a naughty puppy.

"She attacked me!" I protest.

Colt sighs, looking at his sister, who is now stomping her foot in wordless, pathetic rage. "She can't undo it, Bryn. Not yet. Give it time."

Bryn glares at me, her face flushed, before storming out.

"You have to control your temper, Cass," Colt warns once we’re alone. "If you can't control your emotions, this power will eat you alive."

"I'm not my father," I snap, though I feel the truth of his words gnawing at me.

We head to the war room, where the atmosphere is suffocating. Warrick is already there, pacing.

"Ezra's men," Warrick begins, eyeing Colt. "They broke under interrogation. They were terrified of what they had witnessed."

Miles steps forward, his voice shaking as he recounts the horror. "He went insane. He attacked Father in the parlor. When Kaecy tried to stop him, Ezra… he lunged a silver sword through Kaecy’s shoulder and used his own fingers to pluck his eye out."

Bryn covers her face, shaking. I grab Colt’s arm, feeling the jagged edge of his pain as if it were my own.

Miles looks at me, his eyes dark. "After he killed Father, he walked out. That’s when he went to find your sister."

The silence in the room is heavy with blood.

"Is that all?" Warrick asks, his voice devoid of emotion.

Miles hesitates, then drops the final blow. "No. Ezra has brought in a human witch."

"A witch?" I repeat, the word tasting like ash. The war just got significantly more complicated.