Something was very wrong. Violet sensed it the moment she stepped out of the room and set eyes on Alaric and Asher.

It wasn’t just the strange tension hanging between her men, no, the bond between her and Alaric was threaded with ice-cold dread.

She had never felt this much fear from her mate before. Not like this sharp and deep.

It slithered through the matebond and wrapped around her ribs, making it hard to breathe.

At first, Violet played along, trying to understand the reason for Alaric’s fear.

But nothing made sense. It was just him and Asher. So what exactly was he afraid of?

Until...

"He’s just worried about you, Violet, love," Asher said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "After all, he wouldn’t want anything happening to you, right?"

Goosebumps erupted across Violet’s skin.

And not in a good way.

It wasn’t just Alaric who had sensed the threat beneath those words, she did too.

Her brows slowly pulled together.

"Not we," Violet muttered, her face tightening with concentration as she looked directly at Asher. "Him."

The Asher she knew would never say "he" in a moment like this, but "we". Always we. Especially when it came to her. And certainly not when the sentence itself carried the shape of a threat—one Asher would never make

Everything happened quickly. Lightning cracked through the air as Alaric released a bolt straight at Asher, but the puppet master saw it coming.

Asher shifted at the last second, the strike grazing past him by a hair’s breadth, the static snapping violently as it tore through empty space. Every strand of hair on his body stood on end from how close it had been.

The Fae attendants screamed and scattered for safety, their calm composure gone. The strike from Alaric had been too close for their liking.

Asher grabbed Violet from behind, dragging her flush against his chest just as the air around Alaric thickened again, electricity crackling wildly as he prepared another attack.

"Don’t do it, Alaric," Asher breathed against Violet’s ear, low and dangerous. "Or I’ll hurt her."

Alaric froze, the lightning sizzling violently around him, snapping against the air instead of finding a target. For a split second, he hesitated.

But Violet scoffed. "Knock him off his ass, Alaric, he’s not going to hurt me."

For a moment Alaric almost believed her until Asher Nightshade produced a dagger out of nowhere and dragged it clean across Violet’s face.

Violet hissed sharply in pain.

"Violet!" Alaric shouted, fear breaking through his voice.

"Guards!" Lila barked immediately, her voice cutting through the chaos. She had no idea what was happening, but one thing was clear. Asher Nightshade was not on their side.

Asher let out a harsh, unhinged laugh.

"Do you think that’s going to stop us?" he mocked. "It’s already too late."

Lila’s eyes widened in realization.

"The Queen!"

She turned and sprinted.

"Mother!" Violet’s eyes flared at the same time, panic flashing through them.

Then her wings burst open, slamming outward with force, knocking Asher off balance and sending him stumbling back.

That was all the opening Alaric needed but a blast of magic slammed into him from the side. It hit him hard, throwing him across the room.

Alaric crashed violently into the wall, the

breath knocked out of him on impact. He lifted his head just in time to see it had come from a guard.

He was not alone. There was a group of them and they were armed and ready.

Just as they feared. The Queen’s guards were compromised.

On the floor, Asher laughed again.

"Told you."

Violet groaned in frustration, rage flaring through her.

Before the guards could reach Alaric, she thrust her hand forward and released a blast of flame that forced them back, heat licking through the air and breaking their formation.

Then she shouted, her voice ringing with command, "Protect him!"

The palace answered with a deep groaning sound that echoed through the walls.

Before anyone could react, a thick root burst from the ground, coiling tightly around Alaric’s torso. A space split open in the wall behind him and in the next second, he was dragged inside with a scream. The walls shut close as if it had never opened in the first place.

Violet had commanded the palace. She was the Queen’s daughter and the sentient house obeyed royal blood.

With Alaric gone, Asher pushed himself to his feet, dusting off his clothes without a care.

He sneered at her. "What are you going to do now?" he asked. "You can’t harm me. We both know that."

Anger surged through Violet’s veins. Her fist collided with his face and Asher staggered back from the force, tasting blood in his mouth.

Then Violet grabbed him, and the palace answered again.

The walls shifted and split apart without her needing to speak, opening a path to the outside just as her wings beat once, twice—and then they were airborne.

Once in the air, Violet could clearly see the battle raging below. Fae fought against Fae in brutal flashes of steel, and magic.

She could make out Lord Taryn shifting into his lion form, his massive body tearing through the battlefield as he let out a ferocious roar and sent enemy Fae flying like ragdolls.

Unfortunately, Violet was not the only one airborne.

Prince Lucien was being overwhelmed, outnumbered three to one in the sky. And it didn’t help that one of his attackers suddenly turned and locked onto Violet.

His eyes gleamed the moment he recognized her as a target.

"Just put me down, Violet," Asher said from where she held him. "You cannot win this battle. Not without tearing down this realm."

"Shut up!" Violet hissed, trying to concentrate on both his weight and the approaching Fae.

No one had exactly trained her for the possibility of carrying a fully grown man through the air while fighting for her realm. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

So she made a split-second decision. She dropped Asher.

Violet spun in midair and thrust out her hand, shooting a blast of darkness straight at the Fae who had gotten close enough to strike.

He disintegrated instantly with no trace.

Then Asher’s scream hit her ears and Violet dove straight down, praying to the gods she caught him in time.