Chapter Fifteen

Niko

"Cassandra is missing," Sonia says as she approaches me outside the conclave.

"What do you mean, missing?" I ask angrily.

"She was supposed to meet your mother two hours ago for her final dress fitting and she never showed up. We have been scouring the palace for the last hour and there is no sign of her inside or outside," she replies.

Hayden comes striding toward us with purpose. "You won't find her."

"You were supposed to watch her," I accuse my best friend. "What the hell happened?"

Hayden glares at me but doesn't answer. Instead, he turns to Sonia. "She was taken down one of the secret passages and out of Runic. I tracked them to the portal."

"Those passages are only known to the highest-ranking members of the court," I supply. "That means we have a traitor in the palace."

"That's what I was thinking," Hayden nods. "We need to find out who and get rid of them immediately."

"I will get on that as soon as Cassandra is safe," Sonia answers solemnly.

Hayden cuts her off. "You start that now. We don't need an incursion team to save Cassandra. Niko, Merrick, and I will go and retrieve her. What you need to do is make sure it's safe for her to be here when she returns."

I feel like an outsider looking in. I stand there and listen as Hayden and Sonia take charge and put plans into motion while I try to keep my emotions under control. Fear slams into me so forcefully, I feel like I might collapse. I was supposed to keep Cassandra safe. I need to find her before something happens to her. Failure isn't something I am used to, but I have failed her, and now I need to do everything in my power to rectify the situation.

"Follow me," Hayden says as he walks past me.

Neither of us speaks as we walk toward the secret passage that leads directly from the palace to the main portal of our realm. The tension is thick enough to cut with a knife. Light spills into the tunnel as we near the end. Hayden stops me before we step into the open.

"You trusted me to take care of Cassandra's safety and I failed you both. I will carry the consequences of that when we return to Runic. But know this, no punishment you can think of will ever surpass the disappointment I feel in myself right now." Hayden walks out without letting me say a single word.

When I walk into the light, I see my father pacing impatiently in front of the portal.

"About time you got here," he says grimly. "Let's go and get my daughter-in-law. We have a merging ceremony tomorrow." And with that, he steps through the portal followed closely by Hayden and myself.

Landing in Alluvium, I worry that there are too many places she could have been taken, but my worry is unnecessary. Hayden is the best tracker in Runic, if not all three realms, and soon leads us toward Cassandra. Walking through the forest I send up a silent prayer to whatever deity watches over this realm, my realm, and any other realm to keep her safe until I can finally reach her.

As we make our way through the trees, Cassandra's voice filters through the forest around us, and I hasten my steps to get to her. She doesn't sound afraid, but I have no idea what is waiting for us as we enter a clearing. Cassandra is facing down a gathered crowd led by her mother and a beast from Quietus. I watch her stand tall and proud, her magik a visible entity around her.

A growl leaves me when I hear the creature talk of her death. Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her tight to my chest offering her my strength and magik. The words that spew forth from the beast before us has my blood running cold. The one thing I wanted the opportunity to tell her myself has been thrust into the open by this abomination.

He points a gnarled finger at me and seethes. "He intends to have you walk the realms for eternity."

Cassandra laughs loudly. "You think I don't know the cost of this prophecy. Niko may have never said the words, but I have always known. He can't hide his thoughts from me."

****

Cassandra

Shame washes over Niko when I speak. I want to comfort him but now isn't the time. Now I need to deal with my mother, Owen, and the rest of my oh-so-easily manipulated coven.

"Things are about to change around here," I state not waiting for anyone to take the lead in this conversation. "Tomorrow, I will merge with Niko in Runic. On the next full moon, we will return here to be bound before the entire coven."

"You can't do this," my mother cries out.

"I can and I will!" I cut her off. "You will be stripped. Tonight. You don't deserve the gifts the goddess has bestowed upon you, and you certainly don't deserve to lead this coven."

My mother raises her hand, her magik glowing yellow as she prepares to do something stupid.

"Think before you do that, Lilith," Merrick says and steps up beside me. "It won't end in your favor. I will protect Cassandra to my death, the way a parent should." I see the moment his words hit their mark and my mother lowers her hand.

"And you…" I turn to Owen as Hayden takes hold of my mother. "Run home. Tell all of Quietus, all your Warlords, that neither Alluvium nor Runic is going to stand by as you try to run amuck. If you or your kind come back here, none of us will let you off so easily."

"You're going to regret this," he seethes as a cloud of darkness envelops him. "We're going to kill you all." His voice drifts off into the darkness as he disappears.

Silence reigns in the clearing as everyone takes a moment to acknowledge what just happened. My head still throbs but that will have to wait as I take charge of my coven for the first time.

"I need three elders to strip my mother of her magik." I look at the members gathered before me.

"You can't do this," someone calls from the back.

My temper flares and I want to lose my shit. "Believe me, I want to do much more." I shrug out of Niko's hold. "My entire life I have been treated like a second-rate person, I have been lied to not only by my mother but my entire coven. I have been emotionally abused while you all stood by and watched. I should disband this entire coven!" I shout out my anger.

"Cassandra," Merrick says as he pulls me into him. "Breathe, child. Actions taken out of anger rarely have good consequences."

"I know," I mumble before taking a deep breath and facing my coven again. "I won't do the things I want. I will do what is best for the coven. I will merge with Niko, my mother will be stripped and excommunicated, and Arabella will lead the coven while I am in Runic. Niko and I will lead Runic and the Panala Coven as equals."

A murmur of disquiet runs through those gathered. I couldn't give a shit what any of them think. I'm in charge and they will fall in line, or they can fuck off.

"If you don't want to accept the way things will be run from now on, you are most welcome to leave. Just know that if you do, you won't be welcomed back."

Turning, I grab Niko's hand and pull him into the forest. I don't know where the hell I'm going, but I do know I need to get away from this bullshit.