54. Raiden

54

RAIDEN

“ W hat are you all waiting for? Let’s go,” Adrianna’s voice calls out as I slip back into the present. Nora’s eyes meet mine, panic vibrant in her wide pools.

I shake my head subtly, squeezing her hand in silent support that I hope works. Slowly spinning on the spot, I make eye contact with each of my brothers, sending the concern I feel into our bond, hoping they can feel it too.

“Go where?” Arlo asks, clearly not aware of the realization I’ve come to.

The Adrianna suit sighs. “To find them.”

“We’re not trying to find them. We want them to find us in a safe and secure location,” he insists, but she’s already shaking her head before he finishes.

“That hasn’t worked for us so far,” she states, waving her hand dismissively, making Arlo turn to the rest of us with his jaw slack and his eyes pleading.

He thinks one of us might be able to talk some sense into her, but if my gut is right about who this is, there will be no reasoning with her at all.

“Nothing has, but our plan was solid,” I insist, taking the reins, which earns me an eye roll as she pinches the bridge of her nose.

“You’re making this difficult.”

“How do you figure?” Cassian asks, stepping closer to me. I can see it in his eyes, the distrust as bright as the stars that gleam in the dead of night.

Irritation tightens Adrianna’s jaw as she glowers at Cassian. “I’m the queen. You’re supposed to follow me without question, but that’s all I seem to hear. Questions, questions, and more damn questions.”

Brody steps toward her, hands raised as he tries to defuse the situation. “Dagger, you chose us as your council to keep you grounded.”

“It’s Queen Adrianna,” she snaps through clenched teeth.

This definitely isn’t Adrianna.

She might have been a pain in my ass on more than one occasion, but she has never been this insufferable.

Running my tongue over my bottom lip, I search the group. I don’t know what course of action to take. Whether to attack or play along. But every moment we waste on this cheap knock-off is another moment we don’t know where our Adrianna is.

My eyes lock on her father’s. August is already staring at me with narrowed eyes, the confusion clear on his face too. I shake my head. Back and forth. Once. Short but precise. And in that one move, he understands.

Panic flares across his features, but he quickly schools them, bracing his hands behind his back as he strolls around the outskirts of the gathered group. Adrianna, or whoever she is, doesn’t seem to notice as she continues to ramble about how we should all listen without question, but I tune her out.

My focus is on August, and rightly so, because he stops behind Adrianna, assessing her for a few moments before his eyes widen. A moment later, his stare penetrates mine as he slowly lifts his hand and taps the back of his neck.

“Gem. Butterfly kiss,” he mouths, I think? The specifics aren’t important; it’s just the confirmation that we’re right, and if there’s a gem attached to her, then there’s no way we can attack.

It could still be Adrianna before us, with someone else controlling her.

We can’t take any risks.

“What did August say?” Cassian murmurs as he stands beside me, back to Adrianna so she can’t pick up on what he’s saying.

“There’s a gem in her neck. It’s not her. I don’t know what capacity, but it’s not fucking her,” I rasp, torn over what the best course of action is, and a hand lands on my other shoulder.

August.

Before I speak, I track Adrianna’s movements. She’s too busy giving some spiel to Arlo, Flora, Beau, Kryll, and Brody. The latter two seem aware, nodding at me to hurry up as they occupy her, but I don’t know what they expect me to do.

“We can’t attack,” I grunt, and August shakes his head.

“We can. It’s not her.”

“How do you know?”

“A butterfly kiss is a black gem inserted into two people—one as the source and one as the doppelganger. It allows them to imitate their appearance but nothing more. She doesn’t have Adrianna’s abilities, her connection to the four of you, or her mannerisms, that much is clear,” he grunts, eyes narrowed at the person posing as his daughter.

“My gut’s telling me it’s Clementine.”

“Based on her need to be addressed as queen in every sentence, I am inclined to agree.”

“Do we play along, or do we call her out?” Cassian asks, tucking his hands in his pockets as he attempts to act casual.

“Restraining her seems more realistic. We need to find Adrianna. Even if she miraculously got herself out of the hold the butterfly kiss can have on you, it does allow the doppelganger an extra hour or so to continue posturing as someone else.”

“Remind me to smash every single gem in existence when we’re done with this,” I snap, earning a nod from the former king before I roll my shoulders and head toward the woman in question.

I don’t know what I’m doing, not even a little, but the adrenaline spiking through my veins makes it impossible for me to stand still any longer.

“Queen Addi,” I holler, instantly detesting the abbreviated version of her name on my tongue. The lack of realization that I use it instead of her full name only solidifies our knowledge.

She turns to me with a beaming smile, clearly appreciating my choice of address, and when I stand toe to toe with her, hand at her cheek, she leans into the touch instead of shrinking away as I expected.

“Whatever you need, my queen, I will follow. What is it you wish?” I ask, holding back the nausea threatening to upend my gut, but it does the trick. Her head tilts, leaning even farther into my hold as her eyelashes flutter. She thinks she has me right where she wants me.

“What I wish is—” Her words grow stilted as I shift my hand, stroking my fingers from her cheek to her neck, curling my fingers around the back to feel the gem.

Eyes wide and jaw tight, she tries to move out of my hold, but I hold her in place. It’s my turn to tilt my head at her as I press my fingers against the offending gem.

“I don’t remember this being here this morning,” I murmur, and her surprise instantly morphs into a sneer.

Her lips move rapidly, the murmurs of a chant on her lips as she bares her teeth, but I quickly hear the mutters from Brody, chanting over her. Her volume increases, desperation flashing across her face as she pushes at my chest, and I let her go.

She knows we know.

She also knows we have a strong mage with us because whatever she’s trying to make happen is being suppressed by Brody. I chance a glance at my brother in question when he’s whipped off his feet by a gust of air out of nowhere.

My spine stiffens as his father comes into view, lips moving faster than ever as he glowers down at his son.

Fuck.

Clementine’s voice is louder than ever, screaming at the top of her lungs. “Dimittis. Rein Infernum. Revelare. Dimittis. Rein Infernum. Revelare. Dimittis. Rein Infernum. Revelare.”

Gasps echo around the group as the empty field quickly becomes… a lot less empty.

Soldier after soldier appears, braced and ready for a fight. Battle cries ring through the air, confirming we’re completely surrounded, and my heart sinks.

This whole thing was a trap and I don’t know how we’re going to find our way out of it.