“Onyx.” I turn around to see who called me, but the doors for the apartment are gone. There is now a brick wall, with no gaps or windows, just nothing. I look up, seeing thick dark clouds stretching across the sky and blocking out all of the sunlight. What the fuck? On instinct, I reach for my Nexus, but the emptiness only makes me feel more alone than ever. This can’t be real. I smack my hands against my eyes, just as a male voice that sounds so familiar whispers on the wind to my ears. “Time is coming to an end for our kind. You belong in the sky, dark one.”

  “Who the fuck are you? Where are you?” I shout, turning around as if I can see this man. Ghost. Creature. I don’t know what it is, but sometimes I hear his voice, never as clear as this. “Why are you so familiar? Who are you?”

  Male laughter fills my ears, old, ancient laughter. “Your end.”

  A hand slams onto my shoulder, and I roughly grab the hand, twisting to break it. Alek growls, flinging me off him. I blink and the sky is clear; the voice is gone, and the glass windows are showing me the apartment once more. Aleksander stares at me with confusion. “The fuck was that for? I was just waking you up.”

  “Sorry, bad dream.” I shrug, my heart still racing.

  “Yeah, learnt my lesson about waking you up.” He rubs his hand, but his eyes are too assessing. “Are you alright? Finnegan said that he spoke to you about the priest’s idea.” Aleksander steps closer. “You know we only want the best for you. You, the others and Gwen are our bond group. Our family unit and when one of us isn’t well, we help. Finnegan can be a little more blunt than he means to be, but he cares. We all do.”

  Clearly, they had a group meeting about my future without me there. It shouldn’t hurt, but it does because it’s one more step away from them all. Away from the mate I’m desperately in love with. “Is she awake?”

  Aleksander frowns at my change of subject. “No. She’s now snoring lightly, so she’s just sleeping. She’s okay, and we’re gonna take turns sitting with her. The rest of us probably should get in the best shape we can for whatever fight is coming. I wondered if you wanted to come for a run with me? Might be good for you to get some fresh air.” He looks at the seat. “What was the bad dream about?”

  “Nothing.” I clear my throat.

  “You know you can talk to me, right? I know a lot of things about the Nexus and the soul. I was trained with the priests since I was young⁠—"

  “No priest of any of the old gods can help me now. They can’t help any of us. That I’m sure of.” I stop him. “They would call me damned, and they would be right.” I walk to the door and open it. “Let’s go for that run. You’re right about one thing—Gwen needs us in our best shape for the war coming for her. I won’t let anyone touch her.”

  Even if I’m broken, I will fight for her until the end.

  Chapter

  Thirteen

  “Severi,” I whisper his name as I see him for the first time in a while. I step closer, only to look down and see my bare legs and shorts, which are ghostlike. I lift my hands in front of my face, seeing the same shimmery, ghostlike haze to my body. Am I dreamwalking? I know I can do it, but it never seems to work when I want it to, and it’s never been like this. “Nexus?” I shout for her, but I only sense her in the distance, watching Severi the same as I. We are still in the cabin in the woods in Wales, and he looks so much better now. A brown shirt hangs off his shoulders and is open, making me see the god-awful scars that run down his chest. They have healed at least. There is colour to his face, and he is okay. I needed to see him, I realise. I’ve oddly missed him, and I keep expecting Severi to turn up randomly, like he usually does.

  Only he can’t this time. “Hello!” I shout at him, trying to move, but my body feels like I’m frozen in ice. I barely manage to move one step forward when he lifts his head from the book he was reading on his knee. He doesn’t look my way; instead, he frowns and searches the entire room. He slams the book shut, and his head twists to face the door. I watch as shadows crawl around the floor, crawling out of his feet, almost like my shadows but far darker, almost pitch black. They cover the floor of the room, even around me, just as the door slams open with a bang.

  Georgina walks in, standing on the broken door. She has red-heeled boots on, black leather leggings, and a blood-red shirt tucked in. Gone is the innocent pretence I’m used to, and now she looks more like herself than I could have imagined. I still don’t see myself in her looks, but maybe my mother and aunt—she looks a little like them both. Her hair’s pulled up into a messy bun with strands falling around her cheeks, and her makeup matches her outfit—red lips and dark eyes. A clip lies in her hair, expensive jewels flashing in the light, and it almost looks like a tiara. I tense when she looks right my way, only for a second, and turns back to Severi. “Hello, Prince.”

  This has to be a dream…otherwise, am I seeing our hiding place being found? Georgina shouldn’t be there. Severi moves like a breeze, grabbing her arm and throwing her into the wall. She smashes into it and winces as she stands, holding up her hand. “I didn’t come to fight you, Prince. Calm down!”

  Severi glares at her. “You’re not leaving here alive, not after what you did to your sister. I knew my father sent you to the academy, and I hoped meeting Gwen was enough for you to see his manipulative bullshit. She is your fucking twin! Your blood family!” He sneers. “How the fuck could you nearly kill her? Do you really want her dead before you even know anything about her?”

  “I know enough about the dark princess from my time in the academy. I was trying to get to know her, but she never let me get close. I tried with her friend, and she still only saw me as the enemy. That won’t change overnight, and you say I should care that she is my twin…but I don’t see her caring that I am hers.” She lifts her chin. I try to ignore the fact that part of what she said is true. I don’t even classify her as my family now, and I’m not sure forgiveness and acceptance is ever possible for us both. Georgina led herself on a path that could have been avoided.

  She throws something at him, and he catches it. It’s a vial filled with blood on a chain. “It’s my blood. As long as you wear it, he won’t be able to get into your mind to take it over. This has to stay our little secret, for obvious reasons.”

  I’m knocked for six. Georgina is helping Severi and not the king? What the fuck is this dream? A scream cuts through the air, and Georgina looks at the door. Severi clutches the chain. “You want me to believe you’re actually working against him?”

  “I’m not working against him at all,” Georgina corrects. “He is my king and my ruler. I care deeply for the king, and that will not change.”

  Well, she isn’t off the crazy train quite yet then. “You and your sister are confusing. I assume you are letting me go to help her?”

  “That is a conversation I’ll have with my sister and her alone. I’m sure she’s here watching. It’s almost like she should know her entire life and Nexus mates are a trap. One she should not walk into.” She shrugs. “If my sister were smart, she’d run away with you and forget the rest.”

  “You don’t forget mates.” He cocks his head to the side. “Who was that screaming?”

  Georgina is already walking out. “You will find the sweet dog and the quiet boy in the forest, walking around. The others are gone, and the king has them now. Find your mate, Prince, and disappear before it’s too late.”

  I cuddle up to Finn in bed as I wake up from the strange dream. I can smell breakfast in the apartment, but I’m happy to stay in bed a little longer, my body still aching from actually dying yesterday. It took me five hours to come back this time, not as instant as before, and anytime I’ve asked my Nexus about why it took so long, she is dead silent on the subject. I know she is a Goddess reborn now and death is nothing to her, so where did we go for five whole hours?

  “I don’t want to see you die again. Last night was fucking horrid.” Finnegan plays with the end of my hair as I lie on his shoulder.

  I can only hum to him, my mind still focused on the dream. I reach for my Nexus as I climb out of bed. “Was the dream real?”

  “I don’t know, I couldn’t see, but I doubt it,” she replies, and it helps me feel a little better.

  I get dressed and join them in the lounge to eat breakfast, and I end up back on Finnegan’s lap as they talk about the Gods.

  The feeling of the glass cutting into me, of dying, is so fresh in my mind even now. “I think it was a tantrum because I won.” I glance at Hollis. “Darkness and Crimson seem particularly angry. Vengeful almost.”

  “I agree,” Hollis murmurs. “We should be celebrating your win. There’s only one person in our history who’s managed to win three rites,” he reminds me. “Two left and it will be over.”

  “Who is this mysterious man that’s managed to win these rites? I could ask him for advice on the fourth and fifth, which I’ve no doubt I’m going to be forced to play out even if I’m not interested in doing them anymore.” No one answers me because we don’t know who it is. There isn’t a history book on anyone who won in Starlight City, or not one that my mates have heard of. My aunt isn’t likely to know either, or she might as well have told me a name.

  There’s one sharp knock at the door, and I raise my shoulders as my aunt walks in. Talking of which… “I am sorry to intrude while you’re recovering and celebrating. I come with news.” She stops in the middle of the couches, and I straighten up. “Starlight City has been taken by Vian and is now under the king’s control. We had sent guards to establish and take out refugees, but they’ve all been killed. May the Gods care for their souls.” She looks at the ceiling for a second. I glance at the kitchen, where Annie is watching and listening. “A few stragglers got back to us and told us what happened. Unfortunately, what is left of the Starlight City Nexus is now captured, and the king has sent his forces in, and they will be killing them as we speak. I have no doubt this is a lure for you, Gwenieve.”

  “A calling card,” Onyx growls. “Marked with death.”

  I shiver at the thought.

  “What are you going to do about it?” My aunt looks directly at me, then at Onyx. “You’re all the leaders the people of Starlight have left, and it will be you they are hoping to see come through the door. What are you going to do about your home? What side of the war are you on?” My mouth dries. “What is it you want at the end? People like you have been given so much power, sent back from the stars themselves, and you’re just sitting here as evil wins!”

  “What do you want me to do? Walk into Starlight City and what? Get captured by the Vian again?” I snap, standing up. “He could capture me and use me to kill the rest of Starlight in seconds. The rest of the world would follow!” I close my eyes briefly. I’m scared, and I’m not too proud to admit to it. “I don’t want to leave those people, but…what do you expect me to do?”

  “I saw you today, and you faced two Gods. In that fog of blood and shadow, you rose like a light against them, and you won. My people are not whispering about you as a monster; they are whispering about you as a Goddess who is a threat to the very Gods we have worshipped for many years. I know you’re scared…” She steps closer and puts her hands on my shoulders. “I know my sister would have done everything she could to raise you not to be scared, to be brave and fearless. It’s what she tried to be from the moment she found out about you growing inside her. I always felt that fear is a natural part of ourselves when we risk everything. I know we are new to each other’s lives, but I wish to help you, and I believe a city of a few hundred thousand Vian is something you can fight.”

  “They raised me as a monster and taught me to drown out that side of me to control it,” I whisper.

  Her eyes tighten. “Maybe we need a monster to set this world right. They were wrong to teach you that the most intimate part of our souls should be drowned out. No, it should be celebrated with love.” She lowers her hands from my shoulders. “Think on it, while I call an emergency council and discuss with them who we can spare to go into Starlight City to help. It would be good to tell them they will have you as their leader, along with your mates.” She walks away, pausing by Annie. “Can we have a word alone, Annie?”

  Annie nods, following her into the lift. The room is silent for a long moment. “Do you think she’s right? That we should go to Starlight City and risk our lives?”

  “No. She’s wrong. She’s expecting too much of you.” Finnegan immediately disagrees. “You’ve given enough already.”

  “Maybe she’s not. My Nexus is the Morrigan. I could probably take out quite a lot of them. Maybe. I just, I don’t know. That’s the problem. I don’t know how far this power stretches or…” I drift off. “To be honest with you, I’m worried Georgina will be there. The Vian king must suspect I’ll come to Starlight once I hear the news.”

  Hollis comes up to me, handing me a letter. “It’s from Rhodes. Please don’t rip it up.” He looks into my eyes. “Will you come with me somewhere?”

  Finnegan stands, sliding a possessive arm around my waist. “Alone?”

  “If you don’t believe I’m no danger to her, you wouldn’t let me in this apartment. It’s Gwen’s choice.” He waits for my answer. I watch Onyx leave in the corner of my eye, heading for the lift.

  Touching Finnegan’s hand on my waist, I look at him. “Can you go after Onyx? This must be hard on him. I’m going to see what Hollis wants.”

  Finnegan kisses the top of my head before following after Onyx. Hollis grabs a bag off the side before coming with me, and I leave the letter on the kitchen side. I’m not ready to read it, not today when so much is already on my mind. I glance at the bag Hollis comes out with. “Are we leaving? Because if this is a plan to kidnap me, it’s lame to show me the bag.”

  “No, smartass.” He moves into the lift, and I go with him.

  He presses the button for level fourteen. “Isn’t the top floor my aunt’s apartment? I don’t feel like seeing her right now, Hollis, or her personal space.”

  “It’s not her apartment; hers is thirteen.” He doesn’t tell me where we are going, though. “I found it yesterday after we came back and after you’d come back to life, and you were sleeping it off.”

  “Rhodes told me something.” I clear my throat. “In that trial, he was there.”

  “What did he tell you?” he asks, watching me.

  “That he had a connection to Crimson. That you had one to Darkness. Is that true?” I ask. They are both twins, and it would make sense.

  “Do you believe you were given five mates for no reason? You know the answer, but you’re too scared to say it out loud.” There is no judgment in his tone.

  “I was given six,” I gently remind him.

  He smirks. “I’m yet to see what Severi brings to the table.”

  “More avoidance,” I mutter.

  “I learnt it from you,” he counters.

  “Who is being a smartass now, then?” I laugh, but that laugh dies when the lift doors open at the fourteenth floor. It’s a swimming pool. There’s steam dancing off the deep blue water, and light pours in from the wide glass panel windows that shimmer. He reaches into the bag he brought as we step out, and he pulls out a black bikini and black towel for me. “Have you lost your mind?”

  Hollis turns to me. “You can’t have a weakness like this, Gwenieve; it can be used against you. I want to help you overcome the fear, and I have a plan to distract you and entice you to trust me. I will tell you the truth, every inch of the fucked-up past I have, and you will walk into the pool.” He waves at the lift. “It’s a choice. You can leave, and I won’t bring this up for another few years.” When I don’t move for the lift, the smug bastard grins. “Changing rooms are over there.”

  Dammit, I want to know everything, and he is right. Even if the idea of stepping into that pool is horrid, I have to do it. I go and get changed without overthinking it too much. I only have to put my feet in after all. It’s not like I actually have to go swimming.

  When I come out, the towel is wrapped around me, and I take it off, leaving it on a chair. Hollis is already in the pool, and his eyes take me in, the corners darkening. His hair is wet, dripping over his forehead, and he is shirtless. Damn. He has a swimmer build, a small waist with toned muscles and a six-pack that has a sharp V that leads into his swim trunks. He swims up to the steps that drop down into the water. I stand at the edge and arch an eyebrow.

  “Franklin is my son.” The first truth between us—and it’s like a bomb slamming into water.

  “I know. I knew from the first moment I saw him because he is the image of you, Hollis.” I take one step into the pool, my heart racing, and I’m not sure if it’s from fear or from the shock of Hollis being open with me.

  I don’t look away from his eyes; I keep them locked on me with a silent challenge to look away if he dares. “My best friend was Rochelle’s mate. His name was Anthony. I never expected to make a friend in the Nexus city while I was pretending and lying. I hadn’t had friends before because I didn’t know how to let people in, to feel friendship or happiness. I was born and created to be a weapon for the king, and he never taught Rhodes or me anything more than that. A child growing up without love can make anyone a very bitter man. The only reason I kept going was because of my brother and how protective I felt towards him. We didn’t bond like normal siblings; we became rivals at the beginning, and then it changed when we were ordered to get into Starlight. For the first time, we were out from under the king’s thumb, and it was the first taste of freedom we had. Rhodes and I had a foster family of sorts, a couple who loved animals and cared for the odd people in the city. They were good people. Rhodes took over the animal sanctuary eventually as you know.”

  Even though I don’t move yet, he continues. “Rhodes made friends and told me about how it was fun to have friends to converse with, to just be normal with. Anthony was funny and smart, and we became friends almost instantly. I knew of Rochelle, as she was one of the half-Nexus-and-Vian in the city, and we were like a secret network. She couldn’t believe it when her blood linked with a full-blooded Nexus in the city on that mating day. I was a mess after you rejected us, and the king was angry. It was not part of his plan.”