“Did you really think your father wouldn’t sense your arrival, Princess Riona?”

  Whoever this hellcaster is, he is going to die for touching that girl.

  I channel my power into my hands and smile. “It’s Queen Riona, actually.”

  Without pausing, I attack with my powers. Red power razes the ground around us in red magic, shaking it as spheres made of my magic leave my hand, and I throw them at the guards. Three orbs hit the guard who spoke in the chest, and he tries to defend himself only to be thrown back into the others. Katy is on them in a second, swords blazing as she moves so quickly I can’t see her. I spin around as the other guards run our way, and I grin, widening my arms. My magic leaks from my body in a wave, and I mentally shape it into a wave before sending it crashing towards them. The wave catches the guards, who try to flee, and burns them into nothing within moments.

  I could destroy a whole army without trying.

  This world is nothing.

  “Stop or he dies.” I spin around, my body going deathly still as I lock eyes with Austin. The guard who spoke to me holds a red blade to the neck of my brother, who’s breathing heavily, his dark eyes blazing with anger. I barely glance at the guard as I take in my brother and how he looks terrible. Deep bruises mark his face under the dried blood, he is too pale, and I suspect he has taken more than one beating. I’m surprised he is even standing with how bad he looks. Katy lowers the hellcaster in her arms, and he drops to the floor with the pile of others she has taken out.

  “Run, Ria!” Austin shouts in a cracked voice, a voice that suggests he has almost lost his voice from something. Something like screaming. The guard laughs.

  “She won’t.”

  He is right, I won’t, but someone else should give us a chance. I look at Katy and nod. Without looking back at me, she runs past me, and several guards chase her as I put my hands up in the air. We spent hours going over this plan, that if I got caught, then she had to run, find help, and stay hidden. Katy didn’t want to leave me, but there was always a big chance my father would know when I was in his world. He would sense my magic, the orbs, returning to the place they were created.

  Katy was always plan B. I hope she doesn’t get caught, because otherwise we are both screwed.

  Gold-plated handcuffs are thrown at my feet, clattering against the ground. They look so out of place on the dirt ground, in an alleyway that smells of filth.

  “Put them on, princess,” the guard demands, and my magic reacts in my chest, repulsed by the cuffs before I’ve even touched them. I keep my eyes locked with Austin’s as I pick the cuffs up and ignore the way my body instantly feels drained. I click the one around my right wrist, the cold metal nice in the warm heat and click the other one on next. Gritting my teeth, a cold feeling spreads from the metal, up my arms, and settles around my magic.

  I instantly feel caged, even as I stand freely on my own.

  The guard smirks at me before nodding his head at the guards behind him, and they walk to me. “Put her in the carriage. It’s time to see the king.”

  Chapter

  Fifty-Nine

  My feet drag against the floor, and the guards’ rough hands dig into my underarms as I’m taken to the carriage and thrown inside. I grit my teeth as the two guards climb in after me, and the door is slammed shut.

  “Where is my brother?” I demand, standing up off the floor. One guard slams his hand into my chest and knocks me back into the seat.

  “Sit down, princess,” he sarcastically suggests, “before I rip your pretty clothes off and see what makes the Mad Prince hard.”

  “Fuck you,” I snap, my cheeks burning. The way he looks me up and down, and his threat make me fear saying anything at all.

  He laughs with the other guard, and I scoot away from them both, closer to the window and as far as I can get in the small space. The carriage is dark with the windows covered by thick, gold, tatty curtains, but I can just about see the dark leather seats, dark fabric walls and patterned flooring. The two guards sit on either side of the door to make sure I can’t leave, but I don’t know why they bother while they’ve got my brother. There is no chance I’m going anywhere when I saw how little the guards care about his life. They would kill him to make a point, and I highly doubt King Bane would give a shit.

  I catch a glimpse of the streets out of a corner of the window near me, where a bit of the curtain is pulled back. Red light pours in, highlighting the cuffs on my wrists. The buildings seem to get taller as we pass them, and less dirty, and I’m going to guess we’re going towards that castle that I saw. The one which seems to shine down on the city like a beacon of hope. I don’t know what the people have to hope for here. From what I’ve seen, their king treats them like dirt under his boot. I close my eyes for a second and rest back, remembering that this was the plan and that I’m going towards Maddox.

  That’s all that really matters.

  If I can just find him, just see him, make sure he’s alive and well, then we can fix everything else. We always fix everything together.

  It’s us against the world. He is the other half to my soul, and I don’t care what happens in the world as long as he is with me. The cuffs around my wrist jingle with the moving carriage as it goes over what feels like cobblestone, and it reminds me that the cool metal is there. They are some kind of lock down on my power, a darkness within the gold that is lingering. I feel around for my magic, but it’s just caged away from me. It feels like it’s locked in a darkness that comes from these cuffs. I try to pick at the darkness with my magic from within the cage, and it seems to crack just a little. If I work on it, maybe I can release my magic and break these cuffs.

  I am not wearing these things for any longer than necessary, but they will make Bane think I’m powerless.

  Perfect for me to catch him off guard.

  I think back to the redheaded woman that I spoke to when I got the third orb. The vision of myself so empty and cold, standing on top of that balcony in front of the castle. I can’t let myself become that, but I’m scared it’s a fate I can’t avoid. I’m going down the same path that she warned me of, and I can’t become the queen of this place and end up empty. The only reason that might happen is if I lose Maddox.

  A sharp pain in my chest nearly makes me whimper, but I push it down. Maddox is not dead.

  I just have to find my family. I just have to find him, and then everything will be okay. At least that’s a lie that I’m telling myself repeatedly to stay sane. At least I know Katy is safe and I’m not alone in this world. If anyone can sneak around and find a way to get to me, it’s Katy.

  I can find a way out of this somehow, someway. I’m not sure how, but I’m definitely going to find a way because Maddox and my family need me. The Onyx needs me. The carriage jolts as it goes over something in the road, lifting me off the seat and into the air for a minute before slamming me down. Then it stops quickly and everything is so silent. Too silent. The door is pulled open by another guard, with a silver helmet covering his face, and the two guards in the carriage grab hold of my arms and drag me out. The sweltering heat hits me one more time as I’m dragged across a courtyard and straight through an open door. They move quickly, forcing me to keep up and not giving me a second to look around the place.

  The inside of the large castle is pretty similar to what I would expect with its black walls. It reminds me of the castle from the Dracula movies but in all black instead, making it creepier. The walls are made of black onyx that lines the castle, and strange paintings hang on the walls, showing wars, forests, women with crowns, men with crowns, and beautiful beaches. One painting of a dark forest takes my breath away with how excellent it is, and in one corridor, there are paintings of a massive, vibrant city with flames stretching into the sky and people dancing in the street.

  I don’t know where that city is, but it is familiar. I wonder if it was this city years ago, and this is what is left.

  I’m dragged from corridor to corridor and up flights of stairs until we come to the throne room. I don’t need to even be told it’s a throne room, because right in the centre of the room is a gigantic gold throne with black onyx crystals on either side that stretch to the ceiling. They just shoot up into the air and are shaped into flames. My father is sitting casually on the throne, and kneeling next to him is my mother. Her head is bowed so I can’t see her face, but I’d know her anywhere. I can’t see her under the silver cloak she wears, only her small hands piled in her lap.

  I turn to my father, King Bane, the monster who has ruined everything in his quest for power. He leans against the throne, his hand resting on his bent leg, and he smirks at me like he’s the one who has won already when he definitely hasn’t.

  I sarcastically smile back as I’m dragged through the room and thrown onto my knees in front of the king. He nods at the guards, and they step back, leaving me alone with my father and mother. Not the joyous reunion I wanted, but I’m glad to see her.

  While my mum is in silver, my father has a long, dark gold cloak that’s littered with black marks that are designed to make symbols. It curls around him on the throne, and his clothes underneath are quite plain, just dark clothes made from delicate material and large, heavy boots. He has shaved his beard since last time that I saw him, and now he’s cleanly shaven and his hair is nicely styled. Everything about him screams perfection as I observe him, like you would do any monster.

  I lock my eyes onto his, so black and empty, and I wonder if he was ever good. If he was ever kind or nice or anything other than the power-crazy man he is now.

  I see our mum’s head twitch slightly, like she’s desperate to look my way. But she can’t, not when she is at his side. My hands itch to reach out to close the distance between us and throw my arms around her just to see my mum one more time to speak to her.

  My eyes catch on the armrest where there is a crown, one I’ve seen before. I was wearing it in that vision.

  It makes it so much more real.

  I look away from the crown and the fear it gives me, and back up to my father, who simply watches me closely.

  Too close.

  “Did you come here for your mother, or did you come here for Maddox?” he asks. The question holds so much more power than it seems.

  I hate that he doesn’t include Austin.

  “Both,” I reply, making sure to keep my head held high despite the fact I’m on my knees. He laughs, the sound echoing around the empty room, and it is empty. There’s nothing else in here but black walls, pitch darkness in each corner, and bright chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. They barely cause much light to shine down on us, but they are pretty, smothered with what looks like thousands of tiny diamonds.

  If they have this wealth, it’s all for show, because his city is suffering. They need to escape here as much as he wants to with my power. It’s something I can play on.

  Bane looks down at my mother and puts his hand on top of her head like she’s some sort of pet of his. It makes me want to growl; it makes me want to move forward and fight him with everything I have. She’s a powerful witch, and here she is, completely subdued by this hellcaster king, someone she once fell in love with.

  What made her love him in the first place? What did she see in his darkness?

  “Did you hear that?” he asks her. “Our daughter thinks you want to be rescued from me, your mate.”

  She doesn’t reply, like she’s a well-trained pet, and I close my eyes for a second to swallow the frustration I feel.

  I’d rather die than be a man’s pet.

  No woman should be owned by a man.

  “I thought you killed Maddox,” I say, desperate to get his attention off her. “I suppose that was the whole point, to hurt me. To lure me here when I figured it out.”

  “I assumed he was your mate already,” Bane replies, his voice cold. Tense. Empty. “But it seems I was mistaken. If he was your mate, you would have known.”

  “I have the orbs as you wanted,” I reply. “As you planned when you stabbed me. What’s next?”

  “Why would I tell you, daughter?” he replies with a dark laugh. “You’re right, I wanted you here, and I wanted you to have the orbs. All I will say is that you won’t survive what I have planned. Your time is limited.”

  “No!” my mum finally speaks, and he sharply looks down at her. She lifts her head to look at him. “You promised me my children wouldn’t be harmed! You can’t!”

  “Shut up before I make you,” he growls back. “Guards!”

  My mum looks at me, pushing her cloak back. My heart hurts as I take in her bruised face, the bruises on her neck, and her short blonde hair. Her eyes are so bright but dimmed with sadness, and I want to rush to her.

  The guards walk her out, her eyes staying on mine until she is forced out of the door.

  “Mothers are always too protective of their babes,” Bane sighs. “I never understood it.”

  “Did you have parents?”

  I remember the woman with long red hair in my vision. She said her son stole the throne, and she ran away with the orbs so he couldn’t get them.

  Bane said a god created the orbs for him.

  I’m not sure which story is true. It wouldn’t shock me if Bane lied, and I don’t know either of them well enough to know who to trust.

  “Yes. My mother was immortal, powerful and made the orbs. She was a god of this world,” he replies, his voice drifting like he is imagining her. I don’t dare tell him I know what she looks like, too. “But she wouldn’t share any of her power with me. Those orbs lived within her, and she told me she was given the power to make them by my father. I never met him, but I was his son, so surely the orbs belonged to me?”

  “Not if she made them,” I respond, and his eyes flash with anger. “The Moral Fall City was hers, and you were the prince then?”

  “Yes,” he replies. “For hundreds of years until I demanded my throne, my birthright, and she didn’t take it well. So I used spells I created to pull the orbs from her body. Little did I know it would kill her slowly. I made a mistake and turned my back on her, holding the orbs, and she struck me.”

  “Then she ran to The Onyx and gave them to the king,” I reply, “knowing you could never get them.”

  His eyes narrow. “Yes. But look, her plan failed. The orbs are back here, and the same fate is going to happen to you that did her, but this time I will get my orbs.”

  “So you are going to kill me?” I ask.

  “Not yet. The spell has to be done perfectly,” he replies, like killing his daughter is nothing. He stands up off his throne and saunters closer. Bane looks down at me for a second before circling around me.

  “The orbs will free my people, my army, and I will be the king of every world,” he tells me. I knew he was insane, but it turns out he is far crazier than I expected.

  “You would murder millions to be crowned king. What is the point?” I ask. “What’s the point of being a king that everyone hates? You will be alone forever no matter what crown you have!”

  He pauses in front of me and leans down, grabbing my chin. “Don’t you want to let our people out into the world? The children who suffer here?”

  “No,” I bite out. “Not when it would let you out. You should stay here and burn forever.”

  I should expect it, but I don’t, as he hits me hard across the face, and I bounce onto the floor, my cheek burning. Seconds later, he kicks me in my stomach with his large boot, and I gasp, all the air leaving my lungs in a rush of pain. I roll across the floor, a mixture of pain and shock freezing me to the spot. Tasting blood in my mouth, I groan, looking up at the ceiling of chandeliers right before Bane stands over me.

  I can see nothing but disgust in his eyes, like he hoped the blood we share would make me as insane as he is. He leans down, and he wraps his large hand around my throat, lifting me into the air. I try not to struggle, but the lack of oxygen makes me after a few seconds, and being this close to him feels wrong.

  All I want to do is lift the hidden dagger and stab him in the chest with it, but I suspect only my magic would kill him at this point.

  His body flickers in and out; at one point, he is made of blue flames in the shape of a tall man, and the next he is normal again. It’s creepy to watch how he changes into a monster, and that is who he is deep down. He has tricked everyone with the face he wears when he is really nothing more than empty fire underneath. I hate that I’m powerless right now.

  I hate him so much.

  “I can’t wait to burn the magic from your soul and watch you die. You might have my blood, but you are not anything,” he breathes into my face before he drops me onto the floor. I gasp for air, crawling away from him. I only crawl for a few seconds before two guards are picking me up by my arms and holding me between them.

  “You came all this way to see your lover, so you will see him,” he says, a sardonic smile on his lips, and he nods at the guards. As they drag me away, he watches with a smirk on his face. Slowly, he whispers three words.

  “Meet my monster.”

  I have no clue what he means, but if he means Maddox, then he’s no monster.

  Not to me.

  Chapter

  Sixty

  Every staircase I’m forced down brings me closer to him. My Maddox. I barely notice the guards’ tight grip on my arms, my blood dripping from my swollen and cracked lip, my swelling cheek or the bruises forming on my stomach and the pain that goes with them. The world feels numb, empty, and all there is, is another step towards my Maddox.

  As a little girl, I always dreamed about falling in love with a prince, just like Cinderella did. Just like every little girl does.

  My prince was the good guy, the saviour of the stories I read and everything my little heart dreamed of.

  But in reality, my prince is born from darkness, and part of him will always be the villain. But he would never hurt me, never hurt anyone unless they threatened me. He is the villain I needed to protect me. I’d always choose him, and he is made for me. Our souls are so similar because I was never all good, and part of me came alive when I met Maddox. A darkness I hid deep.