And then we both react, flinging out magic across the space that divides us, black smoke and red lightning crashing together like bleeding thunderclouds. I feel him push against me, and I dig deep into the recesses of my power as I throw it back. I unleash it all. That wild magic that followed me from the throne room in Aphelion, swelling with every step I took. That magic that lived locked inside my heart after a vicious king tried to take everything when I was a child.

Herric is strong. So powerful.

The force of his magic attempts to drag me under.

I cling to the ark, feeling its strength. It surges into me as we wrestle for dominance.

Without my bond to Nadir, none of it would be enough, but because of him, I am enough.

With a roar, I filter out a blast of power, shoving it into Herric. He goes flying as his power cuts off, and I spin around.

“Duck!” I shout at Nadir. His captors don’t even know what hits them as I spear them with lightning, knocking them back. And though my magic flows through me in churning rivers, it’s no longer an unrestrained torrent.

The bond didn’t only give me more power, it also gave me something else.

Finally, I am in control.

“Hold this,” I say, tossing Nadir the ark, worried about using too much power and accidentally destroying it before we get it as far away from Herric as possible.

Nadir catches it and then looks at it before his gaze flicks to his father, who’s studying us as the crowd loses their shit. Nadir moves behind me and wraps an arm over my shoulder and across my body, as he kisses my cheek.

“Seize her!” Herric shouts, finally recovering from his shock. But I don’t know who he’s talking to because no one is listening.

With Nadir still behind me, I lift my arms and look into Herric’s eyes. My cold smile causes his face to blanch.

“Everyone has always underestimated me,” I repeat. “But Herric, Lord of the Underworld, that mistake is about to cost you everything because I. Am. The fucking Heart Queen.”

Then I unleash hell.

Magic spears from my fingers, striking the massive cavern’s walls and ceiling, shattering the bubble that surrounds us and raining down showers of glass. The stands erupt into a sea of panic as everyone scrambles over one another for cover.

The ceiling drips stones and screams fill the air as they crash down. I filter out more and more magic as the mountain rumbles beneath our feet and the entire cavern shakes loose.

“Lor!” Nadir shouts. “We need to run.”