Any hope I had before this moment collapses into a pile of ash. Yet another fucked up way the universe has decided to play with me and the prophecy about me. I meet my mate, the person who’s supposed to fulfill the prophecy alongside me, and he’s not only my enemy but engaged to someone else. Engaged to the one person who has helped to fill the void Nemesia’s departure left. Engaged to someone I consider a friend, who I’ve been too cowardly to ask directly about her feelings for Thorne and the crown. Not because I’m worried she’ll say she’s in love with him, but because I’m worried she’ll say she’s not.

I don’t want this, not if I have to sort through these emotions and complications to have it. Even if I did want this, even if there was a thread of excitement about the idea of being tied to Thorne in this way, I’m not ready to open myself up to this level of intimacy, not ready to admit that I’ve developed feelings for Mazus’s son. I still don’t even know the true reason Mazus sent him here. For all I know, Mazus sent him because he knew we were mates and wanted us to discover it for some fucked up reason.

I need to scream, need to erupt. I turn my eyes on Thorne, who still looks like he’s the happiest male who’s ever existed. I steel myself for what I have to do.

“You’re betrothed to Silene,” I tell him with the iciness I’ve perfected over centuries of being the Witch Queen. It’s not the only reason I’m running, but it’s the only one I can say aloud. “And you’re the son of my enemy. I won’t destroy Silene’s chance to become Queen of Velmara, and I won’t make myself vulnerable to Mazus in this way.”

Thorne’s eyes widen in shock. He tries to protest, but before he can get anything out, I aerstep away. I don’t want to hear his excuses, don’t want to hear him say he’ll break things off with Silene. Or, even worse, hear him say he won’t. I leave and don’t look back, because my control is slipping, and I have to get away from it all.