Enzo doesn’t say a word. He lifts one hand, then brings it back down in an arc. Heat explodes behind me. I break my stare for an instant to look—and there, exactly as I’d commanded, burns a wall of flames roaring from floor to ceiling, so hot that it threatens to scald my skin. I turn back to Enzo with my lips slightly parted. I’m so surprised by his obedience that I lose my concentration.
Enzo shakes his head violently. Suddenly his power lunges back at me again, taking advantage of my moment of distraction. I stumble once as the force of his energy overwhelms me. An illusion sparks around us, gray mist and rain, only to vanish again. My mind struggles for control, pushing back against his, trying to contain him. It is like pushing against a wall. I grit my teeth, shut my eye, and hurl my energy through our tether.
Finally, he backs down. Enzo shudders as my power forces his away. The flames behind me vanish in a trice, leaving only Enzo pressing a hand against his forehead, his eyes squeezed tightly shut. My energy snaps off from his heart and comes rushing back to me. The room falls back into silence. I’m breathing hard.
This. This is the power that Maeve, Raffaele, and the Daggers had wanted by bringing Enzo back. None of them care about him—they only want to do with him what they once did with me: to use him to get the throne. But even they must not have anticipated this strange phenomenon, that Enzo can fight back against his bonded partner. I blink rapidly as the realization sets in, and it sends a knife through my heart.
Just as I can control him … if I am not careful, he will be able to control me.
“What happened?” Enzo whispers, looking up at me from where he crouches. I realize that he does not remember what he did—when the darkness takes over, he loses himself. My shock at what happened sinks into despair. How can we rule side by side like this, always fighting each other for dominance? How can we return to where we once were?
You will have to crush him, the whispers answer me. Either he will be your slave, or you will be his.
The door bursts open. Both of us jerk our heads to see Magiano standing there, mouth already open to tell us something. He pauses when he sees our faces. His slitted eyes go to Enzo first. He hesitates, then looks back at me. His gaze lingers as I turn a bright red. Hastily I try to weave an illusion to cover up my flush, but it’s too late—suspicion appears on Magiano’s face, along with something else. Fear.
I will tell him later how I was able to call on Enzo’s powers.
Enzo straightens and pulls out one of his daggers. Magiano’s eyes dart back to him. The two glare at each other.
“Who are you?” Enzo says in a low voice.
Magiano blinks, then holds up his lute. “I’m the entertainment,” he replies.
“He is an Elite,” I say, when I see Enzo’s threatening stare. “Magiano, the thief. He’s joined us.”
“Magiano.” At that, Enzo lowers his dagger slightly. He gives him a curious look. “We’d all started to think that you were a myth.”
Magiano gives him a half smile. “I guess I must be real, Your Highness.”
“Why is he here?” Enzo turns back to me. “What are you planning?”
“To take back the throne,” I reply. “To destroy Teren and the Inquisition Axis.”
Before I can say more, Sergio and Violetta come to the door.
For a moment, Sergio looks as if he might address the prince, even thank him for sparing his life all those years ago. But he doesn’t. Enzo watches him with a quiet, careful stare. Sergio opens his mouth, then closes it again. He clears his throat, and walks over to the window instead. He points out at where the malfetto camps start dotting the field. “You can see the commotion from here.” He waves us over. His eyes settle on Enzo again, as if he’s not quite sure what to do around him. “You’ll want to see this too, Reaper,” he adds.
Enzo walks over. The tether tugs between us, leaving my heart beating and my breaths short. I even recognize his walk—elegant, predatory, careful. Regal. My thoughts scatter as I walk over to the window. If I gain the throne, will I match that kind of grace? Can I persuade Enzo to follow us, find a way I can reliably control him?
Sergio points as we gather. “The camps. They’re burning.” He doesn’t have to gesture much for us to see what he means. A dark cloud of smoke and ash rises over the land where the camps are set up. Even from here, we can see patrols of Inquisitors making their way through the camps’ rows. Their white cloaks are a stark contrast against the green and brown of the land. There must be dozens of them.
“Do you know what’s happening?” I ask Sergio.
He nods. “The rumors have been flying through the city and the villages,” he replies. “The queen has demoted Teren from his Lead Inquisitor title. He is to leave tomorrow to inspect the southern cities.”
“Demoted?” Violetta exclaims. “The queen relies so heavily on his power. Why would she send him away?”
Magiano shrugs, but his eyes glow bright. “He either upset her, she finds him unreliable, or she has no more use for him.”
“Teren has angered my sister,” Enzo says. “Disobeyed her. He will do it again.”