When they finally settled onto the ground, Bree felt as though she could finally breathe again. She wasn’t certain she’d taken a single breath the entire flight across the realm. Not only had the ground been miles and miles below her, but she’d been pressed up so tight against Rafe’s muscular body...at times, it felt as though her fear didn’t even exist.

“How was that?” he asked in a low murmur, his hands whispering against her waist for just a second too long.

“It was absolutely terrifying,” she said, matter-of-factly. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad I got to see more of this realm, but I can’t say I’m a big fan of this flying thing.”

He let out a low chuckle. “Then, shall I leave you here and let you walk back?”

He was joking, but she still gave him a light punch in the arm. But instead of taking the hit, he caught her fist in his hand, the light in his eyes growing as he stared into her eyes. Bree’s breath hitched, and her stomach tumbled over itself. There was a hunger in his silver eyes that was impossible to ignore. A hunger she felt deep down inside of herself.

“This is Volcano Fate,” Rafe said quietly, still holding her fist in his hand. “They say if you cast a wish into the flames below that it will come true within a year.”

She swallowed hard, every cell of her body on edge. “Is it true?”

Rafe lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “Some say it is true. Some say it is not. The only way to find out is to make a wish yourself.”

“What if I wanted to make a wish to leave this realm?” she asked in a whisper. “Would you let me do it?”

A sadness flickered in his eyes. “That is why I have brought you here. If that is the wish you want to make, Bree, then you should make it.”

“Even if that meant getting out of here before the Prince needs his champion? Even if it means I don’t have to help you anymore?”

Bree didn’t know why she was probing so hard. She was trying to get a reaction out of him, a reaction he didn’t seem inclined to give.

I want him to tell me that he doesn’t want me to leave. I want him to tell me that he wishes I would stay here. Forever.

“Make the wish, Bree,” he said.

He knelt to the ground, chose a charred rock, and pressed it into Bree’s hand. “Once you make the wish, cast this into the volcano. You do not have to voice it aloud.”

“Aren’t you going to make a wish?” she asked as she curled her hand around the ashy rock.

“I have already made a wish to Volcano Fate,” he said simply. “And we only get one. So be certain of your words.”

Bree’s heart began to thump hard. “Why are you doing this? You do realize that if this works, then I can leave. I thought you were on the Prince’s side. I thought you’d do anything for him.”

“I would never do anything for anyone.” The moonlight overhead glinted against his silver eyes. “But yes, I do care about the Prince. He is like a brother to me. I want nothing more than to see him succeed in his quest for the throne. That does not mean I will support something I do not agree with. And I do not agree with keeping you against your will. If you wish to go, you should go. And I will not stand in your way.”

For some insane reason she did not truly understand, Bree hesitated. Rafe was somehow giving her a chance. Would this wish work? She didn’t know. It seemed like a superstitious kind of thing that she had never been inclined to believe in. But over the past year, Bree had seen many things she’d never believed in. Fae were real. There were worlds beyond what she’d known when she’d been human. Shapeshifters could transform into monstrous beasts or beautiful ravens that soared through the skies. Magic was real, though unlike anything she’d ever imagined. There were no fireballs or wands. Only abilities beyond her wildest dreams.

So, Bree closed her eyes and said the words to herself.

I wish to find a way to return to my home.

Bree sighed and dropped the rock into the volcano. She watched it fall into the fire, the flames eating the small speck of black. A strange sensation shuddered through her, and she suddenly knew deep within her gut that the volcano had heard her plea.

“Did you wish for it?” Rafe asked.

Bree tore her gaze from the fire and met his eyes. And suddenly, she felt so very sad. As much as she wanted to go home, she did not want to say goodbye to Rafe. At least she wouldn’t have to yet. It could take months or more for the volcano to give her what she’d asked. They still had time.

“I made a wish,” she said. “But I don’t want to say what it was.”

But she could tell by the look on his face that he knew. “I hope you get what you want, even if it is not—”

He cut himself off.

“Even if it isn’t what?”

“Even if it is not this place.”

But was that what he’d originally meant to say?

Rafe pulled back, his jaw flickering. He tore his gaze across the sky, sighing heavily as a strange kind of weariness seemed to settle across his shoulders. “We should return to the castle before it is noticed that we have gone. I imagine Taveon will not be happy when he finds out.”

“I thought you said that you didn’t care what Taveon thinks.”

“I do not care what he thinks about this, but that does not mean I want him to send guards out to track us down.”

He was pulling away from her. Ever since she’d made her wish, he’d had that strange and tight look on his face. Bree frowned at him. He’d been the one who’d told her to do it in the first place. He’d been the one who had brought her here. And now that she’d done exactly what he wanted?

“Stop it,” she faintly said. If he was going to act like this, then she was going to call him out on it. “This isn’t fair of you, Rafe.”

“What isn’t fair?”

“You told me to make the damn wish.” She balled her hands into fists. “So, don’t get mad at me when I do it.”

“I know I told you to make the wish. And I truly do want what is best for you, Bree.” He let out a heavy sigh and stalked across the edge of the volcano. “But I can also be sad when you want the very thing that will take you away from me.”

Bree’s heart pitched in her chest.

“If you do not want to be the Prince’s champion, then I agree that you should not have to participate in this battle.” His jaw flickered, and the muscles on his back trembled from the intensity of his emotions. “But I do not want you to leave, Bree. I wish you could stay. I wish you could be happy here. I know you cannot, but selfishly, I wish you could. Those are my damn wishes, and I hate that I wasted mine so many years ago or else I’d make another one right here and now if that meant you could find a way to stay here and be happy.”

Bree could barely breathe. She stared at the fae, at the pain in his eyes. How had she been so blind to this? All this while she’d felt this connection, this attraction to Rafe. She’d never realized that he felt the same way. And that he felt it so deeply.

“What does this mean?” she breathed, tears springing into her eyes. “Do you...?”

She couldn’t even voice it aloud, for fear she was wrong.

“Care about you?” He suddenly stopped before her, his eyes alight with a fire that could rival the lava of the volcano. “Yes. As mad as it is, yes. Far more than I would have ever expected. There is something about you that gets under my skin. Something about you that I cannot stop thinking about. When you are with me, my world feels complete. And when we are apart, I think of nothing else but the next time we will meet.”

“Rafe,” Bree whispered and placed a hand on his chest. He tensed underneath her touch, but he didn’t pull away.

“Please,” he said. “Please do not tell me you feel the same. Because I do not think I can bear it, knowing you will leave one day soon.”

Bree’s heart felt torn in two. She wanted nothing more than to press up on her toes and brush her lips against his, and to feel those strong arms wrapped around her once again. She wanted to tell him not to worry. That she wasn’t going anywhere. But that would be a lie. As much as she wanted him, she knew she didn’t belong here. She was the Prince’s slave. Even if he hadn’t ordered her shot, she knew that was only because he hadn’t had the chance to do it himself.

And she would not spend the rest of her life living for someone else, trapped by whatever whim he had next. Punished for speaking too loudly. Trapped. Hidden away. Forced to fight. And to kill. Surrounded by the fallen, those who wanted to see her dead.

That was not a life, at least not one that she wanted to live.

Rafe saw all of those thoughts written in her eyes. His entire body shook as he stepped away from her, and a strange gulf of cold air rose up between them. She wanted to reach out, to pull him back, but she knew she couldn’t. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them if she did.

“I guess that means your wish came true,” she whispered, unshed tears burning her eyes. “If you believe it will come true for me.”

Rafe nodded slowly, as if the very act caused him pain. “Oh, it came true. The realm gave me exactly what I thought I wanted.”

Bree opened her mouth to ask him what he meant by that, but her words were cut short by the shock of arrows slicing through the air. One whizzed by her head, sucking several strands of her hair away from her head with the force of it. She gasped and jumped back, whirling with a trembling heart.

“Rafe, what’s happening?”

But the raven shapeshifter didn’t answer. He leapt across the distance that separated them and spread his entire body across hers. His arms were wide on either side, his stance sure and strong. Bree realized a second too late what he was doing.

Rafe had become her shield.

“No!” she cried out just as another flurry of arrows were launched their way. Several sunk into his body with a horrifying crunch, and Rafe roared.

He fell to his knees, and tears streamed down Bree’s face as she counted the arrows. Not one, or two, or three. Five arrows protruded from his chest. Black spots spread out from where they’d sunk into his skin. And blood. There was so much blood.

His eyes were wild and vacant as he tumbled face first onto the ground. With a cry of alarm, Bree fell to his side, her entire body shaking. “Rafe. Stay with me Rafe. Please.”

She spread her hands across his chest, trying to force her will upon his broken body. He couldn’t die. Not here and now. Not protecting Bree. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. Rafe was the best fae she’d ever met, and he couldn’t die. Not like this. Not for a very, very long time to come.

“Have they gone?” he hissed his words through clenched teeth. Eyes wild, Bree scanned the rocky canyon below. There was no sight of their attackers, though Bree hadn’t seen them in the first place.

“I don’t see anyone,” she said.

“Go get the Prince,” he hissed through painful gasps. “He will know what to do. He is the only one who can help me.”

Bree hesitated. She couldn’t just leave Rafe here, out in the cold, all alone. What if the attackers came back? What if they wanted to finish off what they’d started? And besides, the Prince would probably kill her once he found out what had happened. He would blame Bree. He would—

“Bree, please.” Rafe squeezed her hand. “Go get Taveon. And hurry.”

Bree took several steps back and nodded, her heart trembling in her chest. Rafe looked bad. Really bad. He’d been shot multiple times and blood poured out of every wound, soaking his glistening skin. With a deep breath, she tried to focus on his words, to focus on his training.

She would be so much faster if she could run back to the castle in her beastly form.

Closing her eyes, she pictured the beast within her mind’s eye. The mangy fur, the sharp claws, the eyes that glowed underneath a moonlit sky. As she kept her focus on the image of the beast, her body began to shift and strain, her beast’s muscles ripping through the beautiful gown that Dagen had given to her for this night.

And then she was off, tearing through the thick branches of the forest. Her paws pounded the ground, kicking up dirt. Her ears pricked as they picked up the sounds all around her. Chirping crickets, dragonflies, the rustle of small creatures darting out of her way.

That hunger she usually fought so hard to hold back wasn’t there. She was far too focused on the run. On getting back to the castle. On finding Taveon so that he could save Rafe.

When she reached the castle, she used her claws to scale the wall outside her window. Her muscles strained as she climbed higher and higher, her raging heart trembling in her massive chest. When she finally climbed inside, her breath was ragged, but she didn’t have time to slow down now. She calmed her mind and shifted back from the beast, grabbing a robe from the closet before tearing out her door.

The guards were nowhere in sight. Likely, Taveon had called them off when he’d discovered she’d gone to the ball. That or they hadn’t returned from wherever Dagen had sent them earlier in the night.

She stormed through the corridor, flying past guards and Court members. When she reached the Prince’s chambers, she didn’t even bother knocking. She threw open the door and ran inside, heaving out great breaths of air through her painful lungs.

The Prince was inside, surrounded by Conlan, Dagen, and Branok.

He looked up, eyes widening in shock when he saw the state of Bree. “What in the name of the forest? Bree, you cannot be in here. Go back to your quarters now before the guards shoot you down. This time, they will not hold back.”

Whatever. She knew he hadn’t been the one to order her shot, and he wouldn’t do it now, no matter how inappropriate or non-Courtly this whole thing was. Rafe needed her help.

“Rafe’s in trouble. He’s hurt. He told me to come get you.”

She didn’t know if she should say more than that. Dagen and Branok were both looking at her with an intense curiosity while Conlan was frowning. Obviously, this entire situation was way out of the ordinary. Bree was certain it wasn’t often that slaves stormed into Prince’s chambers and demanded to see them.

In fact, she felt as though she could say with certainty that it had never happened before.

The Prince’s face pinched together as he strode across the room. “Rafe is hurt? What’s happened? Where is he?”

She winced. She didn’t really want to advertise to the council where she’d been and why. Even though Rafe had told her that Prince Taveon hadn’t been the fae to order the arrow, Bree understood what kind of position she’d put him in if the others found out where she’d been tonight. He would feel forced to punish her again. And she really did not want to endure any more pain.

“Can I speak to you outside? Alone?” she asked, keeping her eyes locked on the Prince’s face.

He frowned, but he didn’t argue. “Very well.”

Outside in the hallway, Bree dropped her voice to a whisper, afraid the fae inside would hear her. They had enhanced hearing after all. “Please don’t get upset with him. Rafe wanted to show me Underworld. He flew me out of the castle to one of the nearby volcanos. Somehow, we were spotted and...well, we were attacked. He got shot in the chest several times. He’s bleeding pretty heavily. The pain is so bad he’s unable to shift. And I—”

Bree’s voice cut off. She couldn’t bear to say any more. They needed to get moving. They needed to get to Rafe. Now, before something worse happened.

Taveon’s jaw clenched, and deep shuddering breaths escaped from his lungs. “Which volcano?”

“He called it Volcano Fate.”

“Of course that would be the one.” He gave a nod. “Thank you for telling me.”

Prince Taveon turned to stride down the hallway, and Bree had to run to keep up with him. “Don’t you want me to come with you and show you where he is?”

The Prince stopped abruptly, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders. “Go to your room and lock the door. Do not let anyone inside. Do you understand me?”

Bree swallowed hard, eyes wide. She nodded, even though she wanted nothing more than to go with Taveon and make sure Rafe was okay. He wasn’t messing around though. This was not one of those times she should argue with him.

“Good. Now, go!”