My hands shook with my anger. “How can I trust you to let them go once you have the ring?”

Both Rupert and Killian twisted their necks uncomfortably so they could look back at me. Killian briefly furrowed his brow, but I was more consumed with watching Mason for any sign of treachery.

My fellow wizard smiled. “I’m a wizard of my word. The signet ring for their lives. Besides—I’m not that anxious to kill the Midwest Eminence. It would bring a lot of…complications to my life.”

He meant the rest of the Drake Family would hunt him for sport.

But letting us go would bring similar consequences anyway.

Unless…was he planning to kill all of us, and hope the Drake Family never figured out who had done it? (Or maybe he thought Celestina and the others would assume it was the work of the Night Court? It was, in a way.)

I couldn’t give him the signet ring. It was my only bargaining chip. But I couldn’t save Killian either from the ancient magic. Could I fight Mason and get control over the magic?

No. Whatever the dark, powerful magic was, it was now close enough that it almost brushed against Killian. Another few seconds and it’d be over.

I thought I could hear the ancient magic hiss and pop, but I really hoped that was just my imagination. If it wasn’t, it was possible this spell was strong enough to rival the wards on Tutu’s. And Mason had gotten it from the fae?

“Hazel.” Mason’s voice was sharp. “Stop screwing around and hand the ring over.”

I tightened my hold on the jewelry box and stared at the spell.

There was a way I could save Killian and Rupert without playing Mason’s game. But I’d lose what I had fought so hard for.

They’ll die.

Even as my eyes stung, I lifted my chin and met Mason’s gaze. “You want the signet?”

Mason’s cheek twitched in his irritation. “Yes.”

I flicked the jewelry box open, waiting so he could see the gem-studded ring. And then I tossed it.

The ring box landed inside the circle made by the fae spell; not far away from me, but about as far away from both Mason and the ancient spell as it could get.

“NO!” Mason shouted.

The red magic froze, then streaked across the ground, closing in on the ring.

I sprinted past the red spell, slamming into Killian when I couldn’t stop fast enough. I dug into his coat pocket and grabbed his mint tin, ripping it open as the ancient magic reached the House Medeis signet ring.

Mason had tried to make a run for it, but the magic beat him by a long shot. It bubbled underneath the ring, its ooze growing until it piled above the ring box and snapped shut around it.

A sob caught in my throat, and I dropped a few mints before I smeared one on Killian and a second on Rupert.

The courtyard glowed red while the slime spat hot sparks, and the center of it lit up as if a roaring fire crackled at its center.

“You idiot! What have you done?” Mason shouted.

Killian scooped me up and ran.

I clung to his neck, flinching when a large bubble on the ooze popped, releasing a cloud of black smoke and what felt like a sonic boom that rocked the street block.

“You destroyed the signet ring! How could you!” Mason howled.

Killian set me down safely at the edge of the courtyard, Rupert right behind him. In movements so smooth they could only be the result of years of practice, Killian pulled out his handgun, racked it to load a bullet into the chamber, flicked the safety off, and spun around to face Mason in the time span of an eye blink.

Mason swore and almost tripped as he scrambled backwards, darting behind a stone planter.

Killian still shot at him, riddling the planter with holes.

There was a roar of magic, and the fae spell and ruby red magic that had consumed the signet ring slowly faded.

Rupert ghosted across the courtyard and knelt at the planter. “He’s gone, Your Eminence.” He delicately sniffed the air. “I think he escaped into the Night Court’s realm.”

Killian lowered his gun. “Call Celestina.” He abruptly turned toward me. “Was that really the signet ring that thing destroyed?”

“Yeah.” My voice cracked.

“Why.” Killian didn’t so much ask for an explanation as demand one as he studied me.

I rubbed at my face, fighting back the prickly feeling in my eyes. “I needed something with a stronger magical signature to distract it, or it would have gone for me.”

“You didn’t want to make the trade?”

“Once he had the ring, he would have killed us all,” I said. “It was the only way to save you two.”

Killian didn’t say anything more. He holstered his weapon and looked around.

Across the courtyard Rupert exchanged a hushed conversation over the phone.

“So the Night Court and Mason are allies now,” I glumly said.

“It seems the Night Court is convinced you are a bigger threat than they first thought,” Killian said.

I glanced up at him. “What do you mean?”

Killian shrugged. “If they believed you were beneath their notice, they wouldn’t have approached Mason.”

“You think they were the ones who offered the alliance?”

“Do you think Mason bought that spell from a store—or off the internet?” Killian scoffed.

“No. That was old magic. Really old magic.”

“Fae are almost as bad as vampires at squirreling old things away. They likely provided it to him, knowing it was the only thing strong enough to hold me and force your hand.” Killian wrinkled his forehead.

It was pretty odd, because he looked, I don’t know, concerned? His eyes were tight, and there was a slight downturn to his lips. I would have bet for sure he was furious about being held captive by Mason. So that meant this new alliance was even worse than I thought, or he was worried about something else layered in all of this.

My hands automatically crept to my belt pouch, to check for the jewelry box that was no longer there. My shoulders slumped, and I clamped my eyes shut.

Not here.

“Come on, Hazel.” Killian ambled out of the courtyard, rejoining one of the city streets.

“Where are we going?” I asked as we backtracked in Tutu’s direction.

“To get the car,” Killian said. “And if you try to sit up front, I will stab you.”

I forced a smile and skipped along behind him, pausing only long enough to make sure Rupert—still on the phone—trailed behind us. “Touchy tonight, are we?”

Killian made a noise in the back of his throat. “Your dramatics over sitting next to me are unwanted.”

I laughed because he seemed to expect it, even though my whole body ached.

The signet ring was gone. I had destroyed it. How was I supposed to rescue House Medeis now?

I smiled and held in the desire to cry once we reached the car, and even the whole drive back.

Gavino insisted on inspecting me once we arrived, though I suspected his bigger purpose was to serve as a distraction for me as Killian and Rupert swept off to the big vampire meeting room. Obviously, since the Night Court was allied with Mason, this was going to bring a new dimension into their fight.

“Go take a shower and make sure you get some rest,” Gavino ordered.

I stretched my arms above my head. “I feel fine.”

“It doesn’t matter. It was a rough day.” Gavino shook a finger in my direction. “And this is a late night—for you.”

“Okay,” I agreed only because it would make him leave me alone. “I’m still hopped up on adrenaline, so I’m going to take a walk first, and then turn in.”

“Call if you need anything,” Gavino said.

“Sure!” I chirped. I made my jog light and purposely picked my feet up as I followed a path around the exterior of Drake Hall. When I reached one of the gardens I slowed to a walk and wove my way through it, reaching one of the patches of woods in the surrounding acreage.

I passed the pool, and gave the rock wall a wide berth, stopping when I was fairly certain the vampires couldn’t hear me anymore unless I screamed at the top of my lungs.

It was still dark outside—I think it was about three in the morning. Usually I went to bed way before this, but unfortunately the bulk of the vampires stayed up until dawn. Thankfully, most of them were probably at whatever meeting Killian had called.

So when I finally collapsed in a heap and pressed my hands against my mouth to keep from screaming my heartbreak, I was pretty confident that no one would hear me or look for me—particularly not with Celestina still poking around the ‘crime scene’ and Josh—and most likely Gavino—attending the meeting.

My lungs twisted in my chest.

Had I just irrevocably given away my House? For Killian Drake?

The signet ring was gone. Centuries of tradition destroyed. My Dad had worn that ring. And now it was gone…just like him.

My grief was a mountain that collapsed on me.

It was too much—my parents’ betrayal, the loss of my House, and now the ring.

Couldn’t I do anything right? I should have been more aware while following the fae, then Killian never would have stepped in that trap.

Wild magic swirled around me. I felt my wizard mark burn on my cheek as the magic filtered through my blood.

I cried as if I were being torn in two and dropped my hands, digging them into the dirt. Blue lightning sizzled around me—a sign of my leaking emotions.

I tried to breathe, but it hurt too much. I couldn’t even think. The knowledge that the signet ring was destroyed was a bitter taste in my mouth. Felix, Momoko—I had let everyone down.

The one solace was that Mason didn’t have the ring either, so he couldn’t claim the House. But what could I do now?

Signet rings weren’t easy things to replace. They required ancient magic that was rare—and even more rarely mastered these days. Was it even possible to remake it?

More lightning crackled around me as I sobbed, drowning in my own misery.

“You regret it.”

I screamed, startled. I shivered uncontrollably as I wiped my face on my sleeve and glanced over at Killian, who was crouched on the ground next to me.