The first steps after Drake left had been the hardest. It took me a long time to take them, and even after ten, twenty, fifty steps, I had to keep convincing myself this was for the best. It sure didn’t feel like it. In fact, it felt like I was having my heart and soul ripped from me. Drake had them, and the farther he was from me, the more it hurt.

This was a stupid decision. Why did we have to go our separate ways? We were stronger together. We could find a way to achieve all we had to together; I was sure of it.

Perhaps Drake and I could prepare so when we went back to DuMoir Castle together, we could take out Prince Alex and his allies and start a new, peaceful reign. I would then send word to my coven and let them know I had the heart. Princess Morda would certainly come to pick the heart up in the blink of an eye.

And then …?

And then, I didn’t know. Princess Morda would have a hard time making an alliance with the vampires, even if a good one was in command. She would also never let me stay behind with Drake.

But that was a matter I could worry about later. Right now, all I needed to worry about was going back to Drake and helping him take over DuMoir Castle.

With hope blooming in my chest, I ran back the way I had come. Not even ten yards later, I came to a halt as I realized that Drake, with his super speed, was probably nearing the castle right now. I wouldn’t be able to reach him. Not without magic.

Sucking in a sharp breath, I slipped my hand inside the small purse across my shoulders and pulled out the heart. I stared at the red, bloodied mass in my hand. The heart of the first witch in my coven, the Silverblood. The heart had never stopped beating. Even after I took it out of Sarki’s chest, the heart kept beating, and for some reason, I thought it beat faster whenever I touched it.

I cradled the heart in my hands, as if it were the most precious thing I owned, and closed my eyes. I should be able to call upon the magic it granted me and send a message to Drake. I would tell him to stop and wait for me. He would be confused, but I was sure he would wait, and once I caught up with him, I would explain my plan to him.

I didn’t even have to try to reach for my magic. It simply came to me. Magic from the heart overflowed my veins, rushing through me as fast as blood, filling me with energy and power. I had never felt so powerful. Crap, I had never imagined I could feel this powerful.

Focusing, I sent out my magic, searching for Drake in the vast forest.

A second later, my power faded and fear rushed through me instead.

Slowly, I placed the heart back in the purse and opened my eyes, but I knew I wouldn’t see anything. I was surrounded by over a dozen vampires, but they were still hiding amid the trees.

I wrecked my brain, trying to think of what to do. Fight? I wasn’t sure I could fight that many vampires by myself. Run? They were too fast for me.

I reached for Drake’s dagger inside my pocket. Before I could grab it, the vampires stepped out from their hideouts.

“Well, well, what do we have here?”

“It’s Drake’s pet.”

“How delightful. I think we should play with her.”

Trying to cloak my fear with a mask of disdain, I glanced from vampire to vampire. I didn’t know their names, but I recognized their faces—they were all Prince Alex’s lackeys.

“We were looking for that traitor Drake.” One vampire spat on the ground and took three steps toward me. “But Prince Alex told us to kill you if you crossed our path.”

I gulped. “I’d like to see you try,” I snapped, channeling the bravado I put on so many times while living in DuMoir Castle. On the inside, I was trembling like bamboo in the wind.

The vampires growled and snapped their teeth at me.

What had I done? Provoking them? Was I crazy?

“Our pleasure,” one of them said.

They charged me.

Power exploded into me, through me, from me. A bright blue light shone from my hands, and like a wave in the ocean, it rippled out to the forest. It washed over the vampires, killing them instantly and leaving behind nothing but dust.

My heart hammered in my chest as I gaped at the scene, stunned. The heart had been taken from my coven before I was born, making me a weak witch my entire life. Making my entire coven weak, and weaker with each passing year. But I had heard the stories of how powerful it was, of how powerful it could make us, of the tricks a witch could perform when channeling its power. I had even seen some of said tricks, all performed by other covens, and remembered being in awe. And yet, I had never heard of the heart’s power being able to decimate a crew of vampires in two seconds flat.

Besides awe, I was now a little scared. I wasn’t sure I should be holding such a powerful thing. I hadn’t even tried to kill the vampires. What if I tried to do something? To harm someone? I still had to learn how to control and use my powers now that I would have more, but I couldn’t imagine controlling the heart.

It was too damn powerful.

But it was probably the only way I could find Drake. I had to warn him Prince Alex’s vampires were after him. I had to stop them.

Determined, I reached for the heart once again.

“Thea?”

I glanced up and gasped.

Morda, Princess of the Silverblood coven, appeared from among the trees, followed by Soraya, her second in command, a few witches from her inner circle, and a handful of witchguards. A beautiful witch with long, dark curls and bright hazel eyes, Princess Morda appeared young, in her early thirties, when in fact I knew she was hundreds of years old. Because of our magic, witches lived a long life, but because my coven had lost the heart fifty years ago, the witches were aging faster. It would all be rectified now.

Morda strolled towards me, the hem of her long black and silver gown brushing the dirty grass—and the vampires’ ashes.

“Your highness,” I said, bowing my head to her. Despite not being a queen, Princess Morda had been our leader for over a hundred years now.

“Are you well, Thea?” she asked, her tone tight but somewhat concerned. “Soraya warned us there was a commotion inside the DuMoir Castle. We assumed it was you, so we decided to patrol the border of the witch lands, just in case. But then we saw a bright light coming from here.”

I opened my mouth to tell her that it had been the heart’s doing, but something tightened in my chest. I snapped my mouth closed and swallowed, taking those words down with it. Instead, I said, “It was me, yes. I got the heart and had to fight to get away from the castle. Just now, I was surrounded by vampires, but the heart has given some of my power back and I was able to chase them away.”

Morda’s brow went up as she stared at me. I hated when she did that. Morda was a powerful witch, and I knew she could break me like a twig with one glance. Her magic was unsurpassed by anyone in our coven since we lost our witch queen a hundred years ago, and as far as I knew, she was a match even for the queens of the other covens.

How she was able to maintain her magic was beyond me, but I was glad someone in our coven had. Otherwise, we would have been crushed by the other covens a long time ago.

“Well done,” Morda said, surprising me. She had never praised me before. “For retrieving the heart and getting rid of the vampires.”

Soraya stepped forward. With her short silver hair and near-black eyes, she looked cold and hard, and the look of contempt didn’t help. “I have to confess, I didn’t think you would make it.”

Something like fury raced through me. Why did they send me, then? But I knew why. I was one of the weakest, and this was planned as a suicide mission. Even I thought I wouldn’t be able to get out of there alive. “I’m surprised too,” I confessed.

Morda smiled at me, though it was as hard and cold as Soraya’s stare. “Well, we’re glad for such a successful outcome. Well done, Thea,” she said once more. She swept her hand to the side. “Now, let’s go home. We’ve got a lot to do.”

She turned and started marching away. Soraya, the other witches, and the witchguards waited until Morda was in front to follow.

I stayed back, glancing at the trees. My heart broke once again. Somewhere out there was Drake. He was walking into the lion’s den alone. I wished I could go to him, send him a message, or kiss him one more time.

However, I had no other choice than to follow Morda home and leave Drake behind.