I stared at Queen Viola. Her lips were twisted into a wicked smile, and the entire room had fallen into brutal silence. Her words echoed in my ears, and my addled brain tried to make sense of them. The living heir of Marin. My mouth went dry as my heartbeat thrummed in my neck. Queen Viola had lost her mind. She thought I was Marin’s daughter. It was the craziest thing I’d ever heard.

“But Marin didn’t have any children,” I said, my voice wobbling.

“Yes, that is what everyone thinks,” Viola said as she began to pace back and forth before me. “However, Queen Marin was always a tricky little thing. Everyone thought she was kind and generous, but she was more than met the eye. She could be devious, when she wanted to be.”

“But—”

“I don’t know how she hid it, but she did. I’ve long suspected something of the sort.” She sneered as she glared down at me. “You see, I made a mistake the first time around. The Dark Fae said they required a sacrifice to release the power of the realm into my hands. When I killed Marin, I thought that was what they meant, but I was wrong. They never wanted me to kill her. They wanted me to give her to them. They wanted a Greater Fae to be sacrificed to Underworld.”

My heartbeat roared in my ears, and I tried to take a step back, only to slam right into one of the Hunters behind me. He grunted and shoved me forward again, knocking me onto the ground. My knees slammed hard on the marble floor, and my teeth knocked into my skull.

“The Dark Fae,” she continued, “said the time would come again. Another chance at the crown. Another chance at the realm. For the longest time, I didn’t understand what they meant. Marin and the other Greater Fae were gone forever. Until you came along. You with your infuriating powers and those eyes that look so much like hers. So, you see, my time has come again to claim the crown and to take back control from the Dark Fae. One ruler, one realm. No more changelings or tithes or Redcaps. The realm will be mine.”

Swallowing hard, I glanced at Rourke, Liam, Kael, and Finn. They all wore the same expression. One of defeat. Just behind them, Alwyn stood chained to the wall. Only she looked defiant, her golden eyes flickering with hate as she stared at the Queen. She must have sensed my gaze because she twisted her head to face me. Something strange passed between us then. A kind of understanding. And that was when it hit me. Alwyn…she had known.

All this time, she’d been protecting me. She’d been keeping Marin’s secret: me.

I was the daughter of a Queen, but not just any Queen: the Queen.

And yet, here I was. Trapped and confused and lost. Viola had won. She had led me here, as easily as a dog after a juicy bone. She’d outsmarted me. She’d outmatched me. She was going to destroy those crowns, take the realm, and send me to the land of the Dark Fae. I’d never again get to see the gorgeous skies of Otherworld. I’d never again get to walk the halls of the Academy. And I’d never again get to embrace Liam or Kael, or Rourke or Finn. They’d be gone from my life forever.

Viola snapped her fingers at her guards, and Alastar dragged me over to the far corner and shoved me back onto the ground. I glared up at him, tearing at the bonds that held my wrists in place.

“Good. Keep an eye on her, Alastar. Once the ceremony is over, the Dark Fae will come for her.” Her teeth glistened when she smiled. “She will be taking a one-way trip to Underworld, and the realm will finally be mine.”

Sorrow opened like a chasm in my gut. There was nothing I could do. No way to stop her. Even if I used all the powers within me, I couldn’t change anything, not with my wrists trapped behind my back. And even then, I had no idea how I could ever win against her.

“Oh, there’s just one more thing I need to share with the changeling before I get started on destroying the crowns.” She snapped her fingers, and one of her guards lifted Finn from the floor and dragged him over to the Queen’s feet. Another snap, and another drag. This time, they moved Kael over, followed by Rourke and Liam, though Liam put up a hell of a fight along the way, his limbs twisting and kicking.

“Leave them alone, Viola,” I said in a voice that came out much calmer and cooler than the emotions I felt inside my heart. “You’ve got me. I’m going to Underworld, and you’re going to get your realm. There’s no need to involve them anymore.”

“Oh, but there you are wrong. You see, a Greater Fae is not a Queen without her harem. To truly become the ruler of this realm, I need four mates, one from each Court. Lucky for me, you’ve put one together for me. I’ll be taking them as mine.”