“Breaking? That’s impossible. You and Mother–your bond is eternal.”

    His lips curls back over sharp fangs. “The only way it could break is if she’s rejecting me… or dyingi./ii” /iHis voice cracks, raw with disbelief. “Neither should be possible. Unless…” His golden eyes ze with tortured light. “Unless the Moon Goddess herself has intervened.”

    “No–no,” I stammer, breath hitching. My stomach twists, and my hand flies instinctively to my belly, as if

    I could shield the fragile life growing inside me from this horror. “I don’t think it’s the Moon Goddess

    doing this… I think it’s because-”

    His growl cuts me off. “Because of what?”

    And then it all pours out–everything I swore I would never reveal. The truth tears past my lips before I

    can stop it. “She’s gone to fight Malik.”

    His head snaps toward me, eyes zing gold.

    “Mother didn’t want you to know,” I rush out, panicked. “Malik was the one who kidnapped me and Tom,

    who caused all of her suffering–and he stole her ne from me using Celestia. He’s been using it to

    fuel his dark magic. Father… he’s bound to Veydris. That forbidden power is consuming him. She believes

    the only way to end it is through her ne–to trap his soul inside. Jack went with her to destroy it

    once Malik is sealed.”

    For a heartbeat, silence. Then his face goes deathly pale.

    “Veydris?” His voice breaks into a snarl of disbelief. His hands m against the desk so hard the wood

    cracks beneath his ws. His whole body trembles with fury and horror. “No… no, no! How the hell did

    Malik get his hands on such darkness? That magic was banished centuries ago–it was never meant for

    mortal hands!”

    He roars, the sound shaking the room. “Veydris demands a bnce! A life for a life! Do you understand

    what that means? For your mother ito /iface it… it will cost her everything.”

    My throat goes dry. “W–what do you mean?”

    “If Malik is bound to Veydris, then to fight him… your mother must give her life. Her soul will be pulled into that ne with his. And when Jack destroys it-” He pounds a fist against his chest, his snarl breaking with pain. “She will perish alongside him!”

    “No!” My scream rips out of me, tearing through the walls. “I thought–she must have a way out, she’s the

    owner of the ne-i” /i

    “There is no way out!” he bellows, his voice shattering like thunder. His ws dig deep gouges into the

    wood of his chairb. /b

    “Veydris devours everything. The only escape is death. Yes, she will reincarnate–but as a child, stripped of all memory. Maya, your mother must die before she can be reborn.”

    That’s why she smiled so fiercely. Why she spoke with such certainty. Why she swore my baby would be

    a girl.

    She knew.

    She knew she would die… only to return as my daughter.

    “Fuck,” I whisper, tears burning down my cheeks. “She already decided. She’s going to die. That’s why…

    that’s why she was so sure.”

    The King growls, low and agonized, clutching his chest again as if the mate bond itself is tearing him apart. “Foolish woman,” he spits through his pain. “To do this without me. To do this alone.i” /iHis roar shakes the air, primal and broken.

    “Dad, we have to hurry!” I grab his arm, desperate, my own chest splitting with panic. “Please, you’re the Alpha King, her mate. You can track her–find her!”

    His eyes snap up to mine, filled with anguish and rage, but also something worse–defeat.

    “Even if I do, maya…” His voice is a growl pushed through gritted teeth. His breathes ragged, his body shuddering. “It will already be toote once the ne is destroyed. Her soul dies. Nothing can stop it.”

    “No…” I whisper, shaking my head furiously, clutching his arm tighter. “No. There has to be another way.”

    But the haunted look in his eyes tells me everything.

    My mother is walking straight into death.

    And we’re toote to stop her.