Hunt had no words in his head, his heart, as Bryce shoved her burning starlight into the Gate.
White light blasted from the Gate’s clear stone.
It filled the square, shooting outward for blocks. Demons caught in its path screamed as they were blinded, then fled. Like they remembered whom it had once belonged to. How the Starborn Prince had battled their hordes with it.
The Starborn line had bred trueโtwice.
Ruhn’s face drained of color as he remained kneeling and beheld his sister, the blazing Gate. What she’d declared to the world. What she’d revealed herself to be.
His rival. A threat to all he stood to inherit.
Hunt knew what the Fae did to settle disputes to the throne.
Bryce possessed the light of a star, such as hadn’t been witnessed since the First Wars. Jesiba looked like she’d seen a ghost. Fury gaped at the screen. When the flare dimmed, Hunt’s breath caught in his throat.
The void within the Heart Gate was gone. She’d channeled her light through the Horn somehowโand sealed the portal.
In the stunned silence of the conference room, they watched Bryce pant, leaning against one side of the Gate before sliding to the slate tiles. The crystal archway still shone. A temporary haven that would make any demons think twice before approaching, fearful of a Starborn descendant.
But the rest of the Gates in the city remained open.
A phone rangโan outgoing call, linked to the room’s speakers. Hunt scanned the room for the culprit and found the Autumn King with his phone in his hands. But the male was apparently too lost in the rage crinkling his face to care that the call was audible to everyone. Declan
Emmet showed no sign of even trying to make the call private as Ember Quinlan picked up the phone and said, โWho isโโ
โYou’ve known she was Starborn Fae all these years andย liedย to me about it,โ the king bit out.
Ember didn’t miss a beat. โI’ve been waiting for this call for more than twenty years.โ
โYouย bitchโโ
A low, agonized laugh. โWho do you think ended your goons all those years ago? Not me and Randall. They had her in their graspโby the neck. And they hadย usย at gunpoint.โ Another laugh. โShe realized what they were going to do to me. To Randall. And she fuckingย blindedย them.โ
What blinds an Oracle?
Light. Light the way the Starborn had possessed it.
Bryce still sat against the archway, breathing hard. Like summoning that star, wielding the Horn, had taken everything out of her.
Ruhn murmured, more to himself than anyone, โThose books claimed there were multiple Starborn in the First Wars. I told her, and she
โฆโ He blinked slowly. โShe already knew.โ
โShe lied because she loves you,โ Hunt ground out. โSo you could keep your title.โ
Because compared to the Starborn powers he’d seen from Ruhn โฆ Bryce’s were the real deal. Ruhn’s ashen face contorted with pain.
โWho knew?โ the Autumn King demanded of Ember. โThose fucking priestesses?โ
โNo. Only me and Randall,โ Ember said. โAnd Danika. She and Bryce got into some serious trouble in college and it came out then. She blinded the males that time, too.โ
Hunt remembered the photo on the guest room dresserโtaken in the aftermath of that. Their closeness and exhaustion the result not just of a battle fought and won but of a deadly secret revealed at last.
โHer tests showed no power,โ the Autumn King spat. โYes,โ Ember said quietly. โThey were correct.โย โExplain.โ
โIt is a gift of starlight. Light, and nothing more. It never meant anything to us, but to your people โฆโ Ember paused. โWhen Bryce was thirteen, she agreed to visit you. To meet youโto see if you could be trusted to know what she possessed and not be threatened by it.โ
To see if he could handle that such a gift had gone to a half-human bastard and not Ruhn.
Hunt saw no fear on the prince’s face, though. No envy or doubt.
Only sorrow.
โBut then she met your son. And she told me that when she saw his pride in his Chosen One status, she realized she couldn’t take it away from him. Not when she also saw that was the only valueย youย placed in him. Even if it meant she would be denied everything she was due, even if revealing herself would have meant she could lord it over you, she wouldn’t do that to Ruhn. Because she loved him that much more than she hated you.โ
Ruhn’s face crumpled.
Ember spat at the Autumn King, โAnd then you left her on the curb like garbage.โ She let out another broken laugh. โI hope she finally returns the favor, you fucking asshole.โ She hung up.
The Autumn King hurled a pitcher of water before him across the room, so hard it shattered against the wall.
Hunt’s blood thrummed through him as a conversation from weeks ago flitted back to him: how he’d spoken of having gifts he didn’t really want. Bryce had agreed, to his surprise, and then seemed to catch herself before joking about attracting assholes. Deflecting, hiding the truth.
A soft female hand landed atop Hunt’s. Queen Hypaxia. Her dark brown eyes glowed when he looked over in surprise. Her power was a song of warmth through him. It was a hammer to every wall and obstacle placed on him. And he felt that power focus on the halo’s spell upon his brow.
She’d asked him weeks ago what he’d do if she removed it. Whom he’d kill.
His first target was in this room with them. His eyes darted toward Sandriel, and Hypaxia’s chin dipped, as if in confirmation.
Still Bryce sat against the Gate. As if trying to rally herself. As if wondering how she could possibly do this six more times.
Demons in adjacent streets beheld the starlight still glowing from the Old Square Gate and stayed back. Yes, they remembered the Starborn. Or knew the myths.
Aidas had known. Had watched her all these years, waiting for her to reveal herself.
Hypaxia’s power flowed silently and unnoticed into Hunt.
Sandriel slid her phone into her pocket. As if she’d been using it under the table.
Ruhn saw it, too. The Crown Prince of the Fae asked with savage quiet, โWhat did you do?โ
Sandriel smiled. โI took care of a problem.โ
Hunt’s power growled within him. She’d have told the Asteri all she’d seen. Not only what glowed in Bryce’s veinsโbut about the Horn, too.
They were likely already moving on the information. Quickly. Before anyone else could ponder Bryce’s gifts. What it might mean to the people of the world if they knew a half-human female, heir to the Starborn line, now bore the Horn in her very body. Able to be used only by herโ
The truth clicked into place.
It was why Danika had inked it on Bryce.ย Onlyย the Starborn line could use the Horn.
Micah had believed the synth and Bryce’s bloodline would be enough to let him use the Horn, overriding the need for the true Starborn power. The Horn had indeed been healedโbut it only worked because Bryce was heir to the Starborn line. Object and wielder had become one.
If Bryce willed it, the Horn could open a portal to any world, any realm. Just as Micah had wanted to do. But that kind of powerโ belonging to a half-human, no lessโcould endanger the sovereignty of the Asteri. And the Asteri would take out any threat to their authority.
A roar began building in Hunt’s bones.
Ruhn snarled, โTheyย canโtย kill her. She’s the only one who can shut those fucking Gates.โ
Sandriel leaned back in her chair. โShe hasn’t made the Drop yet, Prince. So they most certainly can.โ She added, โAnd it looks like she’s wholly drained anyway. I doubt she’ll be able to close a second Gate, let alone six more.โ
Hunt’s fingers curled.
Hypaxia met his stare again and smiled slightly. An invitation and challenge. Her magic shimmered through him, over his forehead.
Sandriel had informed the Asteriโso they’d kill Bryce.
His Bryce. Hunt’s attention narrowed on the back of Sandriel’s neck.
And he rose to his feet as Hypaxia’s magic dissolved the halo from his brow.