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ZENDAYA
As a mind reader working to gather intel from the enemy, I stumble upon uncharted territory and uncover a shocking secret that could compromise my mission. Will I be able to redeem myself, or is failure inevitable?
COLTON
Amidst being tortured and unable to distinguish between fact and fiction, I rely on something that keeps me grounded and motivates me to fight for my sanity. As I navigate treacherous waters, I question my own mental state and wonder if something else is at play.
Redemption comes at a price, and the cost may be too high to bear. As Zendaya and Colton confront their fears, they begin to realize that love could be the ultimate reward in this enemies-to-lovers story.
LOREN
Another time, in a different place…
“We had a deal.” I looked at the head of the vampire council, wondering why I’d left my chances up to him and his two trusted confidences. They were to make sure that a king and queen who would rule properly led our race. That they were a pure breed who represented us all. Tainting our kingdom with demon blood was unacceptable. Yet, it happened.
“And we upheld our end of the bargain.” He raised his head in shock as if he dared me to defy him.
“The agreement was that you’d make sure that Devaughn married the perfect woman. I am that perfect woman. How dare you allow another female my crown? How could you think that this… this demon was the perfect one for him? He’s only begun seeing what a man in his chair is supposed to do. He doesn’t know the great lengths it’ll take to keep the families in line. His father hasn’t properly prepared him for what’s coming next.” Disgust dripped from every word as I spoke. How dare they screw up everything by making her queen instead of me?
“It’s not our responsibility to keep you appeased.” He cleared his throat and turned in his chair.
“You are correct.” I opened the door, letting him see for the first time the witch on the other side. He knew who she was, having heard of how powerful she was. He watched as she entered. She moved to the center of the room with her hood over her face.
“What’s this?” He asked impatiently.
Without a word, I approached the chair he was sitting in. Lifting my hand to his hair, I plucked a few strands before turning and taking it back to where the witch stood.
She rubbed it between her hands until it caught fire. Her eyes never left his as she began humming. She began speaking words low, barely audible. I didn’t worry about what she was saying because she knew the goal. It was time for him to pay. Death was too easy a currency. I wanted more.
“What is this?!” He yelled out. Watching the scene in front of him unfold. He’d gone from being confident and irritated by my presence to understanding that something bigger was happening.
“Your daughters. Twins. Forever bound. I curse their futures, erase them from this time, sending them into another. A realm filled with death, despair, and a game of the underworld. Their love for one another will be their undoing. Their love for others will be blinding and cruel. You have one chance to fix this so. If denied, you cannot mend your ways. What say you?” The witch asked.
He could easily remedy the error that brought me and this witch to his office. A simple change of the ruling for the marriage of Devaughn. He’d allowed Devaughn to marry someone that was beneath his class, a love not true. They had banished her family from the realm for betraying Devaughn's family, traitors of our nation. The Council allowed the union, anyway. Selfish bastards didn’t take heed to my wrath. I bet he’ll wish that he had listened. My family needs this more than he knows. Without it, we’d suffer. And if we did, so would he.
“Get. Out.” He said with force, unmoving from his decision.
“Wrong move, old man.” I turned and walked out of the room just as my witch began the rest of her spell. I didn’t want to be anywhere near her while she was cursing people. Instead, I needed to figure out how I was going to keep my family out of the streets.
As I exited, a screeching blast came from inside the house, exuding a surge of bright yellow light. Heavy winds shifted around me as if one hell of a storm was coming my way. Then, just as quickly as it came, it disappeared. Everything was just as still as it was before like nothing had happened. But when she walked out of the house, I knew everything had changed.
When your surroundings seem calm and the world seems like the surge of light didn’t just explode from the building behind you. That’s when you need to be the most afraid. That’s when the unknown becomes loud and clear.
ZENDAYA
The club I sat in was a mixture of crass behavior, dwellers, and adrenaline junkies. I would pass judgment, but I sat among them as one of their kind. Skirting my nail around the tall glass of grief that I was holding, skipping the ice, I needed the burn it offered. I stared into it, searching for answers I knew I’d never find. Before life turned me into who I am now. She looked upon me with respect. I restored order in the kingdom while doing the bidding for Kiara, the queen.
Whether people saw what Kiara did as right or wrong, she stayed loyal to her cause. I fought those battles for her. I’d chosen to be her champion during each siege. Now, because I’d failed her, I was less than honorable in her eyes. Taking a swig of reddish amber gold liquid into my mouth, my throat welcoming the burn, as it slid down. The devil’s fuel danced on my soul as it blissfully slid into my stomach. Opening them, I sensed someone staring at me. A casual glance didn’t feel this intense. There was a purpose behind them being here.
I slowly turned my head, letting my eyes scour the room. As they reached the eyes that were burning holes into the side of my head. The figure rose from its seat, strolling through the crowd. When I didn’t follow, they glanced back my way as if to ask what was I waiting for. Shooting back the rest of my drink, I paid my tab and followed the unidentified hooded seeker until we reached outside where an empty field stood behind the club.
“You have a choice to make. Queen Kiara needs you to find someone and get the answers to the questions she has. If you succeed, she will welcome you back into the queen’s high court. You will earn her highest regard and go back to being her weapon of choice. If you don't find the answers and complete the quest, the queen will mark you as a traitor and sentence you to death. There won’t be a second chance. You can say no and there’ll be no way to prove this conversation ever existed.” Her voice was deep like a male’s, but the pronunciation of her words was precise, like a female’s. She hid her face to prevent me from identifying her. But it didn’t matter. I’d remember the deep, articulate sound of her voice.
The wind whipped around me in warning, as if I was being alerted to a future that would consume my entire soul. I’d followed the queen blindly many times before and it worked out. This did not differ from those times.
“You have until this time tomorrow. Once you decide, there’s no going back. Meet me at the address in your pocket in twenty-four hours if you choose to move forward.” She walked off in a painfully slow descent. She knew I wasn’t following her. There was no reason to.
I considered the choices I had carefully. If I was honest with myself, I already knew the answer. But willpower blinded me into thinking that I could walk away from this deal if I wanted to. Not really. Duty ruled my actions, but the thing that weighed heavily on me was what lurked in the air. It was telling, and I knew whatever was coming was going to be a test. I didn’t know if I could pass or not.
