Once Barker had returned from handing Peter over to Father, he lowered the carriage steps and unlocked my restraints from the metal loops.

Careful not to trip on the chains around my ankles, I slowly descended. Barker held out a hand to steady me.

"Let me help you, Princess."

I smacked his hand away. "Don't call me Princess."

Barker snickered as he gave me a gentle push towards the stone steps leading up to the main entrance of the castle. A hot, putrid breeze howled as it whipped across the plain. The wind played with my hair, making it dance like flickering flames.

Wary of tripping on the basalt rock surface, I stared at my feet the whole way. But that didn't keep me from scowling at Barker once we'd reached the stone steps. I caught him staring at me. He quickly looked away and cleared his throat.

"So you're the woman who made the dragon's son fall," he said with an amused lilt. "Why do they always choose pasty redheads?"

"I have no idea what you mean," I said, yanking my arm from his grasp.

"Rumor has it that the Shadow Rider's son has fallen for you."

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb."

"You heard wrong," I said with a dismissive shrug. "We're just friends."

The less this crazy guard knew about my friends and me, the better. Barker scoffed and pulled me aside once we reached the top step.

"If you care about him, make sure it stays that way."

"It's none of your business."

"True," he mused. "You should listen to me, though. Unless you want to curse him forever."

I gritted my teeth. "What do you mean?"

"All dragons, even hybrids, can choose only one soulmate, and they gotta be a Risa or a dragon. His soul will be unable to bond with yours once you become a Fireborn."

My throat turned dry, and I was at a loss for words. Was Barker trying to scare me? Or was he telling the truth?

"Could you be responsible for his eternal torment?" he asked, quirking a brow.

His words stabbed me like a dagger to the heart. Peter had never revealed his feelings for me, but his actions spoke volumes. When we'd faced the Shadow Riders, he'd given his teleport to me. He'd sacrificed himself so that I could escape.

A close friend might do that, but I knew in my heart I meant more to him than friendship. And I couldn't repay his kindness by being selfish.

If falling for me will curse him, maybe we shouldn't risk being friends at all.

Or maybe that's exactly what those bastards want me to do.

Divide and conquer.

Damn it to Hades!

I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. Barker pulled a metal lever and nudged me towards the doors.

"This way."

Giant wrought-iron doors opened with ominous creaks and groans, seemingly of their own accord, beckoning me into a gaping chasm of darkness. Inside the foyer, an orange-red light glowed and pulsed like a raging heart. It felt as if the depth of Hades itself called unto me like a siren luring sailors to their deaths.

I shivered with fear. Nothing could have prepared me for this.

Torches blazed along the stone walls, and the flickering flames made demonic shadows dance and writhe along the surface. The wind howled through the massive archways, whining like a man-wolf in agony.

Dark energy slid like snakes through the air, crawling and squirming along every surface, whispering to me in dissonant chords of agony.

Come to me, it seemed to hiss. Come to me.

My Risan receptors pulsed in protest, signaling me to run. Pushing through those instincts felt like pushing a boulder up a steep hill.

"Give me a moment," I said, breathless as I ascended the top step of the foyer.

Barker furrowed his brow, incredulous. "Are you that unfit? It's only a few stairs! You'll need a great deal of training if you are to succeed as a Fireborn."

"It's not that. Can't you feel it? That slimy, shadowy--"

"You're imagining things," he said as he pushed me forward. "All you crazy Risa imagine things when you're scared."

I'm not imagining this.

It wasn't a vision, either. I was fully awake.

This was real.

The Fireborn guards stood guard along the walls, dressed in full plate with heavy broadswords. As I walked past, they growled and snarled like ferocious, wild animals, snapping at me with their fangs as their talons clicked into place.

With a sudden burst of dark energy, a swirling darkness formed from nothing. It hovered and thrummed in the air, pulsing as it descended upon us.

A dark magic cluster. Powerful obscure magic conjured by evil Wizards.

I shrank away, walking back towards the exit. Once the obsidian fog had reached the Fireborn, they immediately stopped snarling and bowed their heads towards me in deference.

I furrowed my brow in confusion.

"Release her from the restraints, Barker," the cloud commanded. "Now."

He bowed his head towards the cloud before he began to undo the manacles. Despite all my promises of compliance, I bolted towards the doors as fast as I could.

When I reached the archway, they doors slammed themselves shut, locking themselves with dark magic.

"You belong here," a voice sibilated from the dense, dark fog. "You cannot fight, and you cannot flee."

My heart pounded in my throat as I turned to face the dark nebula. Its power crackled and groaned, lightning bolts coursing across the surface.

"Behold, my children," the voice boomed in a bass profondo. "Your leader."

In unison, they bowed their horned heads, genuflected, and thumped their right fists over their hearts. They looked just like the Dragonborn at military rallies when the Shadow Riders arrived.

My stomach sank. There was no turning back.

"She will do nicely," the dark cloud said as it swirled before me. "Take her to the lab."

"Who are you?" I demanded as Barker grasped my arm in his firm grip. "What do you want?"

The cloud didn't reply.

"Father?"

The cloud dissipated into fragments of shadow. Barker tugged me towards a large wooden door leading down to the dungeons. "Come on, this way."

A roar of anguish cut through the silence.

I whipped around, wide-eyed. One of the Fireborn guards--a frightful monster with dark, indigo skin--broke formation. He ran towards me, and I stifled a yelp.

"Barker, help!"

"Liselle, it's me, Marcus!"

My eyes widened when the veritable giant grabbed my arm. Barker pulled me with even greater force, and I worried that they'd tear me apart.

"They'll steal your magic," the silver-horned demon roared. "Don't do it!"

That can't be Marcus!

"They have Alicia," he said, wide-eyed with concern. "We have to help her before it's too late."

Oh, gods! It is him.

Although the other Fireborn along the wall stood ramrod still, five guards marched down the stairs and into the hall in unison. They pulled the demon away from me, kicking him and beating him into submission with metal truncheons.

"Stop!"

At my command, they halted as though they were marionettes I could control with my words. One of the Fireborn rose to his full height and stood ramrod straight before giving me a bow.

"My Queen, this traitor tried to--"

"I am not your Queen!"

He recoiled from me as though I'd slapped him. As much as I hated the idea, feigning authority seemed to be my only hope of forcing the wayward guard to listen.

"I'm your...leader."

"Yes, My Leader," he replied with his head bowed. "My mistake."

Marcus raised his head and gritted his teeth. "They haven't beaten emotion from me yet," he said in defiance. "Don't let them turn your heart to stone, Liselle."

"Silence!"

One of the guards grabbed him by the throat. Even though Marcus must have weighed at least three hundred pounds with all his inhumanly massive muscles, the guard lifted him as though he were a sack of onions.

He could kill Marcus without a second thought. I couldn't just stand by and watch.

"Let him go at once!"

The guard dropped Marcus like a rock, clasping his hand over his heart and bowing towards me. The others mimicked the gesture.

My insides cringed. I didn't agree to this during my negotiations with Father. We were meant to be equals.

"We are not Dragonborn Barbarians," I said. "Stop marching around like mindless automatons. You look like the Gatál army. You look like our enemy."

"Yes, my Leader," they replied in unison.

I shook my head and turned to Barker, who'd also bowed his head to me in submission. "Wait five minutes for me."

"As you wish."

To my utter surprise, he stepped aside. I ran towards Marcus and helped him to his feet as best I could. When I hugged him in a friendly embrace, he pressed me against his massive chest.

"How in Hades did you survive the massacre, Marcus?"

"The Defenders pulled us out of the queue before we could transport to Halden," he replied. "They cuffed us and brought us here like common criminals."

"What do you mean? Didn't they save you at Castle Halcía?"

"Saved me?" he exclaimed with a scoff. "I've been here the whole time."

"What?"

"Your father manipulated Alicia, and he'll manipulate you too." He gave an angry huff. "I was never in danger with the Gatál. He trapped me here as a Fireborn, and I couldn't connect with the Tree because they destroyed our souls."

"Oh, my gods!"

"Listen, we have no time," he whispered in a deep, bass tone that barely resembled his Risan voice. "Liselle, don't morph into a Fireborn. Please don't do it. The Tree will never find you."

"I have to," I whispered. "Our friends will die if I don't."

"You have no idea how they'll make you all suffer. I wish I'd died in Halden."

"Marcus, I'll find a way to make this right."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep," he whispered. "No matter how much you want to, we're bound by the heart blood curse until the war ends."

My innards turned to ice as the Sergeant grasped my arm. "My Leader, this way if you please." Barker turned to Marcus. "Since you have proven yourself unfaithful to the Creator, you will administer the first dose to the Leader to prove your loyalty."

"Please, don't ask me to--"

"You will," The Sergeant growled in reply, baring his teeth. "Or you'll die along with Alicia."

"Leave Marcus alone! That's an order."

The Sergeant turned to me, bowing his head. "With all due respect, the Creator's commands stand above all."

And there it is...

"Liselle, can't you see?" Marcus whispered before Barker yanked me away. "You're just his pawn."