Brave (A Wicked Trilogy 3)

Another Order member reached her first. It was Rob. He lifted his arm, but she was fast—wicked fast. Her hand flew out and went straight through the man’s chest.

My steps skidded to a halt as my mouth dropped open in horror. Wait. That didn’t make sense. That wasn’t possible.

Breena yanked her hand back, and it was a bloody mess. His heart—she held Rob’s heart. But Breena wasn’t an Ancient. She was just a normal fae. How was that—

My heart lurched into my throat as I saw the Prince. He walked through the door as Breena dropped the mangled organ. Fear and rage spiraled inside me as I stared at the Prince.

His gaze swept the room until those expressive lips curled into a smirk. He had found me.

Drake smiled. “Hello, Ivy. It’s been too long.”

My body turned to ice as a roar of red-hot rage erupted behind me. Ren. That was Ren causing the tiny hairs all over my body to raise.

Fabian whipped around, shock etched into the one word he spoke, in a language I didn’t understand.

The Prince’s shoulders tensed as his gaze snapped from mine to the Summer Prince. Some kind of emotion flickered over Drake’s face as he stared at the other Prince.

Dear God, they looked so much alike. Like they could be—

“No.” Fabian lowered his arm, and a bright glow faded from him as he stumbled—actually stumbled back a step. “No. My eyes are lying to me. It is not you. You’re dead.”

What in the hell was going on? What was Fabian talking about, and why were they staring at each other like that?

“Ivy! Ivy!” Tink flew near the ceiling, his wings moving frantically as he shrieked my name in a way that caused panic to explode within me. “She’s here! She’s—”

It happened so fast.

That bitch Breena’s head snapped around, her gaze following Tink’s flight. A flicker of surprise showed in her expression and she threw out her arms.

A shockwave rippled through the room. It caught me by the knees, lifting me up in the air and flipping me backward. There was a glimpse of Tink flying backward as I landed hard on my back. Icy fog poured into the room as I rolled onto my side. I’d lost one of my daggers.

That kind of power—it was not normal.

“Ren!” I shouted as I rose to my knees. “Ren—”

“Here,” he grunted, and from the thick white smoke, I saw his hand. His knuckles were bloodied as they wrapped around mine. Ren squeezed my hand and then let go.

A soft laugh carried through the fog—a laugh that sent a bolt of dread straight down my spine.

I stood slowly, breathing heavy as I clutched the one dagger I had left. The icy mist rolled back, revealing those who were still standing.

There weren’t many, but I saw Daniel and Miles standing near Kalen and Faye. I also saw Liz. I didn’t see Tink. My stomach plummeted.

But there was the Prince, his chest rising and falling sharply.

He wasn’t alone. Something rose like a wraith, tall and slender, and as the mist slipped away, I saw a crown of bone, and I knew what Breena was.

Ren groaned. “Oh, hell.”

Behind the Winter Prince stood a Queen smiling a blood-soaked smile.

Chapter 30

“Shit,” I whispered, rooted to where I stood.

Tink’s screeching warning made sense. A brownie would’ve seen Breena—seen through whatever facade she was wearing. He’d seen the Queen and tried to warn us.

But it was too late.

A damn Queen stood before us, and she looked like Breena, but not. Her hair was now a frosted silver, nearly reaching her waist. She wore Breena’s face, but her chin was sharper, her eyes wider and lips fuller. Her blue eyes were luminous against the color of molten silver.

And that crown . . .

It really looked like it was made of bone curved into a half circle and sharpened to rise into three single points, the middle the tallest.

She brushed her hand over Drake’s shoulder, drawing his gaze from the Summer Prince. “Focus, my love,” she murmured. “Focus.”

The Prince went still.

Flanked behind them were three Knights and two more fae. We’d taken down a lot, but not enough—not nearly enough with the Queen here.

Someone, some brave fool, rushed her, brandishing what appeared to be a thorn stake. An Elite member. She caught the man’s arm, and with a flick of her wrist, snapped the bone. The man screamed as she jerked him to her. She was like a cobra striking, burying her mouth in his throat. The man’s scream ended in a gurgle as blood spurted into the mist. She lifted her head and let the man go. He fell to the floor, throat torn out as she faced us.

“Holy fuck,” Miles gasped behind me.

Blood coursed down her chin as she tilted her head. “Surprise?”

I sucked in a breath. A knot of fear formed in my throat. Breena had been the Queen all along?

“The brownie?” she spoke. “Where is it?”

I had no idea where Tink was, but wherever he’d gone, I prayed it was far from here.

“You bitch,” Fabian growled. “You lying, traitorous bitch.”

“Careful,” she said, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. “I do believe you’re the last of your court? Well . . .” She laughed as she glanced over to the still and silent Drake. She placed a hand on his chest. “The last who knows that he is.”

Fabian’s nostrils flared.

Wait. Was Drake—?

The Queen’s gaze flicked to me. “Look at you. I must say, the changes are an improvement. But not much.” Those icy eyes found Ren. “And you? You’re still as yummy as I remember.”

Potent fury swept through me. “You know what I remember? Gouging your eyes out.”

Her bloody smile spread. “Yes, I remember that too, and I do plan on repaying that favor very, very soon, but we still need you alive for the time being.”

I stiffened as my hand tightened on the iron dagger. “There was never a halfling here, was there?”

“No, you silly little bitch. Perhaps there might be one here.” She lifted a shoulder in an oddly dainty shrug. “I have no idea. You went into hiding and we needed to draw you out.” The Queen laughed when Ren cursed under his breath. “After all, do you think we would’ve been so obvious about our moves?”

I knew it.

Dammit, I knew it.

We’d all been played, and we should’ve known better. Now we were trapped here, all of us, with Drake or whoever he was, and a damn Queen.

“Why San Diego?” Liz demanded. “Why here?”

“Because it has the largest number of Order members. No other city has more in one location,” Daniel answered. “You take out the San Diego branch, it will have a crippling ripple effect.”

It happened so fast.

Several Order members stepped forward, brandishing their iron daggers. Kalen shouted a warning, but it was too late. They gripped the shoulders of other members as they dragged the blade across their throats.

Horror seized me as I spun around to see Daniel drag a blade along Liz’s throat. “No!” I screamed, and I didn’t even know why. It was too late.