Chapter 7

GIULIA'S POINT OF VIEW!

Tonight, the southern corridor's silence was laden with warnings. I stared at the outdated video image, blurred and static. A figure slipped quickly across the screen to enter the prince's room. It happened so quickly that she was a blur, yet all it took was a flicker before that flame erupted within me.

As I pivoted, Bianca, with her customary smile flashing dangerously, leaned against the doorway entrance.

I'd just glimpsed it.

Her eyes gleamed. It looks like someone wants to get to the prince.

I nodded. "More than close. Someone dangerous. Someone with secrets."

Bianca's smile curled sharply. "An omega, perhaps? The prince's weakness."

I moved slowly and thoughtfully in front of Bianca as I neared her. I swore we'd give her enough poison to kill both herself and Leonardo.

She smiled, but I could hear the edge in her voice. You turn me on when you're in this mood.

I looked her right in the eyes and saw the look that demands action.

I swore quietly, "I'll burn any trace more strongly this time." With fire."

What followed was a darkness that felt like hiding away for hours in the stark gray light of an underground prison. I made my way down to the ancient jail where the girl had once languished, a name long buried in our silence. A heaviness settled around me, like every secret crushing me into the ground.

The door remained locked, but every stone screamed its secrets to the hollow air.

I traced the deep, dark symbols etched into the cell walls—marks so ancient they seemed carved right into the earth itself. They were forbidden magic—a magic so dangerous the pack had worked hard to destroy.

Closing my eyes, I could still feel the burning of those fires.

How had she done this? How was a young girl so damaged able to produce a powerful mark?

The doctor was more determined than the flame licking at her skin.

My fingers dug deep into the skin on my palms as I tightened them hard enough to hurt my nails.

This must have been much more than a harmless game.

This was a warning.

I reached for my phone and stood it up on the table, my hands clasped around the edges, yet froze in place.

"She's using her power again," I murmured to the eerie quiet.

The voice that came back was as clear as ice.

The voice said, "We need you to handle this." She needs to understand that there are fires we're better off leaving alone.

I stared hard at the markings that lingered in the hallway.

This was war now.

Posing just outside the doors, Bianca looked at me with a hard stare and an unmasked desire.

"Can she possibly understand the repercussions of her actions?" I replied sternly.

"She doesn't," I said. This is simply a child testing her power.

I watched her carefully.

I'll be the one to consume her with fire.

As the castle once more fell silent, I found myself in the throne room, sitting amidst the light of a single candle.

I murmured softly, knowing it was time for flames to burn. I'll confront her with fire when the time is right.

Thoughts of what I'd hidden...secrets with the power to destroy an empire...came to me.

This girl was igniting something dangerous and ancient within me.

Something I feared.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway.

My eyes shot to the ceiling. The beating of my heart quickened.

A guard entered with some words for me.

"The prince has disappeared," he reported.

I could feel a faint hint of amusement tug at my mouth.

The hunt had begun.

I prowled the empty corridors that night.

I heard voices on the edge of my hearing and saw shadows darting in the corner of my eye.

I felt eyes on me.

Waiting.

I smiled to myself.

Let them watch.

They didn't suspect what I'd planned.

I searched for a hidden box inside my room and brought it to the light of a single candle.

An old and worn tome rested inside; its parchment turning to dust.

I ran my finger over the enchantments, sensing the power waiting to be released.

What the warlock suggested was just what was needed.

Flashes of lightning tore through the night above my chambers.

The storm was coming.

The fire was coming.

And I was the flame.

What effects would the awakening of ancient magic have?

Would the castle burn?

Would he disappear, never to be found again?

I muttered, "It's time to start playing."

A soft knock startled me.

I saw Bianca waiting outside, her look daring me to follow her.

"We need to act now," I said to myself. "The girl is not alone."

I nodded.

The darkness was growing.

And so was the danger.

Something darkly thrilling stirred within me at the thought of what I was about to awaken to.

Nothing would prevent me from claiming the crown as my own.

Another flame was kindling in the dark.

Would the fire destroy us all?

It could create something different.

I smiled and walked into the darkness that night.

The war had begun.

Everything would change forever.

How long could we wait until the deadly effects took hold?

Who would be the first to pay the price?

Would the monarchy stand when the worst was yet to come?

The castle was waiting.

And so was I.

The night whispered secrets.

I began to pay attention.

The hunt was on.

The flames had inched closer than even the rebel realized.