Getting to my feet, I stared through the other side of the portal at the empty window where Knox had stood, and beyond it, where Haven Falls fell to flames. There was no sign of Knox, but I knew he’d made it through somehow.
I stepped further into the portal, closing it with one last look at the Human Realm. Moving deeper into the Wicker Forest, I slid down a tree, staring at the air where it was solidifying, to erase proof that the portal had ever existed. My leg throbbed, and I pushed my hand against it, knowing he’d already begun hunting me. I had to give it to him, he was persistent.
Knox wanted revenge, and I agreed we owed him retribution, but it didn’t give him the right to remove the leaders by force. There were steps they could have taken, failsafes that were in place to protect them, should a king or queen become corrupted by power. He had chosen another route, one that ended in the slaughter of all witches and all rulers.
I wouldn’t let him win. I would stop him, even if I died doing it. Life wasn’t black and white; there were hues between both, hues in which people walked in every shade that existed. He’d started a large-scale rebellion that had given him the power to take control of the Nine Realms. That didn’t mean he would win; it just meant he had a headstart on us.
I would clean the Kingdom of Witches and take control of the Witchery, where we ran and directed all witch-controlled strongholds and palaces. I would bring a new dawn to the Nine Realms, and wash away the eternal night he wanted to create.
Knox would find me, but how he found me was my decision. I held control of my life, and as long as I continued running and never stopped, he wouldn’t find me as easily as he thought he could. I’d find him when I was ready, and we’d start this war on my terms because I’d just thrown the first punch, and I wasn’t about to back down.
I stood, moving from the cover of the woods to stare down at the large castle lit against the night. It was time to get started, and the clock was ticking because Knox already knew where I was. I was in his realm now, but it was mine too. My bloodline had created in the Nine Realms, and as Hecate’s granddaughter, I was finally home. I’d known I belonged here my entire life, and now that I was in the Nine Realms, it was time to fight for what we wanted—and to right the wrongs of those who had betrayed us.
I would rattle the realms, and bring that man to his knees, even if it was the last thing I ever did in my lifetime. I guess it was a good thing we were immortal since neither of us planned on losing. I wouldn’t bow to him, nor would I let him win this war. Not with what the cost would be, not with the finality of death, he craved to deliver to those I loved. No, I’d rattle him until he shook, and then I’d bring that man to his knees and make him bow to me. This war was just getting started, and I had been born to wage it against him.
Knox
And so it begins. I will catch her, and when I do, she will wish she had never met me.
* * *