Page 84 of Shattered Jewel

I know the risks of what I’ve done, and if you’re reading this, then I have failed. But I couldn’t let them use you as they’ve used me.

I love you, Ellie.

And I’m so sorry.”

Maverick’s final words turn my throat raw as silent sobs wrack my body. His vulnerability, his concern for me... everything was laid bare.

It’s too much—it’s all too much.

I wipe the tears from my face, steeling myself against the tide of bleakness threatening to drown me. Dad, a Sovereign of the Cimmerian Court. Maverick, forced to endure unspeakable horrors. And now, the burden falls to me.

I stare at the screen, at the illegible scrawl that holds the key to unlocking this nightmare. The second key.

My fingers clench into fists. I need to know what that second key is. Where this vault is.

The shard Gram was unknowingly looking after, that is the amulet. The one I have. The other half remains there.

I wrench myself from the chair and pace the room, rubbing the lump of the amulet under my nightgown. I need to do something, take action. I can’t let Maverick’s sacrifice, everything he went through, be for nothing.

I stride back to the computer, jaw set.

The second key the Court requires exists to my detriment... What the hell does that mean?

I enlarge the scan of the letter, focusing on that one indecipherable section. There has to be a way to recover the words. I refuse to let this vital clue slip through my fingers.

I toggle the display settings, inverting the colors and sharpening the contrast. The white text shines stark against the black background and I lean closer, eyes narrowed. Slowly, painstakingly, I make out a single word...

Then another.

My blood runs cold as the meaning registers, a scream building in my throat. I stagger back from the desk, hand clamped over my mouth in horror. Because now I know. I know what I am to the Court.

“...the Heart of the Exalted Regent and a Bloodline Vessel, which they believed no longer existed...”

A Bloodline Vessel.

The second key isn’t an object. It’s a person.

Me, the last female descendant of Sarah Anderton.

And the Court needs me to complete their demented ritual, and that is exactly why Maverick broke the ruby to make it worthless.

There’s a sudden shift in the house.

The boys made it downstairs without further incident, their quick senses now honed to my mother’s every trick. Their presence radiates throughout the old house like a tangible wave of heat. Maverick’s notes blur before my eyes as I become acutely aware of them below me. Wilder, Cav, Kaspian, and Axe.

They’re waiting.

A wicked gale of laughter trickles from the first floor, sending a tremor through me. Their casual sounds weave through the quiet hallway, a tantalizing lure drawing me away from the agony cast by reading through Maverick’s violent, secret life.

Taking a deep breath, I save Maverick’s notes and power down the computer. My fingers lightly trace over the cold metal surface before I turn and take hesitant steps towards the door.

Chapter 22

Elara

Islip from the safety of Maverick’s bedroom, looking upon my childhood home with new eyes. Each shadowed, cobwebbed corner of the grand estate seems to whisper tales of deceit and power now.

As I tiptoe towards the staircase, each wooden step downward offers a cold kiss to my bare feet, a stark reminder of the dark underworld that lies beneath my family’s noble facade.