His mouth hung slightly open as he stared at her. “What have you done?” he asked darkly.
“Listen. I am afraid that all of this spell is about to crumble, and neither you nor I will be immune from Mal’s reaction.”
“He knows,” said Alphard. It wasn’t a question. “He’s known Maxius was. . .is his.”
“Yes,” she replied.
His face hardened. “How long have you known?”
Maeve hesitated, stumbling over the truth of just how long she’d been certain Mal was Maxius’ father. “I wasn’t sure,” she began.
Alphard’s face twisted. He tilted his head back, biting hard into his bottom lip. “I have always had these thoughts about Victoria, things that felt so real. . .Fuck, Maeve.” He looked back down at her, denial and reality colliding. “Fuck.”
“I can fix this,” she offered, aching to find Zimsy and Maxius and get them away before the spell completely shattered.
Alphard laughed once. Then twice. Then he was hysterical. Maeve stepped away from him.
“Fix this?” His laughter bounced wildly off the marbled walls of the corridor. “It is because of you we are here! It is because you are insatiable. You have never been and can never be satisfied.”
“That’s not why I did this! That’s ridiculously unfair—” she argued back.
“Fair?” shouted Alphard. “Did you know that I couldn’t deny you?”
“What?”
“Did you know,” he repeated, bending towards her, “when you came looking for a way out, that Magic would force me to say yes?” He held up his palm, where a faint scar was visible. “Did you know that because you were in peril, and because I promised to protect you, I couldn’t say no?”
“No,” she replied hastily. “Roswyn bears the same scar—”
“Indeed, he does, because somehow, despite the fact that you never hesitate to choose yourself, all those around you aren’t so selfish. And we continually choose to protect you.”
“You did that for Antony,” she fired back.
“Yes! Because I loved him and I love YOU!” He stepped back from her, shaking his head. “She was mine. She was a breath away from being mine.”
“I know,” said Maeve. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t think of another way—”
Alphard turned on her, nothing but fury in his eyes. “You can alter the entire fucking world’s memory and couldn’t come up with any other explanation for Maxius? The possibilities were endless, Maeve.”
“I wanted him to have a good father in his life,” she said defensively, her voice breaking as tears swelled at the corners of her eyes.
“Oh,” said Alphard, a laugh of disbelief burning through his throat. “Don’t start crying now.”
“From the looks of that memory, it appears I saved all our necks,” she fired at him.
“And now you have put us both on the chopping block,” he snarled.
“I’ll fix it!”
“By doing what, Maeve? Have you thought this through at all?”
“I’m not going to stand here and do this with you,” she snapped. “Maxius needs us now.”
Alphard’s eyes were blown wide. “What he needs is the truth. A truth which he likely already feels. Like calls to like, after all.”
“What are you suggesting then? What great plan do you have?”
“That you stop digging and confess what happened. Allow Maxius and our King their truthful relationship. He’s the fucking heir, Maeve!”
