“Seems silly, doesn’t it?” Aidan said. “A convoluted attempt at revenge. I suppose it’s an easier way of killing the king.”
This fable. I had to hear it, read it, understand it.
Jon. The mer guy. Could I find out more about him from the other executioners? See if I could find anyone else in his close circle who might know more?
And what about the mermaid back in Oreflame City? What about the guy who blew dust in my eyes?
Oh, man. This wasn’t happening. This was a game, a means to mess with me.
“What—”
Aidan shot me in the head before I could say anything else.
Ugh. Typical.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
SILVANUS
He didn’t want me.
It hurt, it burned, it gutted me with rusty blades. But I understood. In the name of Selene, I respected his decision.
No spark in the dark…
We weren’t meant to be. My desires clouded my judgment, made me believe in the possibility of love. Again. A repeat of the Aidan fiasco, falling for dangerous men who weren’t good for me.
If it wasn’t love, though, then why the bite of heartbreak? Why this searing layer of ache added to the rest of my lamenting soul?
Because you yearn for him…
My goodness, I was an expert in the art of sorrow.
Mental fissures split me open, fury flooding through the gaps, my mind slipping away into a darker corner.
Yes. This is where you should be.
Was it?
I headed for the roof of the tallest spire, sitting on its sloped point and basked in the fresh ocean air to think, to plot my next move.
Being rejected was the least of my worries. In fact, it helped me focus, along with this cool wind in my face.
Yes. Paris had been too much of a distraction, and this snapped me out of it.
I’d get over the pain, draw on it to fuel the war ahead.
To claim vengeance.
To destroy Aidan.
Yes. Yes. Yes. I would evolve, become a better king.
It was time. No more diversions, no more obsessions—only with vengeance.
But Paris…
My anger became a flood of white-hot power. A weapon ready to obliterate, ready to scorch Aidan from existence.
