So she lifts her chin and walks beside me. But I see the way her hands tremble. How her shoulders tense when the chain scrapes stone. She’s feeling every bite of Kel’s pain as if it were her own.
Unfortunate thing about mate bonds.
And I can’t decide if I admire her…or if it makes me want to shatter her as I will Keldarion.
It’s so fun to see how your favorite things break and can be put back together anew.
I wonder absently if my mother will come.
She rarely descends from Nether Reach anymore, and when she does, it’s only to commune with the Baron, preferring his company to mine. If only she knew my father covets her death as much as I do. He knows how dangerous she can be. I suppose even gods fear.
I glance toward one of the upper balconies of my palace, where she usually observes the gatherings.
Nothing.
Fine. Let her miss this. I don’t need her.
We reach the base of my throne made of briars and ascend the steps.
I halt. The chain goes taut and Kel drops to his knees. He catches himself on trembling hands, glaring at the floor as if it insulted him. He says nothing, his breaths steady and slow.
The hall hushes.
I step forward, turning to face the crowd, and lift the leash. “Behold, High Prince Keldarion of Winter. Sworn Protector of the Realms. The fae who called down the stars. And now…” I pause, glance at him. “Mine.”
A hiss of delighted laughter ripples through the courtyard, followed by whispers. Kel’s shoulders tense.
I circle him, dragging the chain across my fingers. I want my citizens to feel this moment. To see how far a prince can fall.
“I brought you here not for celebration but revelation,” I say, letting my voice rise. “Not to toast this conquest but to witness the cost of defiance. The seasonal realms thought they could take on the Below. They were wrong.”
I stalk behind Kel. One hand tangles in his hair, lifting his head to show the bruises at his throat, the cut at his cheek, the long slashes along his shoulders.
Rosalina gasps, forming fists at her sides.
I ignore her and address the crowd. “If the most powerful of the high princes cannot defy us, then no one can.”
Kel’s breath sharpens.
I lean closer, whispering against his ear, “Tell them.”
No answer.
Louder now. “Tell them you saw this coming. Gods know you would never shut up about it. You knew what I would become. This was always my destiny.”
He stares up at me, blue eyes blazing.
“Cas,” he says, “I was wrong.”
The leash goes cold in my hand.
He keeps talking. “I should have trusted you. Trusted our love. And yet even here, I find I love you still.”
Laughter dies as the hall quiets. Rosalina’s breath stutters.
I stare at him. And for a second, for one cursed heartbeat, I forget where I am.
If you love me, kill me. Kel, you should have killed me.Something wet streaks across my cheek.
