Page 94 of Black Sea

He watched me so closely that I felt the need to step back. No, I suddenly realized. Not the need to step back.

The need to attack.

“There is something different about you,” the king said slowly. “Something I don’t like. Something that upsets me.”

I hid the fear that whatever was stirring angrily inside me was injecting me, then moved closer to my father to take his hand. “I beg you. Give him another chance. Prove to him we’re not monsters.”

“Our father has nothing to prove!” Araton cried out, beside himself. “Neither to that rat nor to humans.”

I released the king’s hand and, on impulse, turned toward my brother. “So you would really let a feud erupt between our peoples, risking a terrible war?”

“The feud is already raging, Sister.”

I moved toward him in a belligerent manner. “What if the disease affecting the men’s fields also spreads to the Forest of Witches, and they decide to ally with humans to get the Crystal?”

“Witches have their own magic. They certainly don’t need ours,” Araton replied bitterly.

“No power can surpass Calien’s, except for Mornon’s,” I stated in a voice so dark that, for a moment, I did not recognize it.

I did not recognize myself.

Hearing the name of our ancient enemy slip so easily from my lips, my father and Araton froze.

“That’s enough,” the king declared, looking at me with much severity. “You have both voiced your concerns. I will think it over tonight. You will have my decision tomorrow.”

“Father—” my brother and I tried to say at the same time.

“Go,” he ordered peremptorily, turning to the brazier to cut us off from his thoughts.

Without hesitation, Araton stormed angrily toward his wing of the palace.

I cast one last rageful glance at the king’s back, then chased my brother.

56

“What is your problem?” I yelled as I crossed the tall threshold of the building where my brother now lived alone.

Soon after their union ceremony, Serie had embellished each room with bouquets and garlands of flowers, ensuring their wing of the compound was always filled with fragrance, color, and vitality.

But now, there was no bud to adorn the bare atrium or the intricate light-wood handrails of the stairs leading to the bedroom. The gray marble floor felt even colder than the natural stone walls, which were decorated with glass lanterns that appeared unable to emit warmth or light ever since Araton’s mate had passed.

He abruptly turned toward me just before swinging open the beautifully carved arched doors leading to the other rooms.

“You chose him, Nauriel,” he bellowed in my face. “That day, instead of coming to me, instead of thinking about your people, you decided to stay with that filthy half-blood and risk your life.”

“His name is Amlach,” I hissed through gritted teeth.

Araton grabbed my arms and gave me a sharp shake, as if trying to clear the madness from me, his face twisted with both anguish and anger. “Do you have any idea how scared I was when I saw you fall?”

“Not enough, obviously, otherwise you would have jumped right in.” I yanked his hands off me with force. “Instead, it was Amlach who saved me. You—” My voice cracked, and I turned my head away to wipe the tear that rolled down my cheek with an annoyed gesture. Then I fixed my brother in my rancorous stare. “You listened to your wounded pride. And you made me pay for my choice. And I did pay, Araton. The scars I’ll carry forever prove it. So why do you keep punishing me with your hostility?”

He invaded my personal space in a threatening manner. “Because I can’t stand the way you look at him. The way he looks at you.” Suffering flashed in his eyes. “It feels as if you are each other’s entire world.”

And that, I understood, reminded him of his bond with Serie and all the happiness he had lost. But what he was insinuating was . . . was absurd.

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my emotions under control. “Amlach and I have been through a lot together, Araton.”

“Spirits, Nauriel, it looks like you’re mates!” he yelled, suddenly stepping away from me. He reached out one arm toward the building’s entrance, pointing in the direction of the dungeons. “You can’t even keep away from him.”