Page 129 of Three Dark Kings and the Gilded Serpent

I try to breathe through the fear and the hurt and the painful hope as he holds my gaze.

“Whatever pain you fear this blood bind will bring to me, Thyra, I don’t fear my death,” he says. “I’ve already fucking died. And you’ve already proven that you would battle through excruciating pain and darkness to save me. What greater love could I ever hope for?”

He drags in a ragged breath. “The worst pain this bind could cause me is for you to push me away because of fear. The cruelest harm would be losing you because of some dark trickery.”

His jaw clenches as he draws back from me. “I won’t let that happen. If you want to leave, I will fight to the death for your right to leave. But if you want to stay, then I will fight any darkness for you to stay.”

Tears stream down my cheeks. I don’t know when they started, but my heart is in tatters.

I was certain Stellen’s logic, not his heart, would dictate his actions. Now it’s my trust that’s being tested. Because with every breath I take, I still expect pain.

I never expected grace.

“I didn’t… I don’t…” I try to speak but can’t, a quiet sob all I can utter.

“Thyra, you’re my family now.” Stellen’s gentle hand finds my back, rubbing my sore muscles, easing the last shreds of my fear. “I hope I’ve already proven to you that I will love you beyond death.”

“You have.” I squeeze my eyes closed, my arms tight around Antony and even though I wouldn’t let go of him for the world, I wish I could draw Stellen closer.

His hand continues to ease my muscles, his power cooling the water spraying around us, little snowflakes floating at my sides. Landing on my nose, dusting my hair. Only to be washed away seconds later.

A snowflake drifts to Antony’s forehead, rinsed away a moment later, but he stirs, giving a deep grumble. “Fuck me, I will not be outshone by you, Stellen Nas’Lethian.”

“Antony?” I check his eyes, finding them open only to slits, still badly bloodshot and unfocused.

“Give me a minute,” he mumbles. “I have things I want to…”

The resumed heaviness of his body warns me he might have blacked out again.

“Antony?”

He drags in a deep breath, stirring. “Things I want to say.”

“Well,” I whisper. “You might wish to speak, but I’m not listening until you let me remove this plate.”

The burning of his exposed skin appears to have stopped. The water has certainly helped. But his final plate of armor still feels warm and that can’t be a good thing.

Even so, he attempts to angle away from me, a movement that only makes the plate slip.

My stern question is instant. “How much did you hear before?”

Antony attempts to hunch again, a fruitless endeavor. “You can levitate.”

“Then you heard enough to know I’m not to be trifled with.” Bracing with my legs, I slip one hand from his back and press it to his cheek, forcing him to meet my eyes. “Let me take off this final piece.”

His unfocused gaze slides away from me but he pulls the final steel plate from between us.

A clatter sounds, which I at first think is the plate meeting the floor, but then the subsequent clank indicates otherwise.

Stellen’s quiet exclamation makes me worried. “Fuck, Antony.”

I adjust my balance so I can look down at Antony’s chest.

Oh, no.

A gaping wound cuts across his heart, the organ itself visible through the opening and horribly mangled.

“How…?” Hot tears burn behind my eyes. “Oh.”