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All she could see was the sword in Magnus’s grip, light glinting off its sharp blade. A sword that, with one quick thrust, would end her.
“You . . . you honestly mean to d-do this?” she stammered. “To me? After—after everything we’ve survived together?”
“There’s no other choice.”
She grappled to maintain her composure, her grace, before dying, but it slipped through her fingers like sand. “And how will you do it?” she asked, breathless, heart fluttering like a flock of starlings. “Thrust a sword through my back when I’m not looking, like you did to Theon?”
“I was a boy then, I didn’t know myself when I killed that guard. But I know myself now. You, too, know me now, Cleiona. Which means you can’t be surprised by the choice I’ve made.”
Tears stung her eyes and she faced the cliff’s edge. “Everything is a surprise to me when it comes to you, Magnus.”
She thought of her father, the good and noble king. She thought of Emilia, of Theon and Mira. Everyone she’d lost. Everyone she’d been fighting for.
“Then do it,” she gritted out, glancing over her shoulder at him. “Do it now.”
Magnus nodded, his expression grim. “Very well, my princess.”
He turned and swung the sword. Cleo braced herself, and felt the gust of wind brought by the speed of Magnus’s blade. But that was all she felt. Then, hearing a deep, primal roar, she turned with surprise to see Magnus striking at his father with a furious blow.
The king brought up his weapon just in time, and their swords clashed. Clearly, his father had been ready for him to strike.
“Oh, Magnus, don’t look so surprised,” the king said, their swords locked together, their faces uncomfortably close. “I know you, can predict your every move, because a long time ago I was you. But still I’d hoped, perhaps, that you would see reason much sooner than I did.”
The guards took a step closer and the king flicked a look at them, halting them in place. “Stay where you are. It’s time that my son and I had this out between the two of us. He likely thinks he has a chance to win.”
“I’m younger,” Magnus growled. “I’m stronger.”
“Younger, yes. Perhaps stronger. But experience is the key to swordsmanship. And I am overflowing with experience in protecting myself, my son.”
The king shoved him backward, then swung his sword. Magnus stopped it with his own, steel clashing.
“Experience, you say? It seems to me that your preferred method of protecting yourself these days is to hide away in your palace. Or perhaps go groveling overseas to more powerful men—or women—and offer up your kingdom like a shiny apple.”
“Mytica is mine to do with as I wish.”
“You could have fooled me. It seems to be Amara’s now.”
“Amara is my wife. Just another thing I own. When she’s gone, I will be the Emperor of everything.”
“No, Father. By the time she’s gone, you’ll already be dead.”
Their blades crossed again, and there was such force from both sides that it seemed to Cleo that the two were equally matched.
o;Amara is very angry with you, you know. She’s asked me to bring you back so she can deal with you herself, but I don’t think I will. Grant that girl too many wishes and she might start to think she has some power over me. No woman will ever have power over me. Not ever again.”
King Gaius stood before her now, glaring into her soul with eyes like two black bottomless pits of hatred.
Finally, he tore his gaze away from her and looked back at Magnus. “Amara believes I should have you executed for treason.”
“And what do you believe?”
“I believe in family. And I believe in second chances for family—if they are earned.”
“And, pray tell, how could I ever earn this second chance from you, Father?”
The king nodded, and a guard shoved Cleo to the ground, sending her to her knees, hard.
“You will earn it with a blood sacrifice. To the goddess Valoria, and to me. This girl is a threat—to both of us. She will lead you to your demise if you let her. I also had a choice once. To give my life for someone else or to sacrifice her and live in prosperity. When I made the wrong choice, your grandmother stepped in, vanquished my love, and saved my life. Should you make the wrong choice today, I will do you the same favor. But you will still not have earned your redemption. After all, falling in love is not the only crime you’ve committed for which you’ve yet to pay.”
