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I twist, expecting him to have vanished, but only the wings are gone. Sigurd has his arms propped on the railing again, frowning into the night as if the moments before never happened.
It’s not you he’s interested in,the voice in my head taunts me.It’s her. The woman you look like. You’re a replacement.
“Why do it?” I ask, if only to drown out the voice in my head. “Why hurt someone she loved if you loved her?” When he’d talked about the King of the Forest keeping her from him, I’d assumed she was his consort. How wrong I’d been.
“Why do you really think I’m playing music out here?” He asks over one shoulder. “Why I wanted to see you?”
“Because I look like her.”
Sigurd turns, his head tilting as he assesses me in the moonlight.
“I think you do. I thought it the moment I saw you, but…” His shoulders droop. “I find it hard to remember exactly how she looked anymore. There’s one thing I’ll never forget though.” He pushes off the railing and crosses to me.
My back stiffens but I refuse to back away, meeting his hard stare and tilting my head up to hold it. “What is that?”
“The look in her eyes the last time I saw her. It’s the look in yours right now.” He reaches for me but halts halfway. “Fear. Anger. Staring me down like I’m a villain.”
I swallow the tightness in my throat.
He huffs and turns away. “Maybe I am.”
“Then why be that way? Why create conflict with the Court of the Forest?”
He’s silent for so long I don’t think he’ll answer. But finally, he says, “A young, human woman came to the Court of the Forest. It was the first time the king showed interest, the spark of love. Or so my spies said.”
“Spies…” I hug my arms around myself.
“A king must—”
“Work for the good of his people.” Yeah, yeah. “I’m sure you had their best interest in mind.” My words drip with sarcasm.
Sigurd snarls in return. “Humans are rare in the forest, especially young, fair ones. Her presence gave him strength, the ability to revive his whole court to levels they haven’t been in years. If that happened, I’d lose my chance at revenge, perhaps forever.”
“And you couldn’t handle that?” I throw my hands up in the air. “Just had to be petty and stir up trouble.”
“Petty? Rivenean kept Evelyn away from me after his father died. It was he who refused to let me see her again. Wouldn’t even let me in his territory. For years, I lived off the words of my spies. Little tidbits about her, here and there. I watched her age in my mind, watched her human spark fade and die, all without being able to see her, to hold her again.” He slams his fist on the railing.
My hands ball into fists, and it’s all I can do not to smash one into his face. “He kept her from you? That’s all? Maybe she didn’t want to see you.”
It’s the wrong thing to say.
Sigurd whirls on me, eyes wide. His jaw stiffens. But I can’t help myself. This man, this king, is acting like a child. Maybe no one else will call him out on it, but I’ve had years of putting stupid, annoying men in their place.
“I could have saved her. I could have turned her fae!” Wings snap from his back once more, towering over him larger than before.
I stumble back, my hands in front of me.
He flinches. The wings flutter and dip.
“She didn’t have to die. Not yet.” His voice cracks, something within me right along with it. This is the heart of the matter, the source of his pain.
“The cauldron?”
He doesn’t answer, just scowls into the night.
Hesitantly, I step near. “Uncle Mark told me about how his presence helped Hawke and the Court of Air. Humans heightening fae magic and all, especially m-mates.” I stumble over the word again. “But they both wanted him to become fae anyway, to have more time together.”
“Yes.” He lets out a sharp breath. “And Evelyn could have had so many more years.”
