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“Was I the only target?” That’s what I can’t figure out. I just became queen. I don’t have much power.
“You were,” she admits, looking down at her hands.
Yeah, you’ve got two of them. Must be fucking nice.
“Why?”
“Because there are forces at work greater than your husband’s ambitions. And because with you gone, Amber Rogers could be queen again.” The answer cuts so deep because I know in my heart that it’s true.
It’s confirmation that Nathan loved Amber. Loves her, maybe. It’s confirmation that politics alone made me his mate.
He never wanted me.
I knew that, though. I knew he was attracted to me because of the weird bond we have. I knew he thought I was different, somehow, that I was like him because we both invoked the Right of Accord. But that’s all there is.
He’s never going to love me.
The thought almost brings me to my knees. I didn’t realize I even hoped for him to love me.
And now, my sister, who’s supposed to love me, who I thought loved me, has tried to have me killed.
“They’re going to keep coming for you,” Clare continues, “It’s not your fault.”
“Because of these ominous ‘greater forces?’” I snap.
“Yes.” She shrugs helplessly. “If you and Nathan never mated, you wouldn’t be in danger.”
“No shit?” I laugh in disbelief. “You were willing to kill me. Your own sister,” I hope she feels as much disgust toward herself as I do.
“My allegiance is to the pack, first and foremost,” she says. “And you know that you’re not good for us. You were never prepared to rule. And your response to the riot, your anger in its wake—”
“They tried to kill me!” I shout. “Do you not understand what that means? I never wanted the throne. It’s not something I ever thought I could aspire to. This happened to me. Others made this decision for me. Every part of my life has been decided ahead of time, and you were going to decide how much life I get to have?”
“You’re a traitor to your pack, Bailey.” Clare sounds tired of carrying the burden of that opinion. “You left. You thought you had the luxury of choice. You thought of yourself before you thought of the good of the pack and look at where it led!”
“You put the good of the pack over your sister’s life,” I snap back. “Look at where it led!”
“I would rather be in this hole than in your palace,” she says. There’s no anger in it. Just truth.
“Julian will be executed for this, you know,” I tell her. As if the thought hasn’t already crossed her mind.
“Your husband already sentenced him—”
“His Majesty, King Nathaniel of the Toronto pack,” I correct her. “You’re in no position to express familiarity.”
She doesn’t revise her statement. “And me. I’ve received my sentence.”
My blood freezes in my veins, not just due to the chill and damp of the stones enclosing us. My sister is going to die. Yes, she tried to kill me. She chose a woman she doesn’t even know over me, to replace me in my mate’s bed. To put my mate’s mistress on my throne.
It hurts far worse to learn that my own sister prefers Amber to me than it ever hurt coming from Nathan.
“He’s going to have you executed?” I ask.
“I’m to be a guest of honor at Lycaon’s Banquet,” she says bitterly. “And then I’ll be executed.”
My stomach drops. “And Julian?”
“Julian has fled. He’s under the protection of the Saint-Laurent pack.”
My mind reels with all sorts of plans. I could aid her in escape. She could flee to Quebec. They could protect her. They—
They won’t stop trying to steal our pack. They won’t stop until we crush them.
I’ll only be delaying the inevitable. We would have to inflict Lycaon’s Banquet on the pack again. It will make Nathan and I look even more like blood-thirsty monsters.
“He left without you,” I state flatly.
Another silent nod.
“I brought you out of exile,” I remind her. “I brought you back so you could be with me and Tara. Your family. Your mate is a traitor to his pack and now he’s betrayed you, as well.”
Her head drops and her back shakes with silent sobs.
“I hope it was worth it.” I turn and start to walk away, and Clare lurches from the cot to grab the bars of her cell.
“You are my sister!” she shouts after me. “You can’t let him do this!”
I turn to face her, pushing all my emotions down so deep, even she, who has known me my entire life, won’t see the storm of anguish raging in my heart. “No. I’m your enemy.”
I turn away, my legs unsteady but my feet lead, growing heavier with every step as Clare calls my name until the heavy iron doors of the dungeon clang shut behind me.
