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“A life for a life,” Orlena says clearly.
“You traitors.” My father whirls to face the monsters, missing the looks of betrayal. “Seize them!”
No one moves to grab my sister. No one even glances in my direction. They’re all glaring at the king.
“For Daphne,” someone calls.
The crowd nods and monsters begin calling out the names of people they’ve lost. Each and every one died to protect my father’s lie.
“Guess you have your answer,” I say, stepping toward him.
Growling, he drops into a defensive stance. “You’ll have to beat me.”
“Very well.” I start toward him but stop as a tiny dagger imbeds in his throat. He grunts and slaps his hand over the wound, glancing around for the culprit. My gaze goes straight to Harald. His hand is still posed in the after throw, as if he wanted everyone to know exactly who did it, and he winks at me.
“You dare to attack your king?” My father takes a step, but it’s sluggish. Stumbling to the side, he swings his arm out and the first line of monsters steps out of the way. They don’t reach to help him.
They’re done.
And so am I.
“Three,” Harald shouts. “Two. One.”
His legs give out first. The great monster king collapses onto his knees. He glares at the trull. “Poison,” he rasps.
“Sedative,” Harald corrects. “Much as I’d like to add your skin to my cart, the furies aren’t done with ya.”
“Trait—” His words cut off, and he falls face forward into the lush grass.
Silence follows. I wait, giving a chance for anyone to object to what I’m about to do. No one speaks up. No one races to the king’s side. The thing about using everyone for your own gain is that you end up with no one. With a heavy sigh, I lift my gaze from the man who never loved me and find the gaze of the woman who loves me more than words can say.
“Give me my queen.”
FORTY-SIX
Homecoming
DAISY
We leave the vampires with the promise of peace and goodwill. The soldiers are silent as we head home. There’s no rejoicing. No happy banter. Betraying a king is no easy decision, but it was the right thing to do. Orcus holds me tight at the head of the army. Prometheus and the trulls fly ahead of us, leading the way. My throat and chest tighten with every step we take. What will Orshana think? Will she hate me for what I’ve done? As much of a bastard as the king was, he was her mate.
“You’re worrying too much,” Orcus murmurs.
He’s one to talk. It’s not solely my anxiety filling the bond and there’s a permanent line of worry etched across his forehead. Orlena hasn’t said a word either.
“I can’t help it.”
“She will understand.”
Will she? I wouldn’t, but my mate isn’t a horrible excuse of a monster. He’s decent and good and wonderful.
“We need to find Zyla,” I tell him.
“My father would be a fool to kill the witch. She’s probably locked in the dungeon.”
I frown. “Wouldn’t she be able to get out?”
“She would, if not for my father commissioning Callum years ago to craft a spell to prevent any witch or wizard from breaking out.”
