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“Yes!” The answer tore from my mouth without thought, the truth scraping like poisoned claws across my chest. I was despicable, but he was the reason for it all, as I was his cause. “He is—he’s my mate.”
“What?” Killian’s eyes widened in horror, dropping away from me, his head wagging. “No.”
“Yes.” Croygen’s heady gaze found me. No fear, not scrambling to find another excuse. It had been there for so long, waiting for us to accept it, to stop fighting. The moment he spoke, agreeing, I felt the bond sink into me, finally finding its home. A sly smile hinted on his mouth, and he craned his neck to Killian. “That’s a twist in your plot, isn’t it?”
“No.” Killian shook his head more fervently. “Tell me you are joking, Katrina. There is no way that can be true.”
I could say nothing in response. No lie in the world could cover what Croygen and I had between us now. It throbbed like a heartbeat, filling the room with energy.
And I knew the moment Killian experienced it too, when he read my expression. The most guttural pain carved through Killian, like the world he had built around himself had officially broken. The fantasy he had of becoming this leader, this man that I would finally take notice of… and love.
Instead, I fell in love with our enemy. The man he idolized, envied, and detested more than anything.
The cut was bottomless, striking Killian as if I had plunged my blade into his gut. In only a blink, I saw his heart shatter, his hope burn, and his soul shut down.
A wall stood before me. His expression went cold. Stoic. As if nothing in the world could ever touch him again. A completely different man stood before me. One that would watch life drain from my body without any emotion.
“Lord Killian?” A soldier poked his head into the room.
Killian continued to watch me, his expression stone. “Yes?” Slowly, he buttoned his jacket, becoming a fae lord, the last bit of the pirate vanishing. And I knew it was gone for good.
“You are needed upstairs, sir.” The boy dipped quickly back into the passage. “There is a situation.”
Killian glanced between us. Not one drop of emotion showed as he tugged at his cuffs, whipping around, sauntering out the door.
“Killian?” I called out his name.
He turned at the entrance of the cell. “You’ve made your choice, Katrina. You lived for him, now you will diewithhim.” He seethed, turning to Croygen. “Live by the sword, now you will die by yourownsword. Call it poetic justice.”
The door slammed shut, echoing down the hall.
Cold, barren.
The passionate boy who dueled me on the ship’s deck, the adoring man who battled by my side, who sat with me until the sun rose, talking and laughing.
He was no longer.
The meticulous, pitiless fae lord had risen in his place…
Becoming my enemy.
My heart thrashed in my chest. I let out the wail of a little girl who had forever lost her friend, not understanding all the adult complications. She didn’t care how we got here; she just wanted her friend back. Killian had been such a core part of my life; after losing my father, he was who I had gone to. Had been my cornerstone.
Once again, he turned his back on me. And this time, he was going to make sure I paid for my crimes.
“Katrina?” My name called from somewhere outside of me, my agony folding me in on myself, sobs racking through my body as I curled into a ball. It was all too much. My father, Killian, losing the nectar, Annabeth dying, and my crew would probably die because I failed.
And I couldn’t even process what Croygen and I were.
“Kitten…” His voice wrapped around me, trying to keep me above water, when all I wanted to do was sink. “Don’t give up on me now.” His shackles jangled, trying to get as close to me as possible. “Look at me.”
I didn’t move.
“Look. At. Me. Kat.” His demand was like fingers on my chin, turning my head to him. His dark eyes held mine. Fierce and soft at the same time. He allowed me in, the energy between us quieting my head and heart. “We’re not dying here, you got me? I amnotletting Killian touch you. And he doesn’t have any say on how I go out—that right is yours now.”
Oxygen caught my throat, his statement entrenching across my lungs. The meaning of it sparked through me. To Croygen, it meant more than I love you. He was trusting me with his life, his heart, his soul… and whatever I wanted to do, he would not stop me.
Trust for pirates weighed more than any treasure on Earth.
