“Threatening a Queen is treason,” she countered. “Surely there was another way for your father to handle it.”
When they had first arrived at the Castle, Cas had given Gaven the deadliest look outside that meeting room where they had verified her lineage. Sol never forgot it, and as he slowly turned toward her and gave her that same look, she knew whatever trust they had created was cleaved in that very instant.
She struggled not to falter at the rawness of his gaze while he turned to fully face her, his fingertips sparking violet and his Shadows seeping from his shoulders.
“Did they tell you the full story, Princess?” He leaned toward her, his eyes welding her to her spot, beacons in the dimming light. “Or did whoever told you leave out the grueling details, as everyone always seems to?”
Sol’s chest heated, her stomach churning with caution. “I don’t see how any details would excuse your father for wanting my mother dead,” she said tightly.
He scoffed. “Let’s see.”
The firelights went dark. One by one, the orb lights around them flickered until the only light was the sparkle of violet at Cas's fingertips.
She had never seen him this way. Although severe with others, Cas always remained rather gentle with her, even when she wasn't. The stark difference made Sol step back, truly for the first time scared of him.
“Your mother was to wed my father,” he said, his tone as cold as ever. “He was declared winner of her Coronation Vows. He discarded my mother, left her for yours, in the name of power.” His Shadows heated around them. “AXanthos and a Yarrow, two of the greatest Warden lines. The power their children would hold drove the South feral with ambition. To remain on their good side, to be appointed to their Heir’s court.”
Sol’s back pressed against the shelves, the furniture slightly swaying with the impact. Cas grabbed her wrist.
If to keep her from falling or from running, she didn’t know.
“My father was in love with Irene. Blind with it,” he continued. “Left me and my sister to rot in Eswin. Got Gina pregnant in hopes of moving on with her, but could never quite shake off your mother. Left Eswin to my mother’s reign, to a woman without a single clue how to lead.” Her birthmark burned.
Still, she held his gaze.
Still, he held her firmly to her spot.
“Your mother never cared. Never accepted his proclamations, his unrivaled devotion. She said she’d marry him for duty, nothing more.” His breath was labored, seeming at the brink of whatever restraint he managed. “Seems like you both have that fucked up sense of duty in common, huh?”
“If you wanted to insult my morals, Prince, there was no need for these theatrics,” she said, voice wavering. “You’ve told me plenty you disagree with me about.”
He gave her a cold smile. “See, you don’t get it, Sol. I don’t disagree with you. I simply don’t care about others as much as you claim to.”
Sol glared at him, betrayal oozing with an icy ache into her chest. After everything. After he sat with her to make sure she ate, after she told him her biggest secret... “You lie to yourself, Casimir.”
The Ward at his fingertips faltered, but he didn’t. “My father left Rimemere to the borders of Romalia, to fight in a war your family started. He came back and… Well, I assume you know that part of the story.”
Sol was never leaving her bed again. Screw this. Screw Cas. Every time she felt closer to besting his self-loathing it plummeted back into her with the weight of falling ceilings, of tombstones, of a kingdom. Trusting anyone other than Lora, Leo, and Mina was amistake. None of these people cared about her. Didn’t care about her mother, why would they??—
“What I know they didn’t tell you, Sol, is that after my father was executed, I chose death.”
At the mention of her name, she met his eyes. They weren’t angry. Despite the atmosphere hanging cold and daunting, despite the sparks of lightning around them and the shivering darkness, his face was calm. Stoic. Detached. “When Irene made me choose between being bound to her or death, I chose death.”
“Cas—” she breathed, inching forward.
This time, he took a step back.
“And I think your mother knew I’d choose that.” He tightened his grip on her arm as the memory consumed him, his Shadows becoming denser, almost obscuring him completely from view. “Because after she ordered everyone out of the execution room, except her Court and me, she brought out my mother and sister. My six-year-old sister. Maya.”
Sol shivered.
No. She didn’t know the full story.
“She then gave me another option,” he continued, his eyes trailing her face, her tense shoulders. “Swear loyalty to her or she’d kill them too.”
Breathing became difficult. And as the sparks of the Ward shone and frayed, Sol wished he’d let her go, so she could fall to her knees and sob.
“I’m sure you can guess which one I chose,” he continued.
