The one who stole his heart and was the reason he’d come up with the most foolish idea that had brought them to this place right now.
Pursing his lips, Lerek shifted and dropped his gaze. “My father would never let me marry you,” he started. When he looked back at her, she’d flinched back, staring at him in horror. “I asked him for permission before you and I ever… I was in love with you—amin love with you—long before you returned my feelings. I went to my father, but he refused me. He already had someone in mind. The sister of King Yorgos of Lasteika. The alliance would bring him one step closer to pulling Pyrgos into his empire. So, I put a plan in motion to switch places with Isher. When the convoy to meet the new northern king left, Isher was to travel with them. As me.”
Terena looked baffled. All the color had drained from her face.
He took a step forward and his chest squeezed when she jerked back. Lerek held up a hand. “It wasn’t supposed to happen the way it did. In my mind, my father wouldn’t know what happened until well after you and I married. That’s why Iasked you to stay in Aurora, do you remember? That’s where I was going to meet you once Isher left with the convoy.”
Still looking at him as if she didn’t know him, Terena did not reply.
Lerek continued. “Someone betrayed me. I don’t know who, but I promise you, Terena, I will find them and I will?—”
“How was Daris involved?”
Lerek stilled. His eyes narrowed as he watched her. “Daris?”
Terena pursed her lips and waved a hand at him. “Commander Daris Antonius of Sparta. How did he figure into your plan?”
Rubbing absently at his wrists, Lerek shifted. His voice cold, he said, “You are overly familiar with the Liodari commander, I think.”
The flood of color rising in her face made his blood boil.
“You’re in no position to judge,” she snapped, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
“I’m not judging, Ren,” Lerek retorted. “I just can’t help but think your mourning period was brief for all you claimed to have felt for me.”
Terena rushed toward him, and for a flash of a moment, he was frightened of what he might’ve unknowingly unleashed.
Grabbing his tunic in both fists, she brought her face within inches of his and whispered, “Your ridiculous plan put me and Sonah in your dungeons.” She pushed him away and rubbed a hand over her face. “We were to beexecutedfor a crime we didn’t commit and when asked about Sparta’s involvement, your first thought is of how I didn’t properly mourn you? Are youfuckingkidding me?”
Looking desperately around the tent, Terena made to move past him, but he grabbed hold of her arm.
“I’m sorry!”
The words felt inadequate, and he searched for something more. “I never meant for you to get arrested. I tried to talk to you that night when you found us, but you… I am sorry, Ren. I am so fucking sorry. I cannot say it enough.”
“And Sonah?” Terena asked as she jerked her arm out of his grip. “Did you not think of her?”
He hung his head. “She was always meant to travel with Isher. I knew it was a possibility she might figure it out before he even reached the north, but I also knew she loved him and would keep our confidence. I swear, Ren, on Gaia and all the old gods, I never thought this would happen. And when it did, I begged Daris Antonius to leave me in Aurora with the firstborns. But he had orders from his king to bring me to Sparta.”
Swallowing, Lerek took a step forward, wincing as Terena held up a hand with a warning glare. He sighed. “I allowed the commander to convince me it was for my own good. That someone plotted against me at the White Palace, and until I knew who, the only way to keep me alive was to stay away from Metilai. You have to understand, I thought I could use Sparta to form an alliance with me. If I could get King Altos to agree, I could go back to Metilai and force my father to?—”
“Force your father?” Terena laughed, her eyes dark with disbelief. “Your plan may have been naive, Lerek, but I never took you for stupid. How exactly are you going to force your father to do anything? You hatched an ill-conceived scheme and got your brother killed! And it almost cost me and Sonah our lives as well, all because you could notforceyour father to do anything!”
Heat flooded Lerek’s face and neck. Lips pinched, he took a moment before answering. Terena was entitled to her anger, but gods was he tired of everyone treating him like a silly child.
“My father will do as I say because I have a feeling I know who was behind my attempted assassination and Isher’smurder. I can leverage that to stave off war and bring some order back to the continent.”
“Oh, brilliant!” Terena clapped slowly. Lerek’s face burned hotter. “Pray, who do you suspect?”
“Never mind that now,” Lerek grunted with a slice of his hand. “I know I’m in no position to ask, but would you grant me a favor? Return me to my camp and come with me to Metilai. Your friends, your warriors, are welcome to join us.”
Terena’s face darkened, her eyes calculating as she canted her head.
“I forgot how arrogant you are,” she said softly, the words punching into his chest like a hammer. “What part of ‘your father tried to fucking kill me’ was lost on you? Gods above and below. Your false death has?—”
Terena stopped abruptly, which was fortunate because Lerek could feel his birthright ready to rear its ugly head with sharp words he would not filter. Her expression flashed from stunned to unreadable, and he was left unsettled. Lerek watched her in silence as her gaze dropped, shielding her from his probing curiosity.
“I…” she swallowed and took a step back. “Soros!”
