The assault on the mist wall continued, and it was an extraordinary effort to maintain the barrier without splittingmy attention between it and the Sidhe King. I needed to take a deep breath, and I needed him further from me.
I touched Clause’s chest, and his breath hitched as my fingers slid over the soft fabric of his shirt till resting in the center, over his sternum. His warmth seeped into my icy hand. “Instead of showing me compassion, you shoved me off a cliff and turned your nose up at me.” I pushed him away from me.
His hands dropped, and he stumbled back a few steps. “How do you not see how much I love you? How I miss you? How my actions are intended to protect you?” His head pivoted, looking at the painting with longing. “I have missed you for nearly as long as I have lived. For centuries, my heart has only beat for you. I waited for you.” He turned, those cold eyes finding me once more. “You are the only thing important to me in this world. I would give you the world. Why do you fight our bond?”
“You are lying to yourself if you believe that. Because you would only allow for me to experienceyourworld, not the one outside these walls, and not the way I want to experience it.”
“You’ll change your mind,” he said, his eyes shifting to my tightly clenched fists. Those observant eyes then scanned me, resting on my hairline a moment too long, probably noting the moisture building there from silent effort.Cold gray eyes pinned me. “What are you doing?”
“What is right,” I answered.
In two long strides, he was before me, a hand at my throat. He did not squeeze, yet kept me pressed to the wall as his power invaded me, stealing away my conjuring. The mist around the room fell. A rush of people crashed through the door into the room.
Clause’s eyes remained on me, his jaw clenched.
“There’s been an attack. Our walls are breached,” Malavika stated.
“Go to your perch and kill them all,” Clause answered without even looking at her.
I dared to break eye contact with him and glanced at the door, finding Soren and two guards standing there, looking uncertain what to do next.
Clause’s hand moved, releasing my throat, only to run his thumb across my lips tenderly. I reacted, trying to push him away.
With ease, his free hand captured my wrists, trapping them in front of my chest.
Dizziness overcame me, taking my fight. My knees weakened. “What are you doing?” I drew a deep, shaky breath as gray eyes pierced into me.
Clause leaned towards me, his breath hot on my neck. “Forcefully slowing your heart so that you are less likely to cause trouble.” When he pulled away, his hand gripped under my arm, taking me with him as he moved me towards the door. “Soren, take her to the bird’s nest balcony so she can have a delightful view, as everything shethinksshe loves crumbles beneath her feet.”
Soren slipped a hand under my arm, taking the brunt of my weight, for I could no longer hold myself upright as the world somersaulted around me. But before we moved, Clause’s hand reached behind my head, gripping my skull and forcing me to face him.
He leaned in, his lips just shy of mine when he spoke. “Were you anyone else, I would have killed you for such a stunt.”
And that made me his perfect curse, something that even he was incapable of destroying.
Buthewas notmycurse, and in that moment, I very much wished to end him and his horrid reign.
31
ERIK
Whispers slithered through the streets, thick with manipulation. The voice conjured by someone spewing lies. Each word seeped into the minds of the Sidhe citizens who heard them, poisoning their thoughts and twisting their fears into weapons. I could almost see the ripple of voice’s effect—civilians who have never trained for combat, squared off with an army that easily slashed them down.Their eyes burned with a mix of terror and resolve, a lethal combination. The Sidhe King clearly hoped to overwhelm us by the sheer number of those opposing us.
“Lysians and Bavadrins are attacking our capitol,” the voice hissed, reverberating through the streets. “They wish to erase our great city from the map. All citizens are encouraged to take arms and protect your homes, protect your loved ones, protect yourselves. These foes will stop at nothing to see you fall. They do not care whether you are weak, whether you surrender, whether you run, whether you are a child. Protect your homes. Protect your loved ones. Protect yourselves.”
The lies wove themselves deep, driving desperation into the hearts of their people. They weren’t soldiers. As puppets on strings of conjured deceit, fear and manipulation consumed them.
“Iver!” My brother’s sudden presence snapped me out of my grim observation.
He ran towards me, his expression tight with urgency. “I found Ariana.”
Relief collided with the pressure of the situation. “Take her and run,” I ordered, my voice rough. “We need to retreat.” He gave a single nod before vanishing into the fray.
For a moment, I stood frozen, the echoes of the conjured voice still slithered through the streets. I turned, my gaze sweeping over the destruction I had caused—the charred bodies, the crumbled structures, and the blood staining the cobblestones. Innocent souls, exploited into standing against us, lay among the wreckage.
This was not how this should have been.
But we had placed too much trust in the Seer, as if she would have cared for the loss of necessary lives enough to warn us against this outcome. But Edda said nothing, and thus never considered facing anything other than soldiers. We should have questioned everything. Should have assumed Clause would use his own people as shields and weapons without care.
