Myeyeslingeronthe gold roaring lions in front of me, the sharp sting of shame curling between my ribs. I hate the sigil. Hatethe man waiting on the other side of the doors that forced it onto my skin. Xander had given me a few minutes to heed the king’s command in what appeared to be a small dining room, and I was able to take a few bites of an egg and vegetable dish before the magic subsided and my body became my own again. I should have kept going, but the moment I had my autonomy back, all I wanted to do was push away from the table and getwhatever cruel thing the king had planned next over with. That, and it wasimpossibleto eat when I could still smell the burning of my flesh in my nose. When each breath and small movement stung in a way that was hard to describe.
“You shouldn’t taunt him.” Xander keeps his voice only loud enough for me to hear, but my steps falter as I give him a sidelong glance. I don’t know what to say, afraid of somehow revealing too much about myself or getting tricked into talking about Nox. So I keep quiet as Xander forces our steps to slow and those lions loom closer. “He’ll only make things worse for you.”
I pinch my lips to keep from responding, even as the dread of knowing that the king absolutelycoulddo that pricks at the back of my neck.
Xander’s hand presses to the side of his thigh, right over the blade strapped there. “I remember it, too,” he says softly. The gentlest he’s ever spoken to me. “And you will never know how much I wish there had been a different way.”
At that, I look at him fully, turning my head as I acknowledge the way a little emotion seeps through his mask. Not enough to warrant believing him, but just enough that for a moment, I consider it. But then my eyes catch on the front of his armor and the way his sword hangs so frivolously at his hip. A weapon that I know he can wield there to remind me that he had and that a man I loved dearly had been skewered on its end. I wobble in place but turn back to the doors and stride towards them. Xander moves fast enough that he gets to them before I do, his fingers curling around one of the golden handles. I swallow back the fear that makes my heart race faster, the commander’s gaze heavy on the side of my face.
“I’ll wait out here.” He says it like it’s supposed to mean something to me. Like there’s comfort in knowing that.
“And I’ll endure in there.” His body stiffens before he pulls the door open on silent hinges, and a room far grander than any I had been shown so far appears. Polished cream tile glistens under the sunlight streaming in from the four large rectangular windows in front of me, and my steps click loudly over it as I enter, searching for the king.
“How are you feeling after eating?” he asks, and I find him sitting on a throne centered on a dais only a few steps high. The throne, like the rest of the room, is beautiful in the way all opulent things are. The ornate details—the obvious display of wealth—it all speaks loudly of trying to cover something hideous with something that sparkles. It’s a distraction, and one I refuse to fall for.
I stop a healthy distance away from him, clutching on to any defiance that I can. Even as simple as keeping space between us when I know he wishes there were none. “Is a throne room necessary in a secondary,hiddenresidence?”
He props his jaw on his hand, the laziest I’ve ever seen his posture. “Necessary? No. But a king must always be prepared in case he needs to flaunt his power.”
“And you believe sitting in that chair does that?”
“No,” he answers, dropping his arm to the armrest as he straightens. “But having you at my side will.” He stands and steps down the dais, gesturing to his right. “I want to show you something.” When I hesitate to follow, he pivots and marches towards me, gripping my arm and all but dragging me to where a mirror stands tall. “You know I don’t mind reminding you of your place. Of the title you haveyetto earn.” Jerking me to a stop, he reaches for the braid hanging down my back and tugs on it until my back arches. I grunt out at the movement, searing pain traveling in waves out from my hip. “I want your hair unrestrained for me from now on,” he growls, trailing his knuckles down my cheek.
When he finally lets me go, I blink away the pressure building behind my eyes as I stare at him, forcing a rough exhale from my mouth. “Ihateyou.”
“For now,” he responds, his voice hard with resolve. “But you’ll see soon enough. That ring on your finger may not have been the one I chose for you, but it is a symbol of my love for you nonetheless. You just have to stop fighting me.”
I scoff, my brows raising incredulously. “Loveis not something you can force upon someone. It is not some weapon you can wield to get what you want.”
“And what would you know of it?” he counters, eyes bright with challenge. “What would a woman who spent her life protected in a tower know of the intricacies of the emotion or, better yet, the true intentions of the men around her? Did you know thatFlynnwas actually the mage prince? Or did you trust him to be honest with you?”
I ignore his use of the wordprotected, of the way he tries to tarnish Nox’s reputation. Yes, he had lied, but so had I. And I knew that since we had promised to be honest with each other, we both had. “And what wouldyouknow of it? What would a man who thinks marrying his niece—”
The action happens so abruptly. Between one word and the next, Dolian rises and slaps me, my head jerking to the side as tears immediately spring to my eyes. I gasp a breath as I steady myself, my hand cupping my cheek tenderly. “You may doubt my feelings for you, but I have never lied about them, Rhea. I have always shown you exactly who I am. Did it ever occur to you that if he’d lie once, it would be easy for him to do it again? Did you everthinkthat your inexperience made you an easy target?”
“I think that not everyone approaches relationships and love as if they need to control every facet of it. I think people make mistakes, but it’s how they prove themselves in their actions after those mistakes that defines who they are.”
“If that’s the case, let’s test the loyalty of such a worthy prince now.” King Dolian takes a few steps forward and the glass of the mirror in front of us begins toripple. Gods above, it isn’t just any mirror buttheMirror. Air rushes from me as I let my lips part, surprise mingling with dread until they are crawling up my throat. “Let’s see what happens when we call upon the Mage Kingdom.” I step closer, my eyes locked on the Mirror as the glass moves like a current of water. He wraps an arm around my back, his fingers perilously close to the brand. “King SadrynorPrince Nox of the Mage Kingdom.”
My heart stutters in its beats at Nox’s name, and I don’t need to look at my reflection in the Mirror to know that there is an eagerness in my eyes that I should be doing a better job at hiding. The glass fogs over, a silver haziness that mimics storm clouds blurring out my face and that of the king next to me as the magic reaches out to the Mage Kingdom. For a moment, the pain of my hip is lost to the desperate hope that spears me at the thought of seeing Nox. But then I realize that I’d more than likely see Sadryn, especially if Nox has already left. The fogginess of the Mirror dissipates, my brows furrowing when it returns back to a liquid state. King Dolian calls out again, but the minutes pass and no one appears on the other side.
“Curious, isn’t it?” he asks, voice low as he turns to face me.
“What is?”
“The lack of response. It makes one wonder why there is no urgency to answer another king.”
I try to swallow, but a lump sits heavily in my throat. “Perhaps there is no one near the Mirror at this exact moment.”
“That could be true.” His fingers grip my chin as he tugs me head to the right, my gaze clashing with his. “But it doesn’t explain the lack of answering yesterday. Or the day before.”
My blood runs cold as I draw in a breath. “You’ve been trying to reach them since—”
“Since you’ve come home, yes. I wanted to let them know you were safe here.” The devious smile that parts his lips says otherwise and I jerk my head out of his hold.
“You wanted togloat.”
His laugh is hollow. “A little of that too, yes. But they never answered those other times, either, Rhea. I’m afraid we are left to wonder if either the entire royal family is missing from the palace or, the more likely scenario, they just aren’t missingyou.”
