No one but Temple had an answer.“The next man to touch my wife will find out how well the iron obeys me.”
Despite their numbers, the men—their features shadowed by the darkness, their glamours still in perfect place despite the rain—reared back, scared and unsure.
Temple pulled Diana into his body and set their steps toward the house.
The crowd followed behind them, whispering, sneering, but not touching.
She barely felt the muscle movements that put one leg in front of the other, barely heard the soothing words Temple whispered.Drums beat between her ears, and her limbs had buzzed into numbness.
The house rose larger in front of them, then they were striding across the ballroom where so short a time ago they had been dancing.A man dressed all in silver addressed them, bade them to follow, and led them up a large staircase to a room near the back of the house.The curtains had been closed, and a few real candles flickered on wall sconces.
In the doorway, Diana’s feet rooted to the ground.Her knees gave out.“I-I-I cannot.”
Temple caught her before she crumbled, tucked her tight against his side.So much strength, all of it given to her, time and time again.
Did she even deserve it?
“I cannot.”She didn’t feel the words leave her mouth.But she heard them.They sounded in a voice smaller than her own, cracked and breaking.
“You can,” Temple whispered.The words stout as iron yet soft as his lips.“We can.I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“You cannot promise?—”
“I will tear this world apart with my hammer and hands before I let anyone, including the king, hurt you.Do you understand?”He tilted her chin up, forced her to face him.“Do you understand?”
“We should have run.”
“He’ll listen to me.”
“We could already have been far away.”But his family.She couldn’t… shecouldn’t.She swallowed and found her strength, shifted it to her own two legs and straightened her spine.Every little movement of recovery put distance between them.When she stood beside him, shoulder to shoulder instead of in his arms, she faced the palace, faced the guards walking toward them.
They moved forward together, and Temple bent to whisper in her ear.“If something bad happens, use your talent.Do what you must to escape.”
She nodded.No matter what glamour she used, Temple would see through it.He would always know the truth of her.As they stepped inside, she allowed herself a glance at him.Her very own beautiful knight.Hard jaw smooth, hair sticking up, strong neck, and broad shoulders.Lips that kissed like forever and promised even longer than that.Eyes the kind of fog gray that made you fall in love with a misty morning.
She loved him.But she’d stolen him as surely as she’d stolen Apollo’s talent.She’d not meant to have either, but they’d come to her anyway.
Temple clasped her hand, threaded their fingers together as they inched farther into the opulent room.Rich red wallpaper and golden frames.A large marble fireplace with a gentle blaze behind a fire screen.Thick rugs, elegant furniture.A man stood at a window, parting the curtain to peek out, strong and tall, and when he turned, his handsome face was fierce—slashing brows and clenched jaw.King William.
She dropped into her lowest curtsy as Temple bowed.She stayed there, staring at the rug, the peep of her shoes beneath her skirts, until the king told her to rise.
“Sit,” he demanded, his hands clasped behind his back.
Temple led her to a small sofa and set her beside him.Only then did she see they were not the only ones who’d been summoned.
“Apollo,” Diana breathed.“What are you… What is he…?”He looked like a corpse draped across the chair set at a right angle from their sofa.His head lolled onto the back of the chair, and his eyes were closed.In the daylight, his skin was paler, the weight he’d lost more visible.
Temple made himself large between her and Apollo, not that her cousin seemed to pose a threat.
“Stand down, Knightly,” the king commanded.“I want to know every detail, and I want it now.”
Where to start?
“Fordham tried to kill my wife.”Temple’s cold statement sounded more like a warning.
“That’s true,” Apollo said, flicking a hand out, then letting it drop limp again.
“Twice,” Temple barked.
