He runs his palm over the back of his neck and nods. “I understand, and I promise to make things right between us.”
“I don’t think you can, Kyron.”
He looks right into my eyes and says, “Then I’ll spend the rest of my life trying.”
“We have a lot to overcome, and I don’t want tobe in love with you.”
“And yet, you are.” It’s not a question. There’s no need for it to be. He feels the same tug as I do in his heart. The crack that has split it in two has done the same to him. Despite that, I don’t confirm what he knows. I refuse to give him that hope when he has taken so much from me.
“I’ll do whatever it takes.Wewill overcome this,” he promises.
Every cell of my body wants that to be the truth, but it is impossible to imagine rectifying the damage done. It’s more than my broken heart. We’re up against the legacy of our predecessors. How do we end decades of a bloody war without one of our kingdoms bending? Our people are resolute in their beliefs. Mine don’t want to succumb to the lust for power and his are content to take what isn’t theirs. So, who gives in so he and I can build a life together?
It won’t be Lucent. I won’t do that to my people. My matters of the heart won’t be the cause of their captivity.
Kyron gathers our crowns from the floor and offers me his arm. “Let’s get you back before we’re discovered. A Lucent and a Stigian copulating in the hallways would be scandalous.”
“Statera forbid that we give the people something to gossip about,” I say, taking my crown and placing it upon my head.
We turn into our wing of the palace. Zek sits next to my door waiting. He lifts his head and lowers the front legs of his wooden chair to the floor. With raised brows, he stands and looks me up and down. There is no misinterpreting my current state with my torn clothes, puffy lips, and messy hair. Zek’s fingers skim the pummel of his sword, and as we move closer, Kyron returns his glare with a smug smile.
I pull Kyron’s jacket tighter around me and smack him in the stomach with the back of my hand. “Contain yourself. You’ve not won. I’m still sleeping in my roomalone.”
“For now.”
I release an exasperated breath and step ahead of him. Zek holds out his arm, separating me from the prince and steering me toward my room.
Dipping his head, he lowers his voice and asks, “Are you all right?”
I open my mouth to answer, but Kyron speaks up first. “She’s perfectly fine.”
Zek turns on his heels and steps toward him. “I didn’t ask you.”
“Well, I answered.” The prince straightens his spine and squares his shoulders. “You know what she is to me. You don’t need to concern yourselfwith her safety when we’re together. In fact, you don’t need to concern yourself with her at all.”
Zek leans in, his nose almost touching Kyron’s, and the deep rumble of his voice vibrates off the walls as he says, “Perhaps that was once true, but I have it under good authority that you now have a tendency to take things that aren’t yours. If you’ve siphoned her gift once, what’s stopping you from taking other things that she hasn’t freely offered you?”
“Fuck you,” Kyron spits, pulling back his arm and aiming his fist at my guard’s face.
Zek draws his sword, and I dash to get between them. I grab the hilt of his weapon out of his hand as my other palm ignites with fire. I hold out the flame to my guard as the tip of his sword falls just short of reaching Kyron’s chest. Both men freeze, gaping down at the weapons I wield, frozen in mid-attack.
“I don’t need either of you to defend my honor. I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself,” I say, my attention darting between them.
The door to my father’s room swings open, and he steps into the hall. His shirt is skewed, like he just threw it on, and a worry line sits deep between his eyes. “What in the five kingdoms is happening out here?”
Kyron and Zek remain focused on each other, like they’re searching for the perfect opening to get the upper hand. Their stubbornness wears on my last nerve.
“Go to your room, Kyron,” I say through gritting teeth. “And you”—I turn to Zek—“wait for me in my room.” They hesitate and I press a little closer with the sword and fire. “Now!”
Both men back down, moving to opposite sides of the hall, and I relax the weapons.
“I’ve got it under control, Papa,” I say.
“I see that,” he says with a proud smile and slips back into his room.
Zek follows my command and retreats to my room.
I meet Kyron’s concerned gaze and release his gift. “Please go to bed and let me handle Zek.”
