Jakobav raised a brow, slow and lethal.
“…shit,” Thane muttered. “We’re not supposed to say that, are we?”
Ella’s eyes snapped to Jakobav. “You told them?!”
Jakobav didn’t answer.
Thane, flustered now, adjusted Maeren in his arms again like he could hide behind her.
“Shit. Look, I didn’t mean to blow it, alright? We won’t tell anyone. I swear. No one will know about your…your little secret. Not a soul. We’ll keep you secure. Hidden. No one will—” He glanced at Jakobav’s expression. “Fuck.”
“Thane,” Jakobav said, voice like steel drawn bare, “For once in your life, shut your godsdamned mouth.”
“Shutting,” Thane said, nodding fast. “Mouth? Closed. Sealed. Buried in the woods.”
Ella’s pulse hammered, every beat hot with betrayal.
The damage was done.
She looked between them. Jakobav, stone-faced and unreadable. Thane, visibly sweating.
The lie unraveled in the dirt between them.
Jakobav’s head turned slowly. His eyes locked on hers.
Her last tether of calm broke. Something inside her snapped, cold fury spilling free.
“You promised,” she hissed, voice rising. “You said?—”
“I said I hadn’t told anyone yet,” Jakobav said evenly. “I never said I’d keep secrets from my inner circle.”
“Gods, you arrogant…” She stalked toward him, fury blazing hotter with every step. “Do you know what you’ve done? I’ve hidden who I am for years. I’ve bled and run and clawed my way to survive, all to protect Orchid. And in one fucking week, you’ve blown everything I gave up the crown for!”
Jakobav didn’t flinch. “My circle has never betrayed me.”
“Good for you,” she spat. “Must be nice not to feel betrayed.”
His voice was so calm that it was almost cruel. “I told them you were some princess from another kingdom. That I was unsure of your purpose. You just confirmed you’re the heir to Orchid’s throne.”
Ella went ice-cold. Gods, a moment ago she had cared whether this man lived or died, had felt devastation at the thought of losing him. Now?
Fuck. Him.
21
REALM AND REVELATION
The others were gone. The clearing had emptied, and in the hush that followed, there was only him, her, and the truth she had flung into the air where it hovered and refused to fall.
Fury rolled through her in tight, burning waves. How could he guard her like a zealot one breath, then hand her most guarded secret to his inner circle the next, leaving her exposed in the very place where vulnerability could end her?
Yes, she had reached for power in front of them all. Yes, if her flame had answered, they would have known what kingdom claimed her the instant her fire burned, but that was not the fucking point. The choice should have been hers.
“Fuck, Jakobav. I trusted you.”
She shoved him hard.
His boots scraped against the dirt as he caught himself, muscles tensing, irritation flashing across his features before he locked it behind that infuriating calm.
