“We can discuss it later,” he said, his voice low, vibrating over my skin. “I am merely glad you are here, in that dress.”
He was too close. Too close. My breath felt shallow. I was terrified.
“I find myself unable to concentrate on serious matters tonight.” He raised his hand and put it on my shoulder, gently stroking my bare skin with his thumb. “You look like a rose in full bloom at twilight.”
“You know…” My voice shook. I paused and swallowed.
“What is it, Chosen?” He leaned in.
“When Donovan told me about his brother…” I looked up and met his eye. “He never mentioned that you were twins.”
Fire burned in his eyes, and his hand moved so fast I could barely see it, slamming up against my neck. His fist clenched around my throat just as I let the heat erupt. “Sto–”
Too late. I’d been too late. I let him get too close, and he’d choked the command out of me. It didn’t work. He was still moving.
Connor’s face twisted. His hand tightened on my neck,and the other hand gripped me by my upper arm. He strode forward, slamming me against the wall. Massive fingers moved on my neck, up to my throat, a wordless threat—he could crush my windpipe with just a quick flex of his hands.
“Clever girl,” Connor murmured, leaning close to inhale my perfume. “Not many can tell us apart. Of course, Donovan cannot impersonate me so easily.” His lips tightened for a second. “Probably because he has never bothered to try, as far as I know. But I fooled our mother for years, whenever the mood struck me. And our father. And our sisters.” He gave a low chuckle. “And all of Donovan’s lady friends. He always gotsocross about that.”
The floorboards rumbled beneath my feet; Violet House was confused, terrified. Desperately, I tried to send her a message.It’s not Donovan! It’s not him!
She trembled, scared and unsure.
It was so obvious to me. It had been obvious the second Connor turned around and smiled at me.
Donovan didn’t smile. And Donovan didn’t look at me like I was a piece of meat he wanted to eat. Connor did, though. To him, I was an object to claim. A female to devour.
When Donovan looked at me, it was either in exasperation or confusion. Mostly, he stared at me in angry frustration. Occasionally, he looked at me… cautiously. Tenderly.
But this wasn’t him, and I’d known it almost straight away.
“There’s no point appealing to your Domicile,” Connor said. “She is too confused. She is still a child, you know. She does not understand that Donovan and I aren’t the same person, and she would never defy the Heir,” he added, a touch of sarcasm in his tone.
Connor was going to kill me. His hand was too tight onmy throat already; I couldn’t get any air. Desperately, I stomped my foot on the floorboards.Come on, Violet.
He rolled his eyes slightly. “There is no help coming for you now, Chosen. My brother and his company are still out there killing my banwyn and searching for my assassins. And that ridiculous duocorn of yours is currently chasing a bloodied man towards the harbor.” His gaze settled on my trembling lips. They must be turning blue.
“I arranged it all so we would have some privacy to speak candidly. I was hoping that I would be able to persuade you to see things my way. We could do away with all this foolishness of you running around this Middle World, closing all the spark stones. I could have saved you so much trouble,” he sighed, and leaned back slightly. “You could have chosen me. The prophecy allowed for the possibility, you know.”
I gritted my teeth. Never. Never in a million years.
“But,” he sighed. “Thanks to the otherwise useless magic of the eoinn spark stone, I see your loyalty has already been solidified in favor of my brother. Trying to persuade you otherwise would be a waste of”—his hand squeezed; I let out a gurgled cry—“oxygen.” He chuckled, watching me choke. He enjoyed my pain.
Desperately, I pulled at the heat in my belly. I needed to do something. Anything…
“And it’s a shame,” Connor went on silkily. “I am right, of course. My family lacks both ambition and vision. It is so disappointing that they cannot see it. We have conquered our realm, and we already rule the whole Upper World by default of military might and the fact of our higher status in the evolutionary chain. But for some reason, my family seems reluctant to take those next steps.” He tilted his head, regarding me thoughtfully. “I am the only one brave enough to speak the truth out loud—the only one with thestrength of will to do something about it. I don’t think anyone truly understands how precarious the balance between all the realms is. We need to take our rightful place as rulers of all the Worlds, or our whole universe could devolve into chaos.”
Desperately, I kicked out with my legs, trying to knee him in the balls, but he pushed his massive body up against me, holding me firmly against the wall.
God, he was so big, so strong. I couldn’t move an inch.
“Don’t fight me,” he murmured. “I mean, you can. It won’t do any good. You should know that I am already far too powerful. I have devoured a dozen spark stones already. And I will have them all.”
Violet twitched beneath my feet. I could feel her shaking, terrified. Connor’s hand tightened. The edges of my vision blurred.
I felt his breath on my cheek. “It’s a shame it had to come to this, Chosen, but the prophecy is clear. I didn’t want Donovan to die, but it can’t be helped. Only one of us can rule, after all. No, no. Don’t be sad,” he whispered, his lips against my skin. “Don’t be scared. My brother will follow you into the afterlife shortly.”
No. Donovan couldn’t die.
