“You were important to Everett, which makes you important to me. Also, I see my queen locked away, suffering. Asyourguard, I am duty-bound to keep you safe. From everyone.” He looks at me through hooded eyes. “Do you understand what I’m saying, Selene? Give me the order and I’ll free you from this castle.”
“You would throw our people back into war. Break the peace treaty.”
His smirk is a pair of scissors, cutting the lies of the peace treaty loose. “Peace? Peace isn’t silent. It’s agony—requiems cried and sung. Peace is fury, forced to dissolve into resolve. We live in times of silent sorrows, still caught in the clutches of war. Peace has yet to begin, Selene. You’ll know when it does.”
All my suffering has been for nothing. This marriage is a trick kings play so they can rebuild their armies. My eyes are dry. “How will I know?” I rasp. “I’ve never known peace, only the plots of war. What if it passes me by?”
“You’ll feel a wrath so parched, no amount of blood can quench it. So you’ll have no choice but to ignore it. Bury it just to start again. And pray that taste never bubbles up on your tongue.”
“That doesn’t sound peaceful.” Memories flood my eyes, and I turn my head swiftly so Titus can’t see more of my pain.
“Peace isn’t always idealistic—it’s raw. It’s grounded; stability. The ache of closure. Sometimes it hurts more than the war did. Hey, look at me. If you want to leave this castle, I will help you. I just… I need you to know that.”
“Why?”
He reaches up and rubs his chest. “I don’t like to see you suffering.”
Don’t look at me like that, Titus, like I’m a trophy you’d never place on your shelf, because a man like you has honor.
You don’t show off your kills; you melt them down and set them free. I can not be reforged. I am who this world has shaped me to be.
I peer out the window at the sunny day. “If freedom were my destiny, my brother would have granted it.” A strange current swirls around us, like fingers trying to shove us closer. “My place is here, helping you.”
“If helping me causes you pain, I will find another way.”
“I’m strong. I can survive.”
“I don’t doubt you are.” He looks around the room, taking in all the riches. “Do you love him?”
“It’s hard to love a boat with no anchor. Galen sails away after he makes port. I… tried for the sake of our people.”
“What about you?”
“Princesses are not born with space for happiness in their hearts. We’re duty-bound.”
“What did I say about lies? Don’t spread more in hopes they will comfort you.”
My breath sticks in my throat. He sees through me so easily. “We’re getting off topic again.”
“No. I asked to see your heart, and you showed it to me. I’ll keep it safe. Just remember, whenever you want, I’ll free you.” His eyes turn sharp.
My throat thickens once more. “You didn’t finish telling me what Everett said.”
His eyes trace over me, judging. “Everett said they were wrong to erase the runes from our lands and that everything can be used for good or evil. He said runes create balance. Make us equal. He made it sound like runes were the answer, not the problem. But these were your brother’s final words.”
My heart stops as Titus speaks.
‘“I give my magic of time-weaving to you, Titus, to use until you find the Vitalis; then, I release my magic back into the lands. But my magic of foresight, I release back into the world. If you were to see what you must endure, you would grab the sword from my heart and thrust it into yours,’”
My skin pebbles. Confusion, fear, and, yes, resentment take root.
“I… I'm sorry. I’m so terribly sorry.”
Why, Everett?
“My brother wasn’t wicked.”
“One could argue he was a fanatic.”
