King Hendrix rolled his shoulders back, eyes gleaming. “I gave you an opportunity. You chose not to rise to the occasion. The blood spilled tonight stains your hands, not mine.”
She glared at the men standing at the room’s edges, still wearing their masks and red cloaks. Venita’s lifeless body flashed vividly in her mind, and the memory of tripping over Diera’s corpse was still fresh and raw. Panic tightened its grip, twisting painfully inside her. She didn’t even know where her mother, father, or Emily were. For all she knew, their blood could be painting the floors somewhere too. How far would he go? How many innocent lives would he destroy to force her hand?
Her magic warmed beneath her skin, pooling dangerously at her fingertips, aching to break free.
“You could’ve prevented this,” the king said, his voice dripping with disdain, “but you chose to stand by, watching as strangers and friends were slaughtered.” He shook his head slowly, eyes cold and calculated. “I even gave you a wounded guard to rescue, and still, you refused. Truly, you and your kind know nothing of kindness, of heart.”
If anyone in the room was heartless, it was him. His cruelty knew no bounds—though, she supposed, she hadn’t done anything to stop it. Maybe he had a point . . .
The throne room doors slammed open, interrupting the tense silence. A guard burst inside, nearly stumbling as he rushed to kneel before the king.
“This better be good news, Oden,” King Hendrix growled, shoving Luna aside to return to his throne. She crashed onto the cold floor, limbs sprawled, her will to fight nearly extinguished.
Oden visibly trembled, every muscle quivering as he spoke, “Forgive me, Your Majesty. We’ve searched high and low. There’s no sign of the prisoner anywhere.”
Luna couldn’t hide the smile that spread slowly across her lips; at least some justice was being served. The king, who had so arrogantly orchestrated the ball to celebrate the capture of a unicorn, now stood empty-handed, his victory snatched away. Hopefully, Damien—or whoever the unicorn had been—was free and as far away from here as possible.
King Hendrix’s face twisted in fury, fists slamming violently against his throne. “Search harder!” The command was so loud the ceiling shook from his might. “Do not return until he is found!”
Oden scrambled out of the room, running like his life depended on it . . . now knowing the king for who he truly was, maybe it did.
The heavy door closed, and King Hendrix turned his attention back to her; his eyes narrowed to slits, hatred pouring off him.
Usually, such malevolence would have caused Luna to shrink away, but she refused to give him the satisfaction. She would not cower from evil. Her gaze hardened, her hands growing hotter and hotter as she let her anger flow through her. “I will never help you,” she declared, voice unwavering.
He leaned forward, a sinister smile curling on his lips. “By the time I’m done with you, there will be no other choice—especially if you want your family to remain alive.”
His words hit her like a punch to the gut, stealing her breath, sending the world spinning around her. Her family was alive? Hope ignited in her chest, followed quickly by a wave of dread . . . he fully intended to use them against her.
With a snap of his fingers, Clyde emerged from the shadows. “Throw her in the dungeons.”
Before Luna could move, Clyde crossed the room and lifted her effortlessly, as if she weighed nothing, and roughly set her on her feet before dragging her from the throne room.
The doors shut behind them with a heavy click, the sound utterly final. If life was a book filled with chapters, hers must be nearing the end. She’d rather face death than help the king now, even if it meant risking everything, including the fate of her family.
They moved through the winding halls, eventually passing through the one with the secret passage. She had been moments away from escaping then. If she had gotten free, maybe there wouldn’t have been any bloodshed. She shook her head. It did her little good to think about the what-ifs; she had returned to the ball, and what had happened, had happened.
Clyde gripped her arm even tighter. He must have been thinking about the secret passage as well. She looked at him: At his brown eyes, at the way his blond hair dusted the back of his neck with curls that had never been tamed. How had she ever cared for a man like him? “Did you know about the attack beforehand?” Though she believed she already knew the answer, she wanted to hear it from his lips.
He scoffed at her as if she were some foolish girl. “Of course I did. Don’t you get it? I was the backup plan. You were supposed to transform out of the supposed love we shared. The truth is, I despise your kind. Unicorns killed my mother. You’re just like the rest of them—self-absorbed, hateful, and utterly stupid.”
His words cut deep, a fresh wound over all the others she carried. Even now, after everything, he still had the power to hurt her.
He had been her first love, the keeper of her heart, and she’d given so much to him. Risked so much for him. Betrayed didn’t even begin to capture how she felt. “All those things you said to me,” she whispered, pain cracking her voice, “were just lies?”
“The king thought you’d be more compliant if you were in love, so I pursued you. I thought you’d help boost my ranking, we’d be nobility together. But every moment spent with you was wasted. Every second, for nothing.”
Luna’s heart splintered. Everything had been a lie; every hope, every dream, every whispered promise . . . lies. “You never loved me?” It didn’t seem possible.
He grabbed both of her arms and pinned them behind her back. “This is how much I loved you.”
The next thing she knew, he’d spit in her face.
She tried to lift her hand to wipe it off as tears welled, but Clyde kept her arms pinned behind her, so she was forced to let his spit roll down her cheek; it was warm and slightly sticky, and as they walked, it dried, leaving a cakey feeling on her skin.
Luna hung her head, shame flooding every inch of her body. She felt incredibly small and so very pathetic. Clyde’s attention had blinded her; she’d never even suspected his affection was self-serving. A whimper escaped before she could stop it, her breath hitching painfully. She had walked willingly into his trap, trusting too easily, and now humiliation coiled tightly in her chest.
Her vision blurred, tears hot and stinging, but she blinked them back. Later, when she was alone, she’d let herself fall to pieces, but until then she needed to be strong.
