His powerful body had been stripped down to a single undergarment, leaving the rest of him—including his prominent chest tattoo—visible for all to see.
Pharis.
I rocked in my chair, clenching my jaw as I watched the guards remove his shackles and lock his wrists into the iron hand restraints on the column.
Then one of them removed his hood. I sucked in a breath.
Someone had cut off Pharis’ beautiful long hair.
His waist-length locks were now short, barely reaching his ears in choppy, uneven layers that looked like they’d been carved with a dagger.
He was facing the stone monolith, his chained arms stretched above his head, his back bared to the shocked crowd.
There were whispers and even a few outcries of surprise and confusion.
“Is that the missing Prince?”
“Pharis Randalin is alive!”
Gripping Stellon’s forearm, I turned to him with pleading eyes.
“What is happening? What is he doing here?”
I thought I’d left Pharis back at Castle Stormcrest. How had he gotten here? When had he been captured?
“He was found lurking outside the castle walls,” Stellon explained. “He followed you here. Don’t worry. He’ll never get the chance to hurt you again.”
“Pharis didn’t hurt me. He wouldneverhurt me,” I blurted, shocking myself.
The deep truth of those words resonated throughout my body, shaking loose some memories I seemed to have lost.
Riding herewithPharis. A soft kiss on the forehead. Tears leaving tracks on his solemn face.
“He kidnapped you,” Stellon growled. “He may not have hurt you, but his dragon did. He held you against your will. You said yourself he should be punished.”
“What’s going to happen to him?” I asked, beginning to panic.
“No more than he deserves,” Stellon answered.
“He must pay the price for his crimes, like any citizen of the kingdom,” he said, sounding hauntingly like his royal sire.
“My brother caused the death of my father the King, along with many others. He faked his own death. Most importantly, he took what wasmine.”
“What was yours?” I blinked rapidly, my brain struggling to process.
He means me.
Stellon had never resembled his father more.
“Please,” I said. “Don’t do this.”
Shaking my hand off, he stood and went to the front of the dais.
He raised his arms, and there was silence.
“My esteem falls upon you,” he said to the crowd.
“And mine upon you,” the wedding guests responded in unison.
