Forty-Three
His queen.
The words repeated in Jade’s mind, drowning out everything else. Her feet were locked in place as her gaze flashed between Nicolas’s pleading eyes and the ring hovering in front of her.
Nicolas couldn’t be serious. Did he really believe Jade would accept him? He’d just confessed to murdering innocent people on his way to the throne.
But Jade had done or said nothing to show her disapproval. Of course, she was only trying to get information out of him, but he didn’t know that. And the last time they’d been together, she’d given him more than enough reason to believe she might say yes to such a proposal.
“I want you by my side,” he murmured, the adoration in his gaze squeezing her heart. “When I take my rightful place as king, I want no one else to be theQueen of Marran but you.”
To someone else, the promise of such power might have been intoxicating, overwhelming enough to have them cast their convictions aside. Jade imagined it, only for a split second—what it would be like to be queen of the entire kingdom. It was the ultimate position of influence. She could make change in their kingdom—real change—without needing the monarch’s approval. It was a position she could never achieve based on her skills and advancement. She might one day rise to Grand General Devereaux’s position, as the military leader and personal military advisor to the sovereign, but queen wasn’t something she could become on merit. And this was her opportunity to take it.
But Nicolas was a murderer. He was a callous, cold-blooded killer. The only person he seemed to have any care in his heart for was Jade—and his mother, but she was gone. And after all that he had done, there was no way he would make it to the throne. Jade had everything she needed to turn him in.
But if she didn’t . . .
Only Arabella and Reynauld remained who knew the truth about him. Once Nicolas reappeared, they might be willing to use the secret of his heritage at their own detriment to keep him away from the crown. But if Nicolas got to them first, if Jade was unable to stop him, then he could be the revenant king that the kingdom awaited. And she could be by his side as queen.
With his free hand, Nicolas took one of Jade’s and brought her thoughts back to the present. He stared up at her expectantly, devotedly, patiently. “Jade...I love you,” he murmured, earnestness painting his voice. “When the two of us are together, nothing can stop us.”
Jade’s breath froze in her lungs. The hand that held hers was warm, and his thumb ran softly over it. She’d never seen this look in his eyes, almost a desperation. For her, she realized.
How awful would it be?she thought. To be adored. To be queen. A heaviness weighed down on her mind as she considered it—actuallyconsidered it. He’d proven he cared for her. No doubt he would treat her as not only the queen of the kingdom, but as the queen of his world. She knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of his adoration, and she wanted more of it. Jade lifted her other hand toward the ring, ready to accept it, ready to accepthim.
A single word tickled the back of her mind, as if her own voice was shouting at her from the depths.
Sorcerer!
Jade gasped, inhaling air as though she hadn’t breathed in minutes. Taking several stumbling steps back, she nearly tripped over herself as she broke free from his hold and her mind became her own again. Her mouth hung open as her wide eyes stared at him, aghast. The rippling of fear through her limbs was nothing compared to the betrayal that stabbed deep into her heart.
“You used your magic on me.” The words came out as a sharp whisper, cutting through the heaviness in the room. Jade’s mind raced back through all their encounters, and she recalled the same sensation more times than she could count. How had she never noticed? Could he have learned how to suppress the detection of his magic that well? “You’vebeenusing your magic on me!”
Nicolas was silent, slowly coming to his feet and lowering the ring. The flare of his nostrils, the clench of his jaw, the new darkness in his eyes shot a tremor through Jade.
Jade backed up until she hit a wall, but Nicolas was closing in on her. She couldn’t slip away.
“I did what I had to do,” he said in a deadly tone through grinding teeth, his face inches away. “I’ve had nothing but time in my solitude to strengthen my magic and make it entirely unnoticeable. But I was only ever good to you, Jade. I saved your life. I never wanted any harm to come to you.” Nicolas’s voice softened then, and he rested a hand against her neck, her rapid pulse throbbing against his fingers. “I fell in love with you, and all I wanted wasfor you to be here beside me. All it took was a little of my influence, and you were falling for me too. I know it.”
Jade sucked in a breath through her nose. She stared directly into Nicolas’s eyes, though he towered over her at such proximity. “I hardly consider influencing me with magic to be a legitimate way of assessing if I’d fallen for you.”
His hand tightened around her throat in an instant, blocking her air. “I did nothing outside of your character. Otherwise, you would have noticed. So something was there.” He pressed his lips close to her ear and muttered, “I would give you everything you could dream of, yet you’re so quick to throw it away. And for what?”
Jade yelped as much as she could with Nicolas’s hand crushing her windpipe. But it was enough, and the door facing her burst open to reveal Theo barging in.
“For him?” Nicolas roared as he swung his head toward the door. He released his hold on Jade and faced Theo, who rushed toward him like a charging bull.
But Theo stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowing as his eyes flicked all around the room, utter confusion seeping into his features. Nicolas must have held Theo in place with his influence magic.
Jade’s hand dipped to the gun in her holster, but she didn’t pull it free yet. She was no murderer, but she was prepared to do what was necessary.
“He’s done nothing but hold you back,” Nicolas said, turning back to Jade with a fire in his eyes. “Ever since he arrived on your base, you’ve struggled on your missions. You’ve let people die.” He cast another glance at Theo, as though making sure the influence magic still held him at bay, before coming closer to Jade. His gaze softened, and his next words were tender. “When it was just you and me, you were unstoppable.Wewere unstoppable. Don’t you see that? Don’t you see what our reign would be like? We would be the greatest rulers this kingdom has ever seen.”
Truth coated his words, and it stung, an acid dripping into her wounds. Shehadbeen failing at too much since Theo had joined her. But was that the reason? In her time working with Nicolas as her informant, she’d risen two ranks. After Theo had been put on her assignment, she’d only seen more death and injury. Even a punishment from Matherson. A far corner of her mind reminded her that the punishment wasfromworking with Nicolas, but she brushed it aside. The louder voice in her head reinforced what Nicolas told her.
Nicolas was right in front of Jade now. He ran a gentle thumb along her jawline. “Do you want to struggle and fail, or do you want to rule?”
With him so close, Jade had to tip her head back to gaze directly at him. She swallowed past a dry throat.He’s right.
