“You would make a good queen, you know, if you stayed.”
My gaze drifted to the window and the courtyard below. I watched the children splashing in the fountain. It had become one of my favorite pastimes of late. Their delighted squeals and carefree grins made me want to forget the darkness, to linger in the light and soak in their innocence and wonder.
But I had long since learned the price of naivety.
“I can’t. Ryker has revealed the kind of mate he truly is, and I am inclined to believe him. He betrays me at every opportunity, and I keep giving them to him. If I don’t escape now, the cost will soon become more than I can bear.”
Melania sighed but did not argue. “I know a man,” she said. “He has become a leader among those displaced by the Wraith Borne. He appealed to the council for help, but none has been forthcoming. Now, he is no longer asking.”
Her unspoken words were deafening within the silence: the desperate had turned against the crown. My hands tightened around the armrest. The King had stood by, allowing his people to suffer the consequences of a war he started, all in the name of power and control.
Had Ryker been king, the Unseelie Fae might have fared better.
And our paths would never have crossed.
It was what I’d always yearned for, yet a small pang tugged beneath my ribs. A swell of emotion filled my chest, telling me we could work through our differences, begging me to stay.
I inhaled a sharp breath, tears pricking the back of my eyes.
The ring demands loyalty.
Suddenly, my mind cleared, and I pushed the longing away. It wasn’t real, just another consequence of Ryker’s most recent betrayal.
“When can you set up a meeting?” I asked, shaking off the feeling.
“I will reach out to him and see if he will meet. He does not trust easily. He’s been scorned too often for that, but he respects those who know their purpose.” I nodded, letting the weight of her words settle.
Strength.
That’s what I’d need to face what lay before me.
The strength to resist both the mate bond and the ring’s demand for loyalty.
The cold silence wrapped around me as I considered the path ahead. I still needed to sever the bond, otherwise, my efforts would be futile — not just for me, but for my brother.
Melania rose from her seat. “I’ll be in touch.” Then she strode from the room.
Outside the chamber, the wind whispered through the halls, a restless echo of the turmoil stirring inside me. Yet hope sparked within me, fragile but determined. Hope that I might still have the power to change my fate.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Cadence
Callum let out a low whistle. “Nice ambiance. Definitely not haunted.”
My gaze swept over the library. Shadows stretched unnaturally long across the towering shelves, and a smallgroaning sound echoed throughout the cavernous space as if the petrified wood struggled to bear the burden of the old tomes.
The air was heavy with dust and something ancient, like forgotten magic or the restless memories of the past. It felt as though I carried the weight of their judgment, their eyes boring into me, warning me not to repeat their mistakes.
An icy shiver raced down my spine, and I shuddered, unable to help myself.
“I appreciate the sibling bonding session, but perhaps you could pick a spot a little less,” Callum paused, trying to find the right words, “doom-lit and death-scented.”
I couldn’t even argue; the place was creepy. The room smelled of old parchment, decaying leather, and a sharp metallic note, like blood dried long ago but unwilling to be forgotten.
“Let’s get on with it. The sooner we find what we are looking for, the faster we can leave.”
“Which would be what, exactly?”
