I should be the king of Galaythia.
Instead, I was back at square one with the situation substantially worse than ever—because I still didn’t know where to find the ring. And my death powers were growing.
The Reaper was a fucking asshole I hoped to never see again, but his assumptions were right. Death looked good on me.
That monstrosity I became when I took on my Deathwalker powers looked good because it was becoming a part of me.
Thatwas what he meant.
And he didn’t stop me from paying the tithe out of the goodness of his nonexistent heart. The laws of death forbade taking tribute from those who already belonged.
I flexed my fingers against the railing. So much to worry about, and yet there was only one thing that was truly on my mind.
Her.
I’d purposely avoided Elariya, something I thought I’d never do again.
I thought I’d stopped playing that game when I decided to claim her as mine.
But life wasn’t so simple.
Life fucked me over just for being my father’s heir, stole my control, then spat in my face by taking my girl.
Nothing in all the realms could have prepared me for this. Or…seeing her this morning and watching her looking at me like I was a stranger.
That spark in her hazel eyes I’d loved so much was nowhere to be found. When she’d looked at me, I could have been anyone.
And all I’d wanted to do was pull her into my arms and love her.
I’d wanted to go back to two weeks ago when we’d belonged to each other.
Now …now it was like I’d stepped into an alternate dimension. I was still me and she was someone else.
But what had I expected?
Like I’d said earlier, I knew it was coming.
My mind, heart, body, and soul just refused to accept this new normal. A nightmare in the making.
The Seer warned that Elariya may not always feel the same way about me when she woke from each reset. That was bad enough. The fucking warning had already haunted my mind like ghosts. And now I was being told I had to let her go.
Let her go back to Stormfell andmarry Thayden.
As if that motherfucking prick hadn’t tried to kill me.
What kind of world did we live in where something like that could go unpunished?
How the fuck couldIallow that to go unpunished?
I knew Alaric was right about everything. His idea to watch Thayden and let the bastard think he’d won was sensible. More importantly, he was right. As long as I was alive, Galaythia would be dangerous for Elariya.
But I just wanted her to be with me.
I hadn’t spoken about it since last night, but it was clear when we met earlier that I was furious. I was glad no one had pressed me on the matter because I hadn’t made my decision yet.
Right now, I was trying not to lose what was left of my control.
"You look more troubled than this cursed realm itself." Kaem's rusty voice cut through my thoughts. "And that's saying something, considering where we are."
