His head bowed, heavy with shame and guilt.
That’show he’d become High Lord of the Summer Court.“Gods, Caius. I’m so sorry.”
“As am I, Nyleeria. More than you can know.”
Slowly, his gaze trailed back to mine, and I could almost see the stain that killing his father had left on his soul. I couldn’t begin to imagine the weight of it.
“I almost yielded; refused the Rite,” he admitted as if unable to help it.
“What would have happened?”
“He would have killed me on the first blow.”
Unbidden, the scene flashed through my mind. “What made you change your mind?”
“Endymion. He reminded me that this was bigger than me. Bigger than my father. That I couldn’t afford the coward’s way out—there was too much at stake.”
Power stirred in my chest at the mentioning of the autumn fae, and I couldn’t help but add this death to the tally I knew stained hishands out of duty, not choice. As if trying to clean the invisible crimson off, I rubbed my own hands together.
As I did, I finally understood. I wasn’t alone in this because all of our survival depended on the existence of the Celestial Court and the spark.
Survival.Thatwas what was in it for the High Lord of the Summer Court and Autumn’s Second in Command.Thatwas why Rackna had claimed I was here tosavethem.Thatwas why I was sacred to them. They didn’t want me for my powers—not in the way Wymond and Thaddeus did.
And fuck me if that wasn’t worse somehow.
“Why are you telling me all of this?” I asked, feeling like there was more to it than I could see.
“Because,” he said with a sigh, “outside of how you fit into all of this, I feel like it’s your right to know the truth of who I am and what I’ve done. How important all of this is to us. How importantyouare to us—to me. You’re not one to trust, and I don’t know if that’s from the seven hells Thaddeus dragged you through, or if that’s always been your disposition. I suspect the former. Either way, you need to know why I’m invested and what I’ll do to make sure Lumnara—that all of us—survive.”
“Anything,” I breathed, understanding why he’d told me about his father; so that I knew exactly what he’d be willing to do.
“Anything,” he repeated.
The statement should’ve terrified me like it had when Thaddeus declared as much, but it didn’t. This wasn’t about power or greed or the survival of one side through the annihilation of another. No, Caius’ his survival was tied to mine—and I’d take mutually assured destruction as a basis for trust over anything else I’d been offered thus far.
“I hope your sacrifice wasn’t in vain, Caius.”
“I hope yours aren’t either, Nyleeria.”
My heart dropped. I didn’t know sacrifice in the way he did, but stars knew what I’d already given up through no volition of my own.Suddenly, I was acutely aware that he wasn’t just talking about the ones I’d already made, but the ones I’d be forced to make in the future.
I nodded, that truth resting heavy on my chest. “Me too, Caius. Me too.”
We sat there for long moments in our own thoughts before booted footsteps pulled our attention.
“Lord Caius,” Sidrick said from the top of the staircase, the lines of his face hard. “Sorry to interrupt, sir, but you’re needed.”
Caius’ lips went into a tight line. “The border?”
“The border,” Sidrick confirmed with a nod.
Caius sighed. “Understood. I’ll join you in a moment.”
“Yes, sir.” Summer’s third winked out of existence.
“I’m sorry, Nyleeria. I have to attend to this.”
“Is everything okay?”
