Outside of the games and coldness, there was a warmth to Kane, something deep and yearning. I thought back to that moment in the rain when he looked at me with hope in his eyes and apologized for what he had done.
What if I could forgive him and we could bring peace between our people? Finally end the hate that had been there for so long.
What if Kane could heal?
It's tonight or never.
That wasn’t enough time to make this sort of decision. During the past few days, something had shifted between Kane and me and I wanted to explore what that meant. He clearlywanted to keep me safe and the way he had been looking at me, protecting me…
I wasn’t foolish enough to believe everything Gideon had told me. Gideon could be lying about the Lich King’s plans for me.
“Your grace,” Liora said, stepping into the doorway. “Are you ready to return to your chambers?”
Pressing a hand to my stomach, I stood straighter, not knowing what I was going to decide. Kane was extending his hand and I'd be a fool not to take it with an open heart. That’s what any good queen would do.
“I'm ready to return.”
Glancing back at the symbol of the All Father etched into the wall, I thought of my next actions. I could choose forgiveness and be the queen I was born to be, or I could choose vengeance and destroy the king who killed my husband.
And I only had tonight to decide.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Deirdre
Kane sat on my bed,his diary open across his lap.
The guards shut the bedroom door behind me, leaving me alone with the king.
Shadows wafted off his skin in slow, sinister tendrils, and black claws replaced fingernails, which dug into the book.
“How did you get this?”
His voice was low,furious.
“Someone left it for me.”
“Liar.”
He stood in a swift, fluid motion, gripping the diary in one hand. Black scales rippled across his skin in waves, shifting from flesh to dragon skin, as if his dragon form were forcing its way out. This was the evil fae king I had heard about. A vengeful fae who would transform and rip you apart.
He’s going to kill me.
Think. Think quickly.
“I'm not lying,” I said, pressing my back against the door and trying the knob, which was suddenly locked from the outside.
“I should have known better.” He vaulted the diary into the fireplace.
“What are you doing?” I lunged forward in a feeble attempt to save the book.
“Don't!” His arm shot out, stopping me. “I should have known to never trust a human. You’re all the same.”
“I didn't steal it. I'm telling the truth!”
Instead of shifting and ripping me apart, he glared at me with a hatred I felt all the way to my bones. Whatever I thought we might have mended died the moment he found his diary hidden in my room.
He shoved past me and banged on the door. “Open it.”
