The smirk slides off his face and he closes off. Gone is the prince and only the beast stares back at me, emotionless, cold.
“No one.”
“You’re lying to me.Still.” I scoff, shaking my head. I meet the other occupants’ eyes, all of them silently watching our exchange. “You want me to choose you and you claim to choose me, but still, there are secrets. I assume you all know her. I had to find out about it from someone else.”
Quick as lightening, the heir is in front of me, grabbing my throatto peer into my eyes. It’s not a painful touch, but holds me captive as he scans me. His nostrils flare, inhaling deeply, scenting my clothing.
“Nectar. You were speaking to Fenrir?”
“He’s the only one who tells me anything,” I retort, venom spewing from my lips. I shove at his chest to push him away, but he doesn’t let go. “Releaseme.”
“Fenrir doesn’t tell the truth, Max. Stay away from him.”
“He at leastspeaksto me.” We glare into each other’s eyes, neither of us backing down. Old hurts, past betrayals and the uncertain future simmer between us like a boiling pot. “Sose was your first love, am I right?”
There’s a flash of something in his eyes—sorrow, grief—and I know I’ve struck true.
He may not like Fenrir, but in this, the Woodland Fae told me a secret Kaden would never divulge.
“How can you expect me to trust you, toloveyou, when you withhold all these secrets? Do you think I’ll follow you blindly?”
Kaden leans close, holding me with one hand, while the other grabs my wrist—the one going for my dagger.
“I expect you to have faith that I won’t hurt you. I expect you to have faith inme.”
“You’ve already hurt me,” I whisper, anger rolling over my skin like a serpent. “You’ve hurt me in ways no one else has. You broke my heart, destroyed my trust. And for what? A carefully laid plan? How can you assume I’ll have faith in you when you won’t trust me in return?”
Kaden drops me suddenly and I stumble, heels catching on my dress.
I expect something, a retort, a claim, maybe a threat. But he just stares, body cold.
Nodding to myself, I whisper, “More secrets.”
I don’t wait for him to say more, ignoring Oslo’s mouth opening to offer a weak explanation as I exit theoffice.
I didn’t mention how my ears hummed, the distant beat of heartbeats in my ears, alerting me to my magic resurfacing when I spoke to Fenrir. How it picked up in the room with the royals as we fought. At least Kaden didn’t lie about discontinuing to drug me, but I won’t be telling anyone my magic is coming back.
They will not take it from me again. Especially the heir.
Chapter
Twenty-One
MAX
Stalking through the halls is far from ideal, especially with the constant threats and dangers that come with being alone here. Or was that just a way to make me listen?
I’m too angry, too incensed to think logically. Not after everything that’s happened.
How did he expect me to trust him when he didn’t trust me? Freedom was important to me, but not to risk the lives of people I don’t know. Not to risk Fee, or Reid.
Not to riskhim.
A coup is dangerous, stupid, but I would have supported him. Maybe tried to starve it off longer. When we had more time, better odds. But I would have helped. But he didn’t want it—trustme enough to allow me.
A hand grabs my elbow, swinging me into an alcove, closer to the mayhem of the upper floors where courtesans and servants walk. I didn’t even hear him approach.
Kaden pins me against the blacken wall, a bust of a general carved from lava rock staring down at me with beady golden eyes.His knee presses between my thighs, hands gripping my wrists above my head. Long strands hang in his burning eyes, face harsh.
