She didn’t respond.
His stomach clenched at the realization. “When.”
Brela only blinked.
“WHEN?” he roared.
At that, she flinched and stumbled back, lowering her chin. Jaw trembling, tears escaping down her cheeks, shechanged. Her hair darkened, starting at her roots and trailing down the braid. Arms and legs thinned, nose elongated, and then she lifted her face to reveal a deep blue gaze.
“Maeve,” Cason growled.
Fire and rage ripped out of his palms, curling up his forearms before he could stop it. He wanted toburn.Burn this whole place to the ground, along with himself.
Brela didn’t flinch at the sight of his magic out of control. In an instant, she had her own features again… and matching black fire snaking up her arms.
Four hells, it was terrifying to see that magic. It crawled like a wave behind her, shifting every shadow until Cason couldn’t feel the space with his magic. Cold and darkness tore around the room, snuffing out the heat of his own flame. If she could douse his fireandperception magic, she had to be… good gods, how strong was her magic?
“Don’t test me, dragon,” she growled. Her eyes narrowed with a glare that looked infinitely more deadly with glowing purple. It might have been more terrifying than his own. “I have no intention of hurting you, but if you bring fire intomy home, I will end you.”
His fire raged, seeking some kind of hold in that darkness. He might have been terrified, but his magicsurgedat the depth of Brela’s power. Probably looking for some way to assert dominance over those shadows. To show it was just as capable of destruction.
Slowly, Cason straightened and flames withdrew into his skin, the power struggling against him the entire time.
Brela nodded slightly and that black fire dissolved into smoke, the room returning to normal temperature in an instant. “Now,” she said, tears gone from her eyes though the emotion remained. “If you would like to kill me, we can take this outside. I will not fight you.”
And in that moment, he wanted to. His fire wanted to melt her bones and rip through her heart in the same way she’d torn through his. Shedeservedit for what she’d done to him.
Cason wanted that fight… but not now. Not here.
He still had a shred of honor in his chest to calm that fire just enough for rational thought. It was honor that kept the flames from lashing out.
Honor. Honor. Honor.
He was not his father, but in this moment, he wondered what it would have been like like to be part of the Anfroy army. To be given freedom to act on his impulse. To not have tofeelthis awful, conflicting emotion inside his chest.
Cason straightened his aching body and leveled his glare on her. “You disgust me.”
Brela didn’t flinch. She just stared at him, unblinking as he grunted and lowered himself to the couch again.
“You got what you wanted,” he continued, slightly out of breath. “Serill will make sure you get your reward. As if you’ll do anything good with that freedom when you’re too afraid to leave Ovir and break your so-called chain. Murderers, tricksters, liars. Seems to me you two are perfect for each other.”
Even furious, he regretted the words the minute they left his mouth.
“Perhaps we are,” she whispered before he could apologize. He looked up, surprised she hadn’t growled or hissed or snarled. Meeting his gaze, she swallowed. “I am sorry for hurting you.”
“I don’t care.”
Brela’s features remained blank. “I do not expect you to forgive me. I do not expect any kindness from you. But my secrets about my magic and about this shard in my skin are the only reason I’ve survived. I will not apologize for keeping them.”
But those were the secrets that had hurt him. Half apologies didn’t work like that. Hells, no apologies would work for what she’d done.
They were over. All of it wasover.
Brela sighed. “Serill and I are meeting the king in a couple hours.”
“Good,” Cason replied, lowering his head. “Get your money. That’s what this was all about, right?”
“While you should still be resting, I understand if you need to escort the prince when we go.”
