I nod slowly. It feels impossible, yet it also feels impossible that nobody noticed. We are somehow opposites, while also being identical.
“So, you two are mates, then,” Etta says, nodding between Asmo and me. I don’t miss the fact that she ignored having another half-sister. But I don’t blame her. Learning there’s another person in the world that you share blood and bone with, that you’re a little bit less alone, is a lot to digest. Now isn’t the time for her—or me—to dive into those emotions.
Amaris watches me, a knowing twinkle in her eye.
I nod. “Asmo and I completed a mating ceremony to officially accept the bond. That should make him High King, correct?”
Ivan blinks twice. “Yes, that would be correct.”
Luca drops his head into the palm of his hand. “For the Mother’s sake,” he mutters under his breath.
Asmo leans forward in his seat, placing his elbows on the table and steepling his fingers as he stares at Luca. “What was that, Luca?”
Luca shifts in his seat. He doesn’t meet Asmo’s gaze. Instead, he looks directly at me as he says his next words. “Have you forgotten the mission here? Rescue Elle and get the throne back? It didn’t work out with the first Serpent Prince, so you—” He slams his mouth shut and shakes his head.
I take a measured breath and tilt my chin up. “Finish your thought, Luca.” His cheeks turn pink, and his jaw works silently. “Go on,” I order calmly. “So I…What?”
He looks around the room, as if someone will jump to his rescue. Ivan stares at the table, despite Luca burning a hole at his profile. Everyone else watches him silently, unmoving.
He turns back to me, and—I’ll give it to him—has the balls to look me in the eyes. “So you went with the other one?”
Although anger warms my veins, I smile. Because that is exactly what I expected from Luca. “Did I or did I not say that the next time you disagreed with me, you would speak to me about it respectfully?” I ask, again, calmly. He grips the armchairs of his seat. “Did we or did we not have a conversation about you questioning my virtues?”
Black shadows have begun to fill the room like wisps of smoke. Cally glances nervously at Asmo.
Luca sits up straighter. As if that would help him regain any ounce of reverence I once had for him. “All due respect, Your Highness?—”
I hold my hand up. “No, notall due respect.You treat me like I’m beneath you. I warned you, Luca. There’s no place for males that disrespect females in my court. Basil, please escort him from Squall’s End immediately.”
The color drains from his face. Etta whips her head toward me. Ivan doesn’t move an inch.
“Mae, we can’t just let him free,” Etta objects. “He could tell someone of our location.”
“Make him swear a dark oath,” Asmo suggests. “There’s no way he’ll be able to lead anyone to Squall’s End or tell them of our existence.”
Etta’s lip curls into a scowl. “I don’t feel comfortable encouraging the use of dark magic. How does that make us any betterthan them?”
Asmo shrugs and leans back in his chair. “The only other way is to kill him, then. Or keep him locked in your dungeons.”
Amaris extracts a blade from her leather vest and dangles it from her hand. “I’ll do the honors.” Her smile is wicked as she stares at Luca.
Etta’s jaw twitches. “Fine. Do the dark oath,” she orders.
Asmo grins. “So merciful, Princess Etta.” He stands and pulls a knife from his belt. He offers it to Luca and says, “Draw blood and repeat after me.”
Luca grips the knife in his hand, and Amaris sheathes hers with a frown. He turns to Ivan beside him. “Do something!”
Ivan looks up. His face is ashen. “There is nothing I can do, Luca. You were out of line and you have pushed her too far.” Ivan looks as if he’s aged decades in the span of minutes. “Would you prefer the dungeons? Death?”
“Ivan,” Luca begs.
“What did you expect?” Ivan says, tone tinged with sorrow. “You tried to take things into your own hands more than once. But you’re not the ruler of this kingdom, Luca. Mae is. It’s her choice. Everything is her choice. We are supposed to be there to guide her, but you’ve taken it a step too far.” He shakes his head. “I cannot support this. There is nothing to be done. I support her. She is my High Queen.”
Luca’s knuckles turn white as he grips the knife even harder. But he places it to his forearm, and blood wells. He lifts his head and meets Asmo’s gaze in a glare of fury.
Asmo grins at him. “Perfect. Now, repeat after me: With this knife, I vow to forfeit my life, should I break the vow that I will make now.” Luca repeats the words, and his blood begins to evaporate, turning into a black mist that hovers over the wound. Asmo continues, “I vow to keep Squall’s End and its entire mission a secret from anyone. I vow never to bring anyone to the location of Squall’s End or the barn nearby. I vow to never speak of Squall’s End, the Fae, or the Lower House resistance to anyone.”
Luca repeats the words, each word a hiss of hatred as he stares at Asmo. Black droplets of his blood continue to evaporate into thin air. The wound on his wrist closes, now a dark scar.
