“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“My father?” he repeats, blinking slowly. “He… Myfatherdid this?”
Like the crack of a whip, the horror turns to anger. Tension ripples through his muscles.
“No,” he growls, throwing back the covers of the bed. “Hewon’t. I won’t let him,” he mutters, shaking his head. “Shit, Mer. I should haveseenthis. There were signs that he was up to something horrible.”
I reach out, stroking a hand up his arm. “We know now. We can do something now.”
“I was suspicious, but this is entirely different…” He breathes out shakily. “Children,” he says, pained.
“I know,” I say. Then I take a breath, steeling my resolve. “Killian, look… I made a promise to Saela. And I’m keeping that promise. No matter what I have to do. No matter whose blood I have to shed.”
His eyes widen slightly, then they narrow. He grabs my shoulders, pulling me roughly to him, and tucks my head under his chin. “I know.”
“He’s your father.”
“It’sSaela,” he says. “Hedid this. Now he’ll have to face it.”
“I’ll tear his throat out,” I snarl.
Killian pulls back and his eyes are slightly wild. He reaches up and cups my cheek with trembling fingers. It isn’t fear. It’s rage. “He betrayed the kingdom first. He betrayedme. He took your family, Meryn. Whatever it takes, wewillstop him, free the children, and end this nightmare. I swear it to you.”
I breathe out shakily, nodding. When he holds me like this, I feel stronger. The challenge before me is like another Ascent—a cold journey bathed in blood, all the way up to the throne.
“Tomorrow, at the graduation ceremony,” he says, leaving no room for questions. “It can’t wait.”
“It can’t,” I agree. “But how?”
“All the Rawbonds go to the king to receive his blessing as they become Bonded,” he tells me. “That will be your opportunity. You’ll have to strike then, and you can’t falter or you’ll fail.”
“Believe me,” I say, my voice dangerous. “I won’t miss. How much control do you have of the castle guard?”
“I can access information, change orders,” he says. “Good thinking, I’ll work on the prison security and figure out how to get in and get the kids.”
Hope beats erratic in my chest. After everything I’ve been through to try to get Saela, it’s too much to believe that we might actually be there. Still, I ask, “Do you think this will work?”
The resolve in Killian’s gaze sets me on fire. “It will work. Tomorrow, you’ll get your sister back. Tomorrow, we’ll make my father pay. Tomorrow, the throne is ours.”
The arena is deafeningthe next afternoon, the stands packed once again with nobles and Bonded alike. The nobles look bored—with the bloodshed of the Unity Trials behind us, today’s graduation ceremony must seem dull for them. But I suppose it would’ve been impolite for them to skip it, after relishing our gore so many times.
All of us Rawbonds are in our training uniforms for the last time, complete with ceremonial swords. The afternoon sun castslong shadows across the arena. The air is cool, but sweat trickles down my spine and beads on my upper lip. Anxiety coils around my insides, twisting my mind.
It starts to make the shadows look strange.
I blink rapidly and wipe sweat from my eyes, averting my gaze. My eyes are drawn right to him, though. King Cyril. He sits above us all, resplendent in his royal purple and gold, that infamous wolf-pommel blade resting across his lap.
Even from here, I can see his fingers stroking over the handle repetitively as he stares down at us, eyes dragging over our wolves and bodies like a violating touch.
I know him for what he is now. Beneath that glittering mask of nobility, there’s a hideous fucking monster. Whatever he’s doing to those kids—whatever he’salreadydone—it’s going to end. Today.
And I’m going to be the one to do it.
My eyes jump to Killian, and some of the anxiety churning in me settles. He shines brighter than his father does, standing tall at his right hand and holding his head high. He’s dressed in royal blues to his father’s purples. His hair is perfectly arranged, his hands braced behind him. His eyes glint a brighter blue than usual in the piercing sunlight.
My future husband. My true king.
I think he senses me looking at him, because a moment later, our eyes meet from across the noisy arena. And ever so slightly, he inclines his head. An echo of a nod.
