I’m going to kill her. Ihaveto kill her. It’s the only way I can keep Meryn—and Nocturna—safe.
My hand inches down toward the dagger strapped to my thigh. If Cratos wasn’t currently… engaged… with Anassa, I know he’d be here immediately, ripping out her throat himself.
The Sovereign Alpha turns back toward me and says lightly, “It will help legitimize her claim, you know. With my son by her side, the Bonded will have to accept her.”
Her hunger for power has made her delusional.
With me by her side, theBondedmight accept Meryn, but the common people and the nobles would flee in droves to Killian. They’re wary enough of her as it is. They don’t need the butcher of Nocturna’s army seated on the king consort’s throne, adding fear to their caution.
Still, her words make me pause, cooling the heat that has slid over my vision.
If I kill Siegrid now, the coronation will fall apart. The Sovereign Alpha has more power and influence over the Bonded than anyone else in the entire country.
If things are to have even a chance of going smoothly, she needs to remain in charge of our forces and an ally for Meryn.
For now, at least.
“Let’s discuss this once the coronation is over,” I say, voice flat.
“Yes,” she says, smiling with satisfaction at my apparent acquiescence. “Let’s do just that. I’ll start figuring out a date for a ceremony.”
I bow and take my leave quickly, my rage a barely leashed thing. I make it halfway down the hall before I lose it and slam my fist into the wall, shattering plaster.
The bang reverberates throughout the empty, echoing hall.
A door flies open… and theresheis.
Shit.
Meryn looks startled, and she holds a dagger at the ready. When she spots me, she sheathes it, rolling her hazel eyes. Her hands come to her hips in irritation.
“Bullying walls now, huh? What did it do, look at you the wrong way?”
I take two steps toward her, drinking in her appearance in alarm. There are dark, bruised circles beneath her eyes, and her skin is wan. She’s lost weight in the past three weeks. Her face is hollow and ghostly.
What has been happening while I’ve been gone?
I could have kept in contact with her, could have reopened that dangerous river between us. Instead, I relied on reports from Grigore and Helene and the Sovereign Alpha, content to hear that I wasn’t missing anything important.
Content to keep her at arm’s length for the sake of my own sanity.
Clearly, that was an error in my judgment.
My hand itches to stroke her cheek, trace the circles with the pad of my thumb. I shove away the notion. Touching her face is a slippery slope toward Siegrid’s getting exactly what she wants.
Toward dragging Meryn down into the darkness with me.
The words just slip out. “You look like shit.”
She barks a laugh. “First, the wall, and now me? Well, it’s been great seeing you, too, Alpha Stark. Welcome back.”
Meryn turns back into her room, quickly moving to shut the door.
I stick my foot in the doorframe, stopping it, desperate to keep her in my line of sight—desperate to measure every part of her until I can untangle what’s gone wrong.
“You don’t want to hear how the journey went?” I say. “Aren’t you curious if yourbrutal enforcerkilled any more poor, unsuspecting nobles?”
She flushes and looks away, guilt flickering across her face. Guess she hasn’t forgotten those words, either. “Fine. Do you want to come in?”
