He wraps his arms around me, gathering me carefully against his chest as though he cannot quite believe I’m real.
A soft gasp leaves my lips as my ribs protest, but I don’t pull away. I cling to him instead, burying my face against his solid, familiar warmth as his arms tighten around my form.
“I was so afraid,” he breathes against my hair. His voice is rough, unsteady in a way I’ve never heard before. “I almost lost you, Vivienne.”
His heart beats strong and steady beneath my ear as I whisper, “But you didn’t. You saved me, Auren.” I tilt my head back just enough to look at him. A faint smile tugs at my lips as I decide to tease him to lighten the mood. “And now you’re stuck with me, my handsome Dark Elf husband.”
The smile slips from my face as my earlier worries resurface. “The healer said the king wanted to see me.” I hesitate a beat before adding, “You said he wanted me, Auren… at my father’s ball. You don’t think he’ll try to take me from you, do you?”
The thought feels suddenly unbearable now that I’ve spoken it aloud. “I don’t want the king.” I cup his cheek. “I wantyou, Auren. Only you, my love.”
Auren goes completely still, something akin to pain reflecting behind his eyes. “Vivienne,” he says, voice rough as he takes my hand, gently pulling it away from his face. “There is something I must tell you.”
“What is it?”
His fingers tighten slightly around mine. “I should have told you before we ever left your father’s kingdom.” His gaze dropsbriefly to our joined hands. “But I couldn’t. Vivienne, I’m not who you think I am. I—”
Then the door bursts open, and a Dark Elf soldier rushes inside and drops to one knee. “Forgive the interruption, Your Majesty,” the guard says breathlessly. “But you asked to be informed immediately.” He sets a small scroll on the table next to the bed and bows low. “Another message has arrived from the northern watchtower. It’s the same demand as the one from yesterday.”
Your Majesty.The words hang in the air between us, and for a moment I simply stare at the soldier, my thoughts refusing to catch up with what I’ve just heard.
Slowly, I turn my head toward Auren.
Surely he will laugh. Surely he’ll correct the guard… tell him he is mistaken.
But Auren doesn’t laugh. He doesn’t speak at all, watching me with sadness reflecting in his eyes.
“Leave us,” he tells the guard, and he quickly exits the room.
As Auren’s gaze holds mine, the truth crashes over me. “You’re… the king,” I whisper.
Silence fills the room. And in the stillness every memory rearranges itself, revealing the truth that had been hiding beneath it all along.
Tears sting my eyes as I force the words past my lips. “You lied to me.”
My chest tightens, and I draw in a shaking breath. It feels as if I cannot breathe. Auren lied to me… Every smile. Every promise. Every moment of trust between us.
And he has been lying from the very beginning.
CHAPTER 37
VIVIENNE
Auren is the king.The words settle over me, heavy and inescapable, pressing against my chest until it’s suddenly hard to breathe.
I stare at the man I have slept beside and trusted with every soft, unguarded part of me. At the man whose arms I woke in, whose mouth I kissed… whose promises I believed. And for a heartbeat, I don’t recognize him at all.
Auren doesn’t deny it. He only sits on the edge of my bed, his dark hair falling across his forehead, his eyes full of sorrow.
“You’re the king.” Fighting back a sob, I gaze down at my hands, because I don’t know where to look. If I look at him, I’ll see the man I love… the same one who lied to me. “All this time…”
“I’m sorry.” His voice is thick with emotion. “Please forgive me, Vivienne. Hurting you is the one thing I never wanted to do.”
The words drive deep, twisting something raw inside my heart until it aches to breathe around it. Instead of taking away the pain, they only make it worse.
I swallow against the lump rising in my throat and press my hands into my lap, gripping the sheets. I feel as though I have awakened in some foreign life… one where everything I thought I understood has shifted beneath my feet. I force myself to lift my eyes to his. “So the poor soldier I married never existed at all, did he?”
“Vivienne, I—”
