My actions have already led to Antony’s destruction. Before I came into his life, his vampyric nature was under control. He was beating it.
I ended up doing what the False Queen said I would.
I ruined him.
Unintentionally. Unwillingly. Stellen and Antony came face-to-face because of me.
I tried so hard… Fought so hard…
How do I beat this curse?How?
Sorrow claws at my heart, and my head bows so far that my forehead touches Stellen’s.
Now that he’s asleep, he’s as vulnerable as he might ever be.
He warned me he would cause me pain.
But…
How much cruelty will I bring to him?
Chapter Twenty
Antony
Death would be easier than this.
I crouch at the precipice of the black mountain ridge near the tunnel where I hurt Thyra.
In the distance, hordes of vampyrs swarm across the southernmost mountains.
They haven’t come near me, and that’s just as well.
With every beat of my newly blooded heart, I fight the savage rage building while I force myself not to go after Thyra.
Azul looms over me, his fierce, red eyes unblinking in the heavy darkness, his talons ready to cleave me to pieces. Impale me again if I eventwitchnorthward.
It’s been hours since he let me up off the rock after stabbing me and pinning me against the stone. Long, dark hours since I stopped pummeling my fists into a bloody mess.
“Don’t let me go to her, Azul.” Over and over, I’ve repeated this command, ragged breaths burning my chest. “I’ll only hurt her again.”
I’m no less monstrous than I was before.
More so now that I’ve shed my heavy armor and freed myfangs. More and more, my thirst builds and soon I’ll have to make a choice: stay in the bloodlands and starve, or leave and…
And fucking what?
Brave the light and face who I really am now?
I was the Iron King.
Now I’m king of nothing.
My youngest brother, Hadrian, knows I’m a vampyr. He made it clear he planned to claim the throne and, with his power to control iron dust, no Iron Fae will stand against him. Not even his mother, my stepmother, Galla Vividari, who played cruel games with my life.
At least I’m assured that my sister, Cassia, is safe. She escaped into the mountains on the Iron Kingdom’s eastern border with her soulmate, Rohan, and I’m certain that whatever news about me might find its way to her, she’ll make smart decisions.
As for my other brother, Victor, he’s a survivor. Like Cassia, he’s adept at maneuvering within whatever boundaries are placed around him.
