“I know this is really important to you. But it didn’t mean you had to throw your life away and promise yourself to someone you didn’t even like, let alone aren’t mated to,” Marcus protested.
“You don’t get it. I’m already lost because of what I’ve done. Damned to hell, sentenced to a fate of eternal torment, whatever. My soul and my life doesn’t matter. It made me sick to stand up there at my Choosing ceremony, and swear to my goddess to be bound to someone that I didn’t love,” Kallie choked out. “But Idid, because Valen was my best option to win the King’s Contest and gain the throne. His magic was the strongest I’d ever seen in a shifter, and I’d never witnessed him lose a fight. I knew if anyone could get me through that competition and place me in a position of power, it was him. So I sucked it up and proclaimed Valen to be my mate, even though he wasn’t, because my destiny to protect the people I was responsible for came before my happiness. If it meant getting these depraved pigs off the streets, then yeah, I’d do anything. I’d marry him, I’dfuck him, I’d even push his heir out of me, as much as I despised the thought, because my mission to stop suffering in my country was more important than whatever I wanted.”
I gained a deep understanding of Kallie. She’d seen the worst horrors imaginable, and hardened herself to the darkest parts of society. She seemed so strong, emotionless, even, save for her anger, but her anger was her weapon, and she used it to protect herself.
Kallie struggled with being vulnerable and having emotions other than rage, because she’d kept everything inside for so long. She was worried if she felt an emotion other than anger, she’d break.
Marcus stood. He walked to Kallie and grasped her hand. “Kallie, you’re so lucky. This work could’ve killed you.”
“Do you really think one of those parasites would’ve been strong enough to end me?” Kallie hissed. She attempted to rip her hand away.
Marcus didn’t let go. “I don’t mean that. I mean… if you hadn’t come to the Institute, you would’ve kept doing it. One day you wouldn’t have been able to stand it anymore.”
She resisted holding his gaze, and I had to admire her strength in the remnants of everything she’d done for her country, and all that she’d sacrificed to protect other people, people who, most likely, would never know what she’d done. Not a damn one of us in this room was strong enough to do that, besides her.
But even she wouldn’t have been able to pursue hunting down these nightmares forever. The overwhelming effort it would take to put a dent in the world’s predators would drown her.
Eventually, she’d look for a way out.
Oberi had been listening to all this carefully. Her head lifted as she said,Is there a possibility that the attempt on the life of the fae king wasn’t all it seemed to be?
My heart pounded against my ribcage. I wanted to hurl. Kallie caught the stricken expression on my face and asked, “What?”
I told my constricted throat to relax. “Kallie… what if you didn’t try to assassinate your brother?”
A clearness came into her eyes. “But… IknowI did. Everyone saw me try.”
“You’ve told us before you don’t remember doing it. You could’ve been compelled,” Marcus pointed out.
Kallie began shaking her head madly. “No. I… I lost myself in a fit of rage, I—”
Marcus grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Youwould nothave killed your twin. I know you! No matter how mad you were at him for taking the crown, you wouldn’t have done something like that.”
“If you were compelled to kill your brother, there’s only one person with motive,” Charlie said. “Did something happen to make Valen angry the night of the assassination attempt?”
“I broke up with Valen during my brother’s coronation, the same day I tried to kill Kaz,” Kallie said, near madness. “If I couldn’t have the crown, there wasn’t a point in being with him anymore. It was a relief, because I just wanted out of it.”
“How’d he take it?” Charlie asked.
“At first, Valen flew into a rage. Then all of a sudden, he just… walked away. I couldn’t figure out why he didn’t make a bigger deal out of it, after he tried to force me to be with him,” Kallie mused.
“Because he decided he was going to compel you. He knew if you killed your brother, the guilt alone would be, in his eyes, a just punishment for breaking up with him,” I said. “Kallie, you were sentenced to the Institute for this specific crime. You didn’t commit it of your own free will. If we can prove you’re innocent, you could go free.”
“Free?” Her eyebrows lifted, stunned by the possibility.
“If you get released, youhaveto search for the Divinity Keys while the rest of us figure a way out,” Charlie pleaded. “This could be an opportunity for us.”
Kallie said nothing. Charlie began gathering the evidence, suddenly in a hurry.
“I’m going to turn this in to Professor Jobe right away,” Charlie said. “You should come too, Kallie. He’ll want to hear what you have to say.”
She hesitated for a moment before rushing after him. I turned to Marcus, who seemed very sad. Rishi jumped into his lap and began purring, rubbing his head on Marcus’ chin.
“What are you going to do if Kallie gets released?” I whispered.
“I want whatever’s best for her. It’s certainly not this place,” Marcus hushed.
“If it happens… you might never see her again.”
