Page 13 of His Eternal Claim

Before I can move, Crystella steps into my peripheral vision and leans against my arm.

“You’re ignoring your future bride, Zagreus,” she purrs, her eyes shifting toward Selene before returning to mine. “Adrian seems to be having a much better time on the terrace than you are. Perhaps you should learn how to smile from him.”

“Adrian is an idiot who doesn’t realize he’s playing in a yard full of landmines,” I say.

My eyes remain fixed on the terrace as Adrian reaches out, his fingers briefly brushing the edge of Selene’s bare shoulder. She offers him a small, polite smile, unaware that her Father’s ambitions have already placed a target on her back.

Adrian Davenport thinks he is the future of this empire. He thinks he can take the crown, take the territory, and take the girl. What he doesn’t know is that I’ve already placed my pawns, and he’s going to be the bait.

The fool doesn’t realize he’s already lost all three.

I tip back the rest of my champagne, welcoming the burn as it slides down my throat.

Selene doesn’t know.

She doesn’t know about the agreements forged long before she was born. Doesn’t know her Father has spent the last year trying to claw his way into a world that would happily devour him.

And I don’t want her to know.

Because the moment she learns what I’ve done, she’ll look at me differently.

Like everyone else does. Like a monster.

The thought settles in my chest.

I can handle hatred from the rest of the world, but not from her. She’s the only thing in this godforsaken universe that still feels untouched.

My wildness. My peace.

The last good thing I’ve never managed to ruin.

I set my glass down and start walking across the ballroom, straight toward the terrace.

Selene sees me and brightens. The sight nearly stops me in my tracks. Just as Adrian reaches for her again, my hand closes around his wrist before his fingers can touch her shoulder.

The smile never leaves my face. “Careful, Adrian.”

His head snaps toward me as I squeeze slightly. “You should be cautious about touching things that don’t belong to you.”

A dangerous glint enters his eyes. “There it is. The famous Zagreus Vitale temper.”

His grin widens as I let go of his hand, because I want to break it, cut his fingers into tiny, tiny little pieces, and shove them down his throat. It’s completely normal to butcher him too, because fuck, he makes me see all red.

“I was beginning to think the stories were exaggerated.” I can practically hear him hoping I’ll make a scene. One wrong move and half the room would be talking before sunrise.

On second thought, why not? I don’t fucking care who sees. I’ll have another excuse to see my Dolcezza in a black dress. She looks magnificent in black.

Red is overrated.

But like a shadow constantly hovering over me, my light brushes her hand against mine, her fingers sliding around it beneath the railing to give a small squeeze.

It silences every violent thought in my head. I look down to where our hands touch.

My anger becomes white. For her. She hates violence. She makes me sane. Enough for her.

Because Selene has this impossible ability to make me want to be better than I am, kinder than I deserve to be. Calmer than my nature allows.

The world gets the monster. She gets the man desperately trying not to become one.