Page 108 of Sworn to the Shadow Throne

You deserve better than a man who’s on the verge of burning it down for you.

Thank the gods it was Reina who entered the hallway. Her gaze swept between us. “Careful,” she mouthed.

I inclined my head like the obedient prince and took another step back. There was no indulgence or amusement on her face, though—only assessment.

“Lord Coryanthus’s courier arrived moments ago,” she said, voice pitched low. “He didn’t wait for discretion.”

Ice slid down my spine.

“The news out of Freuxcourt has been announced,” Reina continued evenly. “To everyone.” Reina’s eyes held mine. “And they’re already discussing the vacancy.”

A vacancy on the queen’s throne meant urgency. And urgency meant leverage they could hold over Berian and me.

I could already hear Coryanthus’s voice cutting through the swell—measured, persuasive, positioning the continuity of bloodlines as essential for Larethia’s future. He didn’t have a sister or a niece to offer. So who?

My gaze slid to Lunette. Powerful. Unclaimed. And a political wildcard someone could turn to their advantage.

But mine.

The hypocrisy of the thought sat in my gut like curdled milk.

I’d signed her summons with my royal seal and told myself no one would decide her future but her—right up until the moment I’d decided it myself. I’d done it for the right reasons. I still believed that. But so had every man who’d ever made a decision about a woman’s life and called it protection. I was just like my brother, who’d spent the last twenty years deciding that my nature needed to be managed and used rather than understood.

Even if it meant giving up everything, I couldn’t let that happen to her again.

Now the court would move quickly to push for alliances, betrothals, for the consolidation of their power even before the letter about Lunette made it to the Mage Assembly in Caervorn.

What began as panic solidified into unwavering determination. I’d thought I’d had until morning. But now the torch was under both our feet—hers burning even hotter than mine—and Lunette didn’t even know it yet.

I watched as she walked back to her rooms with Reina. I had practice letting her go, but the repetition did nothing to dull the sting.

The din from the hall grew louder as I placed my hand on the door, a cacophony of men and women driven by ambition, ready to seize what they wanted, their lives defined by the belief that wanting was justification enough.

Back into the lion’s den.

I’d fight for her. I’d die for her. There was no question about that. But this time—for the first time—I was fighting for myself too.

Chapter 31

Lunette

Shadows cast by the unsteady flame of the torches in their iron brackets danced along the stone walls as we left the feasting hall behind. The unfamiliar slippers I wore hugged my feet with a cozy warmth, yet did little to ward off the creeping chill that seeped into me with every step.

My cheeks still ached from smiling at people whose names I’d already lost. They’d treated me like someone with a title, and I’d sat there in borrowed silk and answered question after question while I tried very hard to be whatever they needed me to be. It left me nearly as exhausted as healing the king had been.

I kept my eyes resolutely forward because I could feel Owain standing behind me—broad shoulders squared, jaw locked. Something in his expression had seemed so lost… so lonely all evening. But when we were alone, he’d looked at me like everything made sense again.

If I looked back, I’d break.

I hadn’t let myself think about how much I’d missed him since leaving Selmont. It was easier that way. But the moment he stepped into the hall and said my name, it all came crashing back.

Hate would’ve been so much easier than the pull he seemed to have over me. Even now, my shoulders had unknotted, as if my body had decided that he was still safe. My bruised heart was the only thing keeping me in check.

Tonight Owain had worn a crown. He looked regal, every inch the lofty prince. Yet… he had also defended me like I knew Rowan would have.

I’d been right about Fate—and I’d been right about how much it hurt. The goddess had dropped a man with Rowan’s gentleness and Owain’s undeniable authority on my doorstep.

Gods help me, I liked every piece of him.