man who stole my only sliver of happiness. “Why did you send her away to Equatoria?”
Truth, not blood.
That is my ultimate craving.
His amber eyes open and meet mine. “I always knew it’d eventually come to this. You trying to take my throne.”
I press the tip of the blade into his skin, reveling in the way blood seeps from the new wound I’ve created. Panic briefly flashes in my fierce father’s gaze.
“Answer the question,” I growl. My gift is a raging beast inside me—a beast whom I’ve only sparingly dealt with, but now one I willingly release from its cage.
“She was a whore, boy,” Father sneers. “And pregnant with another man’s baby.”
Pain lances through me. “And you sent her to her death? Knowing she carried my sibling? It could have been yours!”
“A king only needs one heir,” he bites back. “And mine is threatening me with a sword. Imagine if there were more. Chaos.”
“You took away the only thing I ever loved. Why?”
“This wasn’t about you, Ryke. This was about betrayal. And she got what she was owed.”
My rage consumes me as I push down. The wet sound of my sword pushing through his muscle and into his heart is one I’ll never forget. A fire maker can heal himself, but a sword through the heart will kill him. My blade hits its mark because his eyes flicker as life literally bleeds from him.
“You betrayed me, too, Father,” I say in a cold voice. “And you got what you were owed as well.”
I yank his crown off the table and steal his sword that’s sharper and better than mine. On my way out, I find his most trusted man. His eyes are wet with tears, the grief overwhelming him.
“You could have stopped me,” I challenge, raising my sword.
This man could have. Easily. He’s the strongest, quickest fighter in the Volc army.
“Noni wouldn’t have wanted me to.” His eyes burn into mine, flashing with love as he speaks of her. “She always knew you were a good man.”
“She was with child,” I murmur. “Your child, hmmm?”
Hot tears race down his cheeks as he nods.
I clutch his shoulder. “I found her. I put her out of her misery.”
Relief makes him sag. “Thank you.”
He falls to his knee and bows his head. “I pledge my loyalty to you, my king. Your mother would have wanted it that way.”
“Remove my father’s head and burn his body,” I order. “Tonight, we’ll have a coronation feast. Make sure everyone knows it.”
“Yes, my king.” He rises to his feet. “Anything else, your highness?”
“I’m not like him, Danser,” I assure the man. “I’m nothing like him.”
“No, your mother made sure of that.”
I wake in a cold sweat, disoriented and groggy, but alive. It takes a moment for me to understand my surroundings. Walls made of thick ice-covered stone. A chill in the air that cuts to the bone. A sleeping queen at my side.
Last thing I remember was taking a sword through the chest. I’d seen the beautiful hatred in Elzira’s eyes aimed at the one who’d harmed me. Felt it like a punch to the heart. I survived, though. For a bit there, as I lay in the snow, I questioned if I would. I’ve taken many swords into my body over the years and easily healed. This was different. The sword was dipped in something harmful to me.
Looking down at my chest, a small, feminine hand rests over my new pink scars. She must have healed me with her touch. Her body stills as she wakes and then she lifts so she can look at me.
Wide, concerned blue eyes.
Poutiest lips in all the kingdoms.
“Elzira,” I rumble, my voice dry and cracked.
“Shhh,” she croons as she sits up and reaches for a cup on the table beside the bed. “Don’t speak, drink.”
The tenderness with which she brings the cup to my lips makes my heart clench in my chest. That bastard almost took me from her. I swallow a few long sips and then ask the question I need answering the most.
“Is he dead?”
Her expression becomes murderous, the blues in her eyes blazing. “I cut off his head.”
Reaching up, I slide my hand into her blond hair and pull her to me for a kiss. “So fierce,” I say against her lips. “Cruel, beautiful queen.”
“Just protecting my king.”
“How are you feeling?” Danser asks as he enters Elzira’s room.
“It’s been three days,” I gripe. “I’m fine.”
Elzira rolls her eyes at him. “The poison is slow to leave his system.