he hadn’t really gotten what he wanted. He hadn’t wanted me. He’d wanted my throne.
Something hard lodged in my chest then. How foolish I’d been to trust any of these men. They were so quick to think I’d betrayed them in our past, and Tiron was quick to think I’d betray him in our future. If they didn’t trust me, then I could never trust them.
And were any of these princes and kings even capable of trusting anyone beside their own arrogant selves?
Yet here I was. I’d abandoned the mortal world, my friends and my work. I’d thrown my lot in with these foolish kings, and here we were, directionless on the ocean, hunted by my evil father.
And worst of all… bound by magic and oaths, tied together with something so powerful I didn’t fully understand it yet, but I could feel it. He was truly a beautiful man, as if he’d been carved by an artist, with his handsome face and spreading shoulders above an elegant frame. Even as I studied Tiron with hate in my heart, I felt a draw to him too, a connection that I didn’t know how to break.
A connection that just made me feel alone, when he turned his back on me as he had now.
The sun streaming through the porthole glinted off metal, shining up into my eyes.
I looked down and saw the knife in my hand.
Then I turned it, taking the hilt in both hands, pressing the tip against my gut. I felt the sharp tip probe against my flesh, even through the fabric and jewels. I could still slam the blade cleanly through.
Depending on my aim, though, my males might heal me in time.
My hands shook as I dug the tip into the gown. The fabric sheared away under the twisting point.
I tried to summon my magic, pushing back against Herrick. He was whispering in my ear steadily now. You always drive people away, Alisa. You deserve to be lonely.
I couldn’t quite draw my magic together to overpower the way my body seemed to move without my permission. My fingers trembled on the hilt of the dagger, trying to force myself to drop it. But my fingers just tightened, so hard that my palm hurt, that my fingernails bit into my flesh. Herrick’s voice seemed to shatter my magic, leaving it in wisps.
I focused all my magic on breaking through the curse, to reach the male who stood with his gaze fixed on the sea outside.
“Please,” It came out a broken gasp, not the full sentence I’d intended, breaking through the silence Herrick had forced on me.
That was all I managed. I pulled the knife free of the torn-away threads in my dress, held it out at arm’s length.
Then as Tiron turned toward me, too late, I drove the blade home.
Chapter Four
Tiron
Alisa stood across from me in her wedding dress. Sunlight shimmered across the thousands of jewels covering her dress and shone from the knife on her hands. Knife.
Her eyes shone with unshed tears. As her delicate muscles flexed in her shoulders and arms, as she slammed the knife toward her gut, understanding finally dawned on me.
I leapt forward, slamming her hands to one side, trying to deflect the blade. “No!”
The knife had already gone in, but I broke her momentum. She doubled over, the blade half in and half out. She still gripped the hilt and I didn’t trust her not to drive it deeper, so I wrested the knife away. Normally, I’d leave the blade stopping the wound, but right now, it seemed more dangerous to leave Alisa with a weapon.
“Help!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, slamming my shoulder into her to pin her to the wall. I didn’t know why she’d just drive a knife into her own gut, if she was enchanted or if there was some other reason, but Alisa was a formidable opponent. If she were determined to kill herself, it might be a struggle to stop her. “Duncan! Help me!”
I needed his healing magic. Winter doesn’t do much to heal anyone.
Her eyes were wide, her lips parted. She tried to speak but didn’t manage.
“I’ve got you,” I promised her. Her legs had gone out from under her, and I caught her weight, my hand that gripped the knife against her lower back as I supported her. No matter how badly hurt she was, I still didn’t trust Alisa with a knife.
I helped her carefully down to the floor. Her gown and