Page 52 of Queen of the Crimson Throne

“You need to determine the same. Are your circumstances a blessing or a curse? Are you and Luka finding one another—is this arranged marriage a blessing or a curse?”

Blessing or curse. He made it sound so simple. A clear-cut choice.

But it was so much more than that. Wasn’t it?

When it all came down to it, it was me and Luka at the core of everything. Was he, was our relationship, a blessing or a curse?

My first instinct was to say it was all a curse. Everything we had experienced was all a goddess-forsaken curse.

But to call Luka a curse—the word got lodged in my throat.

He had infected me, yes. He had infected my life like a virus, spreading throughout my existence and clinging to my every crack and crevice until there was no separating me from him. He was woven into me—unable to untangle where I ended and he began. Even while he was away, I still felt a pull towards him. I ached for him.

Luka was—he was the light in my darkness.

But a blessing, that wasn’t the right word either.

Luka was Luka.

I just needed to figure out what that meant.

“You’ve given me a lot to think about, bird boy.” I knocked my shoulder against his. “Nico’s going to be jealous when he finds out you and I were bonding.”

A sound adjacent to a laugh sounded from his throat. “Is that what you call having a conversation? Bonding?”

“When it comes to you, yes. This is the most words I’ve ever heard you say in one conversation.”

“And it won’t likely happen again, so you should consideryourself lucky.”

“Oh, trust me, I do, Declan.” I gave him a soft smile. “Thank you. Thank you for sharing this with me.”

“Being able to help you and Luka by sharing my story—it’s part of my way of figuring out if my wings are a blessing or a curse.”

“Not that my opinion matters, but I think your wings are a blessing.”

24

LENNOX

The smells of Arcadia wrapped around me as the city came into focus around us. Luce had come this morning to Cel Nox to transport us to Arcadia with her, depositing us in the outskirts of the city.

It had been years since I had been to the capital city of the Mystic Court, the summerBeforewas the last time. I loved my time spent in Arcadia, the days spent exploring the palace walls and the city within, learning more about my witch heritage. This place held so many memories.

But I had never been here without my mother.

This was her home.

This is where she grew up.

Everything reminded me of her. The thick forest surrounding the palace was where we spent our days learning and practicing witch magic. We would spend our entire day in the woods, packing a picnic lunch so we wouldn’t have to return to the palace. We spent countless days browsing the shops in the city proper, leaving when our arms were full of packages of items we could only find in the Mystic Court. The temple, the palace,everythingreminded me of her. It would be even worse inside the palace. Memories of time spent with her and Nol within thewalls were sure to assault me, along with the various pictures and paintings of her throughout the dwelling.

I could do this, couldn’t I?

Kara fell into step next to me, taking my hand in hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. Things might still be tense between us, but even so, we’d lean on each other here.

When I looked over at my sister there were tears in her eyes.

“I—” She took a moment to collect her thoughts. “I can feel her everywhere.”

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