Page 76 of Of Skulls Of Shackles

“Do you enjoy when you fail to control it because you are too busy gloating?” I asked.

He grinned. “I enjoy that most of all, my powerful beauty, for you shake the world and that is fitting of everything I feel for you and our future.”

My rage leeched away. His grin widened.

“Careful, See,” I warned.

He drew back his amusement to a simple twinkling in his milky eyes. “There is an order, and the order is in the original poem of kings.”

The poem raced through my mind. “Where?”

“In reversal.”

In reversal. There word rang in my mind, for I was reminded of many prior reversals. Like returning to the place where five kings had last agreed—the olden rock. And then again when I had returned and reduced King Raise back to foot soldier.

Bring. Take. Raise. Change. See.

Three princes, each, shall come to thee.

Monsters to guide kings to thrones,

To keep real monsters chained with blood and bone.

Reversal, of course. Here was the answer to a great puzzle, at last. “I conquered you first.”

See dipped his head. “You did. Do you fathom when?”

I considered that. The end revealed the start. Each king conquered required me to trip through hellebores after. “I conquered you on the cusp of insanity when you were locked in madness about to steal the last bridal gift and the possibility of queendom from me.” I lifted my gaze. “You lowered me into the hellebore grave instead.”

“I did. After our kiss, I did. That is when I was conquered.”

Our hearts skipped a beat. Such power and warmth in a kiss.

See searched my gaze. “I told you that my madness had faded due to the ailment upon other kings. That was true, but only half of the matter. With my conquering, you gained in queendom, and your gains in queendom tend to… level me somewhat.”

That was true enough. He had been least stable in the infancy of my queendom.

He held up a key of black metal, and the head of the key was a cobweb pattern to match his gothic palace. “I never thought to give these to you until hearing of your trip to a door that five kings locked long ago.”

I steeled myself to take them. For once I took them, how could See and I remain equals? He would be in my power. His kingdom would be mine.

“I make my choice willingly and irrationally, and you conquered my kingdom and me some time ago.”

I released a rush of air—oof.“I am very glad that this all happened without my awareness. Though I do require one last thing of you in the interest of conquering you.”

“Name it,” he said, though I sensed a small, curious hesitation in him.

“I drove you to one knee in my dining hall, I recollect, but I have not driven you to both knees. You must kneel before me now.” I did not smile. This was a simple necessity of obsession.

King See lowered to his knees and bowed his head. He extended the key to me. “Does the sight please you?”

Lust stirred in my chest. The sight did please me, and I had expected it. “Queenly ego is a vice I cannot deny, though ancients drive this detail of my obsession where kings must kneel, not I.”

“Ego is necessary when burden is great. You must hover above the mountains and clouds sometimes to do what is needed. A heart might only take so much battering. Ego provides resilience until true resilience can grow.”

He would know. He was in the business of heart battering, but I did not comment so, for this interaction was woefully and painfully beautiful, and I could not bring myself to bring harsh truths forth to ruin beauty tonight.

I took the key from him and tucked it away. “I want you, See.”

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