Page 162 of A Promise so Bold and Broken

“I’ve told you. I am not giving you the one thing Ellow might use to survive two wars. I already risked my whole land—my people!—for you once, and…” He shot a look at Merrick, his eyes emptying. “That clearly was a mistake.”

Merrick and Lessia flew to their feet at the same time.

But as Merrick noticed her slitted eyes, he let her step forward, although the snarl he unleashed shook the floor as she took the two steps needed to get into Loche’s face.

“This isn’t about me, Loche.” Her low voice shook as she tried to keep herself from growling at him. “We need this! Ellow needs this! Your people need this! You need this, for gods’ sake—he still believes you’re the one who’s to betray him!”

“No. He”—he gestured toward Raine—“said I don’t need to worry for my people, so why should we use it now? I prefer to hold on to it until I know you won’t just leave Ellow to its fate.”

Lessia ground her teeth. “Loche, he has my sister. Perhaps even my father. He’ll surely come with half an army to ensure no harm will come to him. We need the wyverns to maintain an advantage.”

“That’s exactly why I won’t give it to you. What if he has your family somewhere else, and you conveniently disappear with the stone to rescue them?” When Loche scoffed, she couldn’t stop her magic from surfacing, the golden of her eyes reflecting in his.

Lessia hesitated only for a second.

She was confident Rioner had something up his sleeve.

They needed that stone.

“Give. Me. The. Stone,” she purred. “Now.”

Her eyes widened when Loche’s didn’t glaze over—when his features didn’t morph into the mask of obedience she’d expected but hardened further as he tsked at her.

“See, I realized my mistake when we were on that balcony…”

Merrick’s body lined up with hers as he advanced, and Raine and Kerym also drew closer, the tension filling the room so palpable Lessia was certain her daggers could cut through it.

Loche didn’t seem bothered by the three Fae warriors glowering at him as he continued. “I am man enough to admit I had a weak moment… but I was too curious as to why I’d risked everything for you. But now—”

Loche jumped from the table, straightening to look down upon her. “When you refused to give me my memories back, I realized you’re not on my side… Not fully. Not anymore.” He picked up a small vial from the table. “That’s where this comes in.”

Not thinking, Lessia reached out for the gilded flask, but Loche backed up a step, a low laugh escaping him. “I don’t think so.”

“What is it?” Kerym walked up to her side, his face straining as he glared at the regent. “I can’t drain him. It’s like…”

Merrick’s whispers burst through the room, but Loche only continued laughing, the sound bouncing between the walls as the whispers drifted away, only to be replaced by a frustrated snarl from Raine.

“Amazing! I wasn’t sure it would work.”

The smile pulling at Loche’s features didn’t light up his face in the way that had once mesmerized her.

Instead, it twisted it into one of those masks Loche liked to bear, the cold, lethal mask of a regent who didn’t care for anything or anyone other than his duties.

“What did you do?” Lessia whispered as the light in her eyes dimmed.

Loche cocked his head. “I did what I had to do for those I love.”

Merrick’s arm circled her waist, and he pulled her to him as he shook his head. “You damned idiot.”

“You get it now, Death Whisperer?” Loche raised a brow.

“What the fuck is going on, Merrick?” Raine asked, and a twinge of worry brushed her skin as Lessia met his eyes and worry crinkled the skin around them.

Merrick stared right at Loche as he answered. “The liquor. There was something in it that rendered our magic useless.”

Lessia sucked in a breath, but it wasn’t fear that made her body shake.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Shaking off Merrick’s arm, she got into Loche’s face again. “Rioner is comingtomorrow! When will it wear off?”

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