Page 116 of Where Darkness Falls

The twit did this on purpose.

Why bring Maeva to the very place that makes me want to vomit?

Why not just speak with her in the throne room?

It is already warded, and they spoke there previously… unless…

This isn’t for Maeva’s torment.

My heart seizes in my chest.

No, the idea seems preposterous, but is it truly?

Or is it that I fear what he might reveal to her?

Perhaps this is punishment for how I “threatened” him at the masquerade.

This is his way of reminding me of what I truly am to him:

Not his son.

Not the prince.

I’m his weapon.

He truly is proficient.

After all, what better way to torment your wraith than by reminding him of the first time he ever killed.

“Have you considered my offer?”Tiernan asks, tucking a dark crimson rose behind my right ear. His hand softly traces along my jaw, as he drinks in the sight of me. There’s such a longing in his features, like a king starved of affection, all the while hoping I’m the cure to his ailing soul. However, it isn’t my companionship that this atrocious man craves… It’s what my ability can offer him. I see it—the invidiousness—in the wolfish gleam he fails to hide.

The mania has slowly eaten away at him over the years, devouring him whole. His lust for power overrules any goodness—if there is any—left within him. Aria’s murder is the barest glimpse of his capacity for cruelty, and if I were to offer him my ability freely…

No!

He shall never taste the fruits of what I could bring him. Even if that decision places me in the dungeon for the rest of my days, so be it. I refuse to become as corrupt as him. “Yes, Your Majesty,” I say coolly, backing away from his touch, “and I must decline.”

He quickly grasps my arm, lightly squeezing. “Enlighten me as to why that is, my darling,” he bites out through gritted teeth.

“Do you truly believe that your display of executing that woman at the masquerade would sway me in your favor?” I ask incredulously.

“Her punishment fits the crime of conspiring against my court—against me,” King Tiernan seethes. “Do you dare claim to support that group ofrebelsto my face, my darling?”

His eyes glow slightly as a twisted smile crosses the sharp planes of his face.

I jerk my arm from his grasp. “No, I’d never be that injudicious, my king,” I reply sharply. “I’ve never heard of such a group until that obscene display last night. However, if that’s how you wish to dole outjustice, then I’ve seen quite enough of such punishments to last a lifetime. So, no, I don’t align with them, but I also can’t help you find your blood gem. Throw me in the bloody dungeon if that’s what you desire, but I won’t be a pawn in your games.”

I’m already walking away when his velvet voice stops me in my tracks. “You’d refuse me even if I could bring your family back?” he asks.

I stop, fists clenching at my sides. I can’t move or speak. What he is implying is ludicrous, even for him. No creation can awaken the dead—only Siorai can do such a thing.

The hair on the nape of my neck prickles as his dark presence looms behind me—trailing his hands along my arms. “What’s the matter, my darling?” he whispers against the crown of my head. “You miss them,don’t you?” I swallow thickly, refusing to answer. “Yes,” he continues, breathing in my scent. “The stench of guilt and shame heavily wafts from you, my darling. It’s such a tragedy for their lives to be destroyed—and some so young. What were their names again?” He pauses.

My hands tremble as I grit my teeth. “You don’t know their na?—”

“Rolph, Amelia,” he says slowly.

My heart drops.

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