Page 43 of A Bond of Ice and Glass
“No,” I whisper, but I know it’s true. I remember the man who broke into the castle in the night and how he just wanted his family back. He was trying to get to me, to use me to bribe my parents to let his family out of the mines. All the rubies of my mother’s crown, dresses, and even dotted around the walls of the castle. The diamonds, the wealth… it was all soaked in blood.
“Yes. I had no intention of overtaking your kingdom, not until I heard what was going on in the mines, and even then, I tried to negotiate with your parents. I told them, if they closed the mines, we could make trade deals. There are many mines in my land too, ones where people can leave freely and come back to work, but they did not want that. They had a treaty with the witches, to whom they were trading crystals for money and protection. They were extremely rich and thought they were untouchable. The only thing they cared about was making themselves and their heir richer. If they lived, they would have turned you into a monster.” He clears his throat. “I becamea monster to stop your parents. I stole dragon eggs from the witches and made myself a rider. I made a small army of riders and saved them all. I saved you too… even if you didn’t know why.”
I made him into a monster in my mind. I made him the villain.
“I didn’t know.” It feels pathetic to say that.
But whatcouldI have done? I was a child.
“I thought you did, and I thought you might be just as evil as them. I never came to see you because I feared I’d be putting you on a throne alongside me when you might be like them. But you’re not. I was slow to figure it out, but you are not like your parents, and I suspect you would have stopped them somehow when you grew older.”
I nod. “I would have.” I frown. “Do the witches hate you then, too?”
“Yes. Long ago, they were the dragons’ protectors, but then they had them magically bound to them so they couldn’t hatch. I stopped that. I took fourteen eggs away from the witches and let them breed. Let them be free. The witches are angry with me and want the dragons back, but that isn’t happening. I believe Loch and his brother are using that as an excuse, saying I’ve brought this war upon everyone. I refuse to rule any kingdom that knows nothing but misery and pain.”
He shakes his head, and runs a hand through his hair.
“The witches sent someone to me. She’s a rider now and flew with me to rescue you. She was essential to finding you. I’m actually starting to believe we might find peace with the witches in the future. Once this is all over.”
I look down at the ground, thick hot tears pouring down my cheeks. “I didn’t know.” I begin to sob, covering my face with my hands.
His hands cover mine, gently pulling them down. The king is kneeling between my legs as he wipes my tears away. “Mist…” He breathes out that nickname for me like a prayer, and I like it. Gods, Ilikehim. “The one thing we have in common is that we were born from monsters and bathed in the blood they spilled. Butwehave the crowns now, and we can do better. Wearebetter and we can fix this world. The truth is, the moment I married you, I knew I’d give up the crown, my kingdom, just to keep you safe. Don’t cry for their sins, Maelena. You. Are. Not. Guilty.”
I lean forward and kiss my husband, the man who burned a kingdom down to save millions of people. The moment his lips meet mine, the moment I accept who and what he is, every stolen memory slams into me.
Erax… is my king. And we won’t be separated ever again.
Chapter 14
We kiss like we’ve waited a lifetime for it.
Itfeelslike I’ve waited a lifetime to kiss Erax again.
To remember him.
His mouth falls on mine again, hot and bruising. He twists his fingers in my hair, and I grip his shoulders. There’s no tenderness to the kiss. Only deep, burning hunger that sears through my whole body.
He lays me back on the bed. I let him, but then I use my strength to push him off and straddle his hips. His shirt rips, and the buttons pop one by one as I tear the fabric off him. I need to see him, feel him.
He groans underneath me. His hands move down my waist, squeezing and caressing me, like he’s trying to remember every inch of me. Like he’s been starved of me as much as I was of him.
I pull his lip between my teeth and bite him. He bites me back, and I moan, raking my nails down his chest. He groans into my mouth like I’m the only thing in this world keeping him grounded. Then he pulls me down and keeps me pinned against him, our foreheads pressed together.
For a moment, he just holds me there. He’s never held me like this.
I don’t think anyone has.
It shatters and heals something inside me at the same time.
“This is real,” he whispers, as if talking to himself. “This is finally real.”
“Yes,” I breathe, kissing his cheek. “I’m real, Erax.”
His grip tightens, and in one swift move, he pins me underneath him again. His eyes have darkened. Even the green one seems to be glowing with flecks of gold. My breath hitches as I look up at him watching me, studying me.
“Every night I’ve dreamt of this,” he murmurs. “Of your voice. Your eyes. The way you looked at me before they took you.”
He leans down, his forehead resting against mine again.
