Page 50 of The King is Dead
“You tell me I should have trusted you, and I agree. Once we were bound, I should have told you who I am. But you wereblind,Melek. And somehow determined to die for your honor. If you would just considerdeclaring—”
“I am not a King, Yilan! I am a soldier—”
“Then fuckingfight!”she snarled. Her eyes went wide, blazing with rage. “Fight the wrong in this world! Fight the wrong in this war! Fight for us!Fight for me!”
My head snapped back at her fire, but there were also tears in her eyes.
She took a step closer. “Melek, none of us has gotten all of this right. But, wake up! You are wasted here. You are wasting yourself, refusing to even consider what I’m offering you. WhatGod Himselfhas placed in front of you. A divine purpose—does that mean nothing?”
“Of course not,” I growled.
She threw up her hands. “Then why do you resist?”
“Because I don’t trust that you’re being honest with me!” I snarled, my heart pinching at the pain that flashed in her eyes. But it was only truth. “You have turned my world upside downand expect me to thank you for it? I knew my place in this world. I knew the role I had been given to play. I have walked throughdecadeson this earth as a soldier and leader—never as a ruler. The only rulers I’ve ever met are ambitious, selfish, self-centered cuntswho have to be convinced not to use their own people as fodder for their whims. I had always vowed never to bethat man.”
“So, you resist because your pride is pricked?” she asked, incredulous.
I swelled. “No, Yilan. I resist becoming what Gault was—and what I now fear you are!”
“I am a Queen, willing to doanythingto keep my people safe.”
“You are a mate willing to doanythingto get your way,” I growled.
Her eyes narrowed.“That’swhat you think I’ve been doing?That’swhat you see in me? Petty pride?”
I walked right up to where she stood in the doorway of the cage, stopped at her toes and loomed over her. “If you had asked me a week ago who you were, I would have sung your praises to the heavens—brave, strong, clever,cunning.But that was when Ithoughtyou would use your strengths for me, not against me.”
“Iam!”she snapped.
I huffed. “Andthatis the royal way. To see the world only through your perspective—and the people around you as pieces in a game, to be moved as you see fit, withnothought for how it might affect them.”
Her jaw dropped. “You think I haveno thoughtfor the feelings of others?”
“You certainly haven’t thought about mine.”
Her mouth closed and her jaw went tight. “I was wrong,” she said through clenched teeth. Then she lifted one hand, jabbing a finger into my chest. “You are not a child. You’re a fuckinginfant.”
16. The Impossible
~ MELEK ~
“No thought for others?” she seethed. “So, you have conveniently forgotten that I asked for none of this, either? That I had not only my feelings to consider, but the health and well-being of an entireKingdomto consider?”
“You should have told me.”
“Why? So, you could usemein service to your disgusting, petty King?”
“No, Yilan, so we could figure out the way forward together.”
“Events surpassed us. There was no time. And my mate insistedon getting himself killed.”
I glowered at her. “I can admit that I was stubborn—”
“Oh, so big of you.”
“—when I thought there was no one affected by my choices but me and Gall. You see, Yilan, that’s the danger of omission. You were moving pieces in a gameI didn’t know we were playing.You trap me, shackle me, then wonder why I am defeated?”
She shook her head. “Is this truly all it takes to emasculate you?”
