Page 188 of Crown of Darkness
“You never lie to me,” Mother croons, taking his hand and drawing it to her lips. “So many others do, you realize? But you always tell me the truth, Edain.”
And she suddenly laughs.
My gaze jerks to his.
“I always thought that blood was the only thing I could trust, but when you have a daughter who has betrayed everything you ever stood for, you learn to trust nobody.” Mother smiles at him. “And so I made it impossible for you to lie to me, didn’t I, my love? Iboundyou to me. I choked you with chains of spell work so thick that you can never speak an untruth. You are mine, heart and soul, Edain. And you must never lie to me.”
“I will never lie to you.” It’s as if the spell is broken, as if he can move again. He captures her hand and looks her boldly in the eye. “You are my queen. You are my everything.”
I can’t help thinking of the way he bandaged my wounds so gently. Of the way he kissed me. I want to gag.
What has he said to her?
What has he done?
“Do you love her?” Mother whispers, plunging the both of us into a tense wariness. “I see you looking at my sweet Andraste sometimes, when you think I am not aware. I see the way your eyes hunger for her. Do you love her, Edain? Do you love my daughter?”
There’s a long moment of silence, so long I almost think he’s not going to answer her.
“Yes,” he finally says.
Shock blooms through me. I can’t move. I barely dare look at him.
Would you still hate me if I loved you?
My heart lodges in my throat. And when he looks at me, I see the truth written there.
“You didn’t know.” She sounds pleased at my horror as she captures his face and digs her nails into his cheeks. “You didn’t know, because you despise him, don’t you? Kiss me,” she says. “Kiss me as if I am youreverything.”
He leans down, his eyelids growing sleepy as she captures his face and kisses him.
And I can’t look at them anymore.
“You see,” Mother whispers, finally letting him go. “You’re the only one I can trust, because Imade you that way. Now tell me the truth. Who stole my crown, Edain?”
“Your daughter.”
“Whichdaughter?”
I can’t breathe. He stands so still, a violent trembling breaking through his shoulders as if he’s trying to fight the hex she’s wrought around him.
“Which daughter?” Her voice becomes low and dangerous. “Do you think I will not break you? Do you think I will not make you crawl for me? Make you beg?” She pushes to her feet as he goes to one knee, clutching at his throat. “Do you dare love her more than you love me?”
Every inch of his face goes red.
“Stop it.” I can’t watch this. “He doesn’t love me. It’s always been a game to him. We’ve never—”
“He loves me,” she hisses. “He loves memore. And he will tell me the truth or I will rip it from his tongue.”
There’s a gagging lump in my throat. I’ve spent so many years hating him, so many years feeling numb to her cruelties, but there’s something about this moment that itches beneath my skin.
He knows the risks.
He knows she’ll kill him if necessary, but he’s holding his tonguefor me.
Nobody has ever tried to protect me.
And then he breaks, a scream tearing from his throat, his fingers clenching into his palms—
