Page 97 of Reign of Light
This kingdom will be mine, all because she will be.
“When you die, Lyla becomes the queen, and has no one left but me. Now, in her state, she obviously cannot be acting queen, so the role would fall to me. As king.”
Chaos whirls in my chest as I try to fight my way through Dane’s plan. There has to be something he hasn’t thought of, some logic that would stop him from getting what he wants, and subsequently would keep me alive. If I can just keep him talking, I’ll have more time to figure something out.
“You aren’t together. You never were. The kingdom will never accept you as king!” I yell.
His face turns feral as he all but snarls at me. “If we weren’t together, then why would I have this?” Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a fist before extending it toward me, opening his hand so I can see what sits in the middle of his palm. A golden ring, fit with a deep red stone, glitters in the flickering light, and my eyes snap to his when I realize what it is.
My mother’s missing wedding ring.
The one that disappeared the night I was born, the ring that was never seen again, after Dane tried to take her away from her home.
He has had it the entire time.
“Where did you get that?” I say as fury bubbles within me, seeping into my voice.
“As far as the kingdom needs to know, Lyla gave it to me. Trapped in a forced and loveless marriage, she gave me what was supposed to be a symbol of devotion, promising herself to me. I’ll tell them all about her dreams for a life she wished we had together. They’ll hear abouthow she was a hostage to the king, burdened with a child he forced her to bear.”
My chest heaves with shortened breaths as every word Dane speaks makes my blood boil. I read my mother’s words. I know she and my father were overjoyed with the opportunity to have a child. He is spewing lies, and I have evidence that would refute every claim.
“I’ll tell them of the vows she spoke to me,” he says, his face turning down in a mock frown, “and I to her, pledging our love and devotion in sickness and in health. It’s why I waited all these years, despite her condition, for Remington to finally be gone and fulfill my promise to her. With this ring, there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind she is mine, and I am hers, the one she truly chose before her fateful accident. And when both of you are gone, and the title falls to her, it thus falls to me.” He steps off the final stair, stopping so close that I can reach out and touch him with my manacled wrists, before bending down, and lowering his face to mine until we share a breath.
“I will spend the rest of my days at her side, never giving up. I will find a way to heal her.” He points behind him at my father’s lifeless body, and grits his teeth, grinding out his words. “I won’t ever let her go, not like he was going to. Never!”
“No one will believe you! A piece of jewelry proves nothing!”
His responding chuckle sends chills down my spine. “Oh, I know they will, because there won’t be anyone around to tell them any different. No heir, no First Guard, no king. And every single person in this castle and this kingdom will follow my orders.”
“But Dane, I thought—” Brynne staggers forward, her voice shaky as she stammers. Our heads pivot toward her, and I take in the hardened guard, the commander of Blackwood who betrayed me this morning. The fallen look on her face says she is finally realizing that I am not the only one who has been betrayed.
Dane laughs a cold, soulless laugh. “Did you really think I was going to let you be queen, Briony? I just needed you. You would neversit on that throne. There is only one woman for me, and if you couldn’t grasp that, you are just as naïve as she is.”
Her mouth falls open as her eyes turn glassy, the realization striking her that everything she thought she would get from betraying me, from betraying my father, was all a lie. Dane gestures to Storm, who moves across the room to stand next to Brynne, his hand on a sword in his belt in an obvious threat.
“Now, where were we?” Dane says, turning back to me before his gaze slides over to Weston, who is still behind me, held down by at least six guards. My stomach falls as Dane saunters in front of him, towering over Weston as the guards force him to his knees.
“I thought I got rid of you once, but it turns out you aren’t easy to kill. I won’t make the same mistake this time.” Dane reaches for the hilt of the knife covered in my father’s blood that is secured at his side, the same one that almost killed Weston before, that he threw into the fire when I tried to pry it from his hands.
The rage I felt moments ago instantly turns into debilitating terror, knowing that this monster has no qualms about brutality and no care for a life other than his own. I don’t think, I just act, doing anything I can to stop him from taking Weston away from me.
“Dane! No! Please!” I scream, my voice cracking as I throw myself toward Weston, only to be stopped by a guard’s arm wrapping firmly around my waist. Sobs wrench my chest as now I’m the one thrashing against his hold, kicking and throwing my bound hands anywhere I can harm them, trying to get loose. To get to Weston. “Please let him go! I’ll do whatever you want! I’ll sign anything, I’ll give you everything! Just please don’t kill him!”
“Lennox, no!” Weston commands, his jaw tight and his brows drawn as he stares Dane down above him. Dane’s hand halts, the tip of the knife hovering over Weston’s chest as it heaves up and down with ragged breaths.
I don’t stop, don’t listen to him telling me not to try anything tosave his life. I can’t live anymore without him, can’t watch Dane kill him like I watched him kill my father. I throw myself to the ground, trying to use my weight to break the guard’s grip, but it is no use.
So instead, I beg.
“Please Dane! I’ll do anything! Anything! Just let him go!”
“Lennox!” Weston yells again, in warning, before his voice lowers to a deadly grumble. “Listen to me. She will disappear. I will make sure of it. You can have it all, and you’ll never hear from us again. Just let her go. Please, Dane. Lyla wouldn’t want it.”
“You know nothing about what Lyla wants,” Dane snaps, and Weston shakes his head, unwavering.
“That’s not true. Lyla wanted her.”
Dane doesn’t move, as if he’s actually considering Weston’s offer. I can barely breathe as time stills, and it feels like an eternity before Dane’s head swivels between the two of us.
