Page 95 of Reign of Light
“No, she was neveryours. She wasalwaysmine.” Dane shoves him away, and my father staggers on his feet, catching himself at the last moment without falling to the floor.
“If you cared about her, then you wouldn’t have hurt her.”
Dane’s eyes widen, and his expression turns wild. “It never would have happened if you hadn’t taken her! If you hadn’t tricked her into loving you and wanting this life!” He gestures to the room around us, moving to stand in front of the throne again.
“Her thoughts and actions were her own. I didn’t convince her of anything more than my love and devotion.”
“You barely knew her! You could never love her like I did, like I do! Even after all this time, everything I did was for her. I will spend the rest of my life with her, and none of you can stop me!” He throws his arm out, gesturing to all of us in the throne room. A sharp intake of breath comes from Weston’s other side, but I refuse to look. I can’t take my eyes off Dane and my father.
“Dane, she’s gone. She’s never woken up. You need to let her go.” I’ve never heard my father sound this desperate, never have I thought he was even capable of it, not as the king.
“She has held on for this long, and so have I. It was meant to be.Wewere meant to be, even if it’s not the way I planned.”
“Please,” my father says, taking a hesitant step toward Dane as if trying to ward off a reaction. “If you love her, let her daughter go.”
Sharp pain lances through my chest as I suck in a quick breath.
My father is…trying to protect me?
For my entire life, he’s barely looked at me, only speaking to me when absolutely necessary, but now, he’s trying to ensure I get away from this monster.
He continues. “Let them both go. They did nothing to you. It is me you want.”
A maniacal laugh erupts from Dane’s chest. “Oh, Remington. That’s where you’re wrong.” He throws an arm out, pointing directly at Weston. “Heis just as much at fault.Heenabled your time with her.Hehelped coerce her into this world.Hehelped trap her in your snare. And thenhetook away my only chance of finding a cure when he tookher.” His eyes are dangerous as he turns on me, and if I had any doubts before, I know now that the Dane I knew is nowhere to be found.
I don’t know this man who stands before me, but I fear him.
“Besides,” he says, as he takes a step toward me, “I can’t have any loose ends showing up and trying to lay claim to the kingdom. If she’djust stayed put, we wouldn’t be in this predicament. But she couldn’t, could she? Now, she’s done it once, and I won’t let her do it again.”
I can barely breathe as my father darts across the dais, his eyes widening as he looks to me, before reaching his arm out to grab Dane’s shoulder.
“No, please,” my father begs, but Dane whips around, turning on him in a flash.
A shrill scream pierces my ears, and the pain that lances my throat tells me that it is coming from me.
I watch in terror as their bodies collide, my chest heaving with a sob as Dane pulls away, ripping a blood-soaked knife out of my father’s abdomen.
And he falls motionless to the floor.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
My father’s blood seeps across the dark stone, pooling near the tip of Dane’s boots, and all I can do is stare.
“Rem!” Weston’s cry sounds distant beneath the ringing in my ears. In the corner of my eye, I see him lunge forward toward the dais, only to be hauled backward by a slew of guards as he fights to reach his king.
Dane lowers himself, crouching down until he can reach my father. Roughly grasping his cheeks, he jerks my father’s pained face upward and sneers down at him.
“You took her away from me. All these years, I’ve suffered, waiting and wanting her back. But now, I am happy knowing that in your last moments, you’ll die knowing she’s finally mine, and there isn’t a thing you can do about it.”
My father’s eyes fall closed, and the breath leaves my chest.
“Hold him back!” Brynne barks, and I tear my eyes away from my dying father to find Weston. I watch in horror as he thrashes against the guards with pure anguish engulfing his face, as they land blow after blow.
But I can’t move. I can’t do anything.
My body is numb.
My mind is blank.
