Page 62 of To Wake a Kingdom

With a heavy sense of foreboding, I approached my father and gently tipped up his chin. With the other, I unstoppered the vial and held it to his lips, drizzling the tincture in.

When I’d added enough, I closed my father’s mouth. Hands braced on the armrests of his throne, I watched his face intently for any sign of movement. Endless seconds ticked by, but there was nothing. I waited, willing something to happen. I waited and waited, seconds turning to minutes, but the longer I stood there, the more I shook.

Until finally, I dropped my head with an anguished sob and stared at the bottle in my hand. Frustration rising like a cresting wave, I hurled the glass at the wall behind my parents’ thrones. It smashed against the stone, thick dark liquid dripping like congealed blood. I cradled my face in my hands.

“Fuck,” I muttered, my whole body trembling. I couldn’t stop this. I couldn’t break this. Time kept ticking, and everything was slipping away.

Strong arms circled me, and I pressed my face into Ronan’s chest while I sobbed.

“It’s going to be okay, Thorne. We’ll figure this out.” He ran a hand up and down my back, soothing me. I held on to him tightly, like he was my salvation. He didn’t let go, murmuring reassuring words and blanketing me with comforting touches until my breath eventually returned to normal.

“Come, sit down.” He drew me to the side of the room, where I leaned against the wall. Ronan sat down, taking my hand and sitting quietly as I continued to sniffle. He understood I couldn’t talk about it, but his quiet, solid presence was exactly what I needed. Gideon had left the room, probably to tend to whatever meal he was preparing next.

“I just want to talk to them,” I said.

“What would you tell them?” Ronan squeezed my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

I collapsed into his embrace as his chin rested on top of my head.“That I woke up. That we could finally be the family we’d always wanted. That maybe this was a second chance.”

“You’ll get to,” he said, rubbing my arm. “Somehow, we’ll figure a way out of this.” I didn’t miss the ‘we’ in his statement, and part of me was grateful while another only felt an ocean of guilt for what I’d dragged him into. Instead, I said nothing as I listened to his soft breath and his heart.

“I’m sorry,” he said. Wiping my eyes, I looked up at him.“I shouldn’t have treated you that way. I know you can take care of yourself and don’t need to be coddled. I see how hard you’re trying to save your family, and I was being an ass. Sometimes, I forget you are no lady.”

I gave him a soft punch in the arm, a tiny smile creeping to my lips.

He took my face in his hands, a thumb sweeping over my cheek.“I’m in over my head, Thorne. I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. I don’t know how to be normal around you. How to be anything but completely consumed. You’ve undone me, and the thought of anything happening to you, of anyone causing you harm, makes me crazy.”

Well, I couldn’t really argue with an apology like that.

“Oh, Ronan,” I said, touching his cheek. “I’ve never felt like this either. I didn’t even knowthiswas possible.” I gestured vaguely between us, as if trying to encompass the vast breadth of my feelings. Everything I couldn’t find the words for. Another tear slipped down my face, but this one was for him.

“Why the tear, Little Lion?” he asked, kissing it away.

Because our days are numbered. Because I killed your father. Because I need to tell you this and can’t bring myself to do so, and every day we’re hurtling closer to the end of whatever this is, and I don’t want it to be over a moment before it has to be.

I couldn’t bring myself to say any of it, so I took the coward’s way and didn’t answer, squeezing him tighter. He tipped up my chin and kissed me with so much conviction that it pulled every breath from my lungs. He kissed me into heady oblivion, tugging me onto his lap so my knees straddled his hips. The gentle touches from earlier became more possessive, grounding me into a place where I could forget all the anxiety and worry, even if for only a minute. I wanted to lose myself in Ronan.

Our tongues clashed, sliding over one another, his hard heat pressing between my legs. I ground down against him, and we both moaned.

“Thorne,” he said, momentarily coming up for air. “Have you ever—” He raised an eyebrow, and I bit my lip.

“Uh, yes.” I laughed as his eyes went wide. “Why is that so shocking? You’re not the first man to take an interest in me.”

“No, I’m absolutely sure I’m not.” Voice rough, his gaze swept over me like he was contemplating his favorite flavor of ice cream. “But you’re a princess, and it’s unusual, given you were so young and unwed when the curse fell.”

With a shrug, I gave him a mischievous smile. “My days were numbered, and I didn’t want to fall into an eternal slumber without a few formative experiences first.”

He laughed, and I swore he was impressed with me right now.

“Who was it? Or was it a ‘them’?” He widened his eyes again, and I smacked him in the shoulder.

“It was just one. One of my father’s guards.”

His jaw dropped, and I experienced a curious thrill that I’d thrown him off. “Is he here?” He looked around the room.

“He is.” I shifted, wondering why he was asking me this.

“Where?”

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