Page 43 of The Crown of the Dark Prince
Knowing something and seeing it unfold before your eyes were entirely different things, though.
This storm inside me wasn’t just about his engagement—it was about the lies. He hadn’t told me. Had they been engaged the entire time I’d known him? How long has she been walking the same hallways in the castle with me? How could he have left me to stumble upon Elaina in his bedchamber, extending a hand of friendship as if my world hadn’t just fallen apart?
I didn’t even know her and I hated her for the simple fact that she could have him and I couldn’t.
Sprinting, I pushed through the gardens, my feet carrying me toward the valleys between the castle and the mountain. I was losing control. Months of learning to bend magic to my whim were meaningless now, when my emotions were so volatile, which meant I needed to get as far from the castle as I could before it erupted from me and tore down everything it touched.
I tried to steady my breathing, to calm myself, but every inhale brought fresh torment. I saw his hands in her hair. His body moving against hers. I saw him making those unbreakable vows toher. Their future together—her perfect, beautiful hand in his, their children laughing as they walked the palace halls right in front of me.
I was going to spend the rest of my life watching him love her.
The thought broke something inside me, and my control finally snapped. Magic coiled under my skin, building until it tore free from my body in a violent rush, so strong it knocked me off my feet. Pain lanced through me as I hit the frozen grass, gasping and trying to steady myself.
And then I froze.
Floating where I had stood moments before was a thread of brilliant golden light. It pulsed faintly, radiating power so familiar it sent shivers down my spine.
It felt like… me.
“What in all of creation did I just do?”
My voice was barely a whisper as I stood and stared down at my hand, as though it belonged to someone else. After everything—after all this time—there were still pieces of myself that I didn’t understand.
The question wasn’t justwhoI was. It waswhatI was.
A shrill, piercing screech tore me from my thoughts. My gaze snapped to the thread as it pulsed, growing brighter.
And then, clawing its way through the light, came a hand.
A milky white, decaying hand.
An arm emerged, then a leg followed it, until a creature tumbled from the thread and collapsed in a heap before me.
The stench hit me first—foul and rotting, so strong it made my stomach turn. The creature looked human, or like it had once been, but now it was nothing more than a grotesque mass of decayed flesh and exposed muscle, its reptilian eyes wide as it seemed to take in its new surroundings.
And then it turned to me.
It roared, revealing rows of jagged, pointed teeth, before lunging forward with unnatural speed. I barely had time to react before it slammed me to the ground, its claws raking down my arm. Pain flared, hot and sharp, and I screamed, blasting it back with a surge of magic.
I scrambled to my feet, wrestling my dagger from its sheath as the creature charged again, its jaw hanging grotesquely as spit flew into the air.
I darted forward, driving my blade into the underside of its jaw until the hilt met its flesh. The creature froze, its reptilian eyes glazing over before it collapsed, lifeless, at my feet.
Ripping the blade free, I panted, grimacing as its blood dripped onto the grass at my feet. My arm throbbed, the torn skin slick and wet beneath my robe.
Suddenly, the body twitched, and I squealed, instinctually wrapping my magic around it and throwing it back into the light.
The glowing thread of golden light vanished a moment later, leaving no trace of the magic—or the horror—that had emerged from it.
Trembling, I tucked my blood-soaked arm into the sleeve of my robe to hide it from any eyes I might pass on my way back to my rooms.
By the time I ran back through the palace halls and slammed the door shut behind me, all I could do was slide heavily to the floor, shocked by the undeniable truth of the past few hours.
Tonight hadn’t just broken my heart. It had left me with yet another secret to keep.
Chapter Twelve
Imarched into the training yard, ignoring the biting chill of the air and the snowflakes beginning to drift lazily from the sky. Nessira had insisted I dress warmly before storming out of my rooms, her stern words forcing me into thicker leggings, a fur-lined vest, and sturdy leather boots. The cold bit at my face and hands, but the fury in my chest burned hot enough to keep me moving.
