Page 116 of These Vile Hearts

“Oh, I will only keep you in here for a bit, love.” He brushes the backs of his fingers down her cheek. She pulls away from him, but he clutches her chin. “Long enough to break that fighting spirit of yours. I have other plans for you.”

“NO.” I make to reach for him through the bars, but they burn my arm until I’m forced to pull it back. “Let her go, Durian. Do whatever you want with me, but let her go.”

“Oh, naive little Castor,” Durian says in a falsely sympathetic tone. “Don’t you see? You’ve been fooled by this girl, with her speckled cheeks and innocent dimples. She is rather clever; I’ll give her that. Even with our extra precautions and guards, she somehow managed to infiltrate this kingdom and convince you that she’s something other than a murderer in mortal’s clothing. In fact, she was just caught climbing the ivy outside the throne room, carrying a bottle of tree poison meant for my heartwood.”

“Can you blame her?” I say. “My only disappointment is that she was not successful.”

Durian’s cocky smirk falters. “Maddox’s goal was, and has always been, to rid this kingdom of its king. And didn’t she once believeyouto be the king?”

The doubts and suspicion I had about Maddox when I caught her with that golden dagger at the top of the throne room creep back in—and the shadow of guilt in her silver eyes doesn’t help. “She had plenty of chances to kill me and didn’t.”

“I never said she was askilledmurderer,” Durian remarks dryly. “But why don’t we ask her? Did you come to this kingdom with the intent to kill the Redwood King, Maddox? Be careful. The Bloodwood Tree will know if you’re lying.”

I want to tell her this isn’t true. That, as long as Durian is in here with his lantern and Sovereign crown, the tree won’t touch her. But I’ve made the mistake of underestimating this breathing prison before. And part of me wants to know what she will say. Tam’s desperate words rattle in my mind.Maddox is the one who figured it out. She knew because herfatherwas the mortal man who killed Cyperus.

Staring blankly ahead, Maddox grits her teeth. “Yes. I did.”

Durian’s grin widens. “And at any point, did you have intentions of killing Castor?”

A flicker of emotion makes its way across her face, but she’s locking down now. I can see the doors slamming shut in her eyes. “Yes. I did.”

My heart is a boat on a violent sea, taking on water. It starts to sink.

“Did you evertryto kill Castor?”

“Yes.”

The boat capsizes.

“More than once?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“More than once?” I echo. The words come out hollow.

Maddox’s head tilts down as Durian throws his own back in a mad cackle. “How tragically ironic. A pair of star-crossed, homicidal lovers.” The bars in the cell across from mine slide open, and Durian’s vines shove Maddox inside. She stumbles to the ground, throwing her hands out to catch herself. “What’s even more tragic is that Castor is in here because he was trying to protect you from his imaginary curse. I think he may have evenlovedyou.”

I don’t even try to stem the tears leaking from my eyes now.

Durian looks over his shoulder at me, clicking his tongue three times. “All the mortals you could have chosen to romance, and you picked the one without a heart.”

Climbing to her feet, Maddox lunges toward Durian. But the cell door slams shut, and she’s met with wooden bars.

“You’ve already had your chance at killing dryad kings, I’m afraid,” he says, stepping backward. “Let’s see how you fare in a tree that can sense your deepest and darkest fears.”

I don’t even have to lock down this house. There’s nothing inside. “She will be fine,” I say in a detached voice. “She’s not afraid of anything.”

37

Maddox

The cell bars flatten and turn into a seamless wall, shutting me off from Durian and Castor’s gaze.

I’m almost relieved.

Once, I likened Castor’s eyes to a mahogany dagger stabbed through a beating heart. Before the mornings of steaming coffee and witty exchanges. Before we were both laid bare. When his eyes held only warmth and familiarity. But now it is After, and I don’t know what to compare them to anymore. I don’t know if I’m supposed to trust my heart or my gut.

He either had the audacity to pretend he was suffering at my betrayal, brows turned up in sorrow, tears crashing down his cheeks…or he was genuinely upset. Perhaps he’s just a fantastic actor. I’ve seen him cry more in the past two weeks than I’ve cried this whole year, I think. But as much as I try to focus on my hate for the cursed prince, who isn’t really cursed, all I can hear is Durian saying,What’s even more tragic is that Castor is in here because he was trying to protect you from his imaginary curse. I think he may have evenlovedyou.