“Of course.” I force a smile back on my lips as the sinking feeling that initially pulled it from my cheeks continues down my chest and into my stomach. It settles like disappointment in my gut. Why does this feel like a surprise? He said he’d leave me the manor. He was coming to the fae world and he was never going back. I’d be a widow. Alone in the world.
Alone so no one can hurt me…
Alone…lonely…
“I made sure Oren structured the arrangement so it would dissolve once I left.” For once, he’s oblivious to my turmoil. He doesn’t even look at me. “You will be free to marry whom you please, Katria. And I am free to make a smart match to secure the future of my kingdom.”
“You think of everything, don’t you?”
He slows his pace and finally looks at me. The world seems to still. My breath snags. There’s depth to his expression that, for the first time, I can’t read. Is it sorrow? Or worry? I can’t tell. His brows are pinched up slightly in the center and I’m fighting the urge to take his hand. I want to touch him. I want to… My mind slams against the walls I’ve built around myself once more. Not allowing me to even think about anything one step further.
“I do try,” he says softly. “But even kings are sometimes caught off guard.”
The sentiment is as gentle as a feather falling. It lands on a cold, dark part of me that I try desperately to hide from the world. My heart beats in reply, as if it’s trying to push blood and warmth back into that unused corner of my soul. The way he’s looking at me now…regret. That’s what it is.
“Is that why you were so harsh to me in the woods after I first arrived?” I ask, trying to honor the promise I made to myself last night, inspired by Shaye. I’m sure she does much better at taking people to task when they have wronged her, but this is the best I can muster. “Because, the way you treated me then… I knew you weren’t angry with me but it still wasn’t—”
“Fair,” he finishes. Davien tips his head to look me in the eyes. I’m aware of just how much it closes the gap between us. His eyes are filled with what I’d call remorse. They drop to my hands, which he scoops up thoughtfully. His thumbs brush over my knuckles, nearly making me forget entirely about what it was we were just discussing. “I know. I should have apologized to you sooner. Shaye was right and I was acting a petulant child, frustrated with the circumstances. So you’re right, too, in that it had nothing to do with you. But that’s no excuse. I’m sorry, Katria. I won’t let it happen again. Will you forgive me?”
“Davien, I…” Have I ever been apologized to this gently or sincerely? My walls crumble under the heat of his presence, so heartbreakingly close.
“Oh, good, you two are already here.” Vena breezes past us. Davien drops my hands and steps away, his cheeks a little redder than they were a moment ago. “Finish your breakfast and let’s get started. There’s no time to waste.”
She opens the doors to her audience chamber. But the hall isn’t empty. Standing in the middle is a woman wrapped in a familiar black shawl. It’s the same as what I saw that night in the Bleeding Forest and that day back home. My breath catches. But Davien isn’t so off guard that he can’t manage a snarl.
“Butcher of Boltov,” he growls and lunges to attack.
