I stared into the depths of my drink, seeing only her face. Her smile. Her eyes.
“To choice,” I managed.
The word tasted like ashes and summer tulips.
Later,alone in my chambers, I pressed my forehead against the cool stone wall and finally let myself break. Power exploded outward, shattering every piece of furniture, every window, every pretense of control. I sank to my knees amid the destruction, centuries of memories crushing me beneath their weight.
The mighty Keeper of Memories, brought down by love.
Far below, the celebration continued. And somewhere in that revelry, my Ever danced with another man, wearing another’s ring, bound by vows I would have given anything to hear directed at me. I closed my eyes, trying to find comfort in the only truths I had left:
She was alive.
She was safe.
She was happy.
She was free.
I repeated these like prayers, hoping that eventually they would hurt less than this endless, aching void where my heart used to be.
They didn’t.
But I would learn to live with that. For her. Always for her.
A knock echoed through my chambers, sharp and decisive. I stared at the door, power crackling weakly at my fingertips, barely a shadow of what it should be. Of what I’d always been. That was the cost for stealing a realm’s memories all at once when the power was already fading.
Another knock came, more insistent this time. I held my breath, unsure if I could face another soul while pieces of me lay scattered across the floor like the broken furniture surrounding me.
50
Thorne
Istumbled toward the door, needing air, needing escape, needing anything but the crushing weight of this loss and whatever company meant to soothe me on the other side of it. I yanked it open, meeting a fist raised to knock again. Archer stood in my doorway, still in his wedding finery, though his crown was conspicuously absent. His usual easy smile was replaced by something more solemn as he took in my face, the destruction of my chambers, the obvious breaking he’d walked into.
“I’ve been a king for less than three hours and the Lord of the Salt is already destroying my castle.”
“So it’s going well,” I replied, trying hard to come up to his level rather than drowning in my pit of despair.
His eyes swept over me again. “Can I come in?”
I stepped back, too drained to even conjure irritation at his presence. “Come to gloat?”
“Actually,” he said, moving past me into the room, “I came to tell you that you’re an idiot.”
That startled a harsh laugh from me. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” He turned to face me, and there was something both gentle and firm in his expression. “Did youreally think she could go through with it? Actually marry me when she’s clearly in love with you?”
My mind stuttered over his words. “What are you talking about? I just watched?—”
“You watched a very convincing performance,” he said, leaning against what remained of my desk. “Minerva’s quite brilliant, you know. She found the loopholes weeks ago. The law requires rulers to be bound, yes, but it never specifies how they must be bound. The Treeis mark connecting us was enough. The ceremony appeared to be a wedding, but the markings, the words, even that golden thread, it was all carefully crafted to create an alliance, not a marriage. Minnie’s a beast when it comes to circumventing laws.”
I stared at him, my heart stumbling over its rhythm as his words sank in. “But the vows?—”
“Were about choosing each other as partners in protecting the realm. Go back and listen to them in your mind. We never once said ‘husband’ or ‘wife.’” His smile turned wry. “I would have done it, you know. Would have married her for real if that’s what it took to keep her safe. No matter how much you might have hated me for it. But she’s the one who couldn’t do it. She and Minerva have been working on this plan for weeks.”
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
