What if this is the first mistake I make? What if I just took the wrong fork down a dangerous road?
I’m not a prince who is ruled by his impulses. I can’t afford to give into anger or fear. The only way to cage the monstrosity within me is to chain every hint of emotion that flutters in my chest and control it.
But the truth remains…. I’ve had over six hundred years to master myself and the second I caught a glimpse of Vi, that control was shredded.
I want her.
Not just the woman who dragged my face down to hers for a kiss, or the woman who cried out in pleasure beneath me, but the one who demanded that I prove myself true—her dark eyes flashing with heat and fire. The one who crept into my tents with Finn slung over her shoulder, careless of the blood that dripped down her fine gown or the fact she was in an enemy quadrant.
Vi understands what it’s like to live one’s life in a cage, and yet there’s a kindness and generosity that has managed to survive everything her mother threw at her. Maybe, if her mother had her for another hundred years, she’d manage to strip Vi of her innocence, but I can’t help thinking that she’d never manage to ruin her heart. There’s defiance there. Stubbornness. And determination.
Vi wants to escape, just as much as I want to rescue her.
I asked Maia for a queen that long-ago night, but in my heart of hearts I begged her for the love of my life. Vi could be both. She’s young, untried, her heart still fragile and uncertainty tearing at her every move, but I’ve seen the fire. I know it’s there. I know—that with a little careful guidance—she will blossom into a woman who is a force to behold.
She just needs someone who will believe in her.
She just needs to take this step.
To come to me.
Will she come?
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Eris murmurs at my side.
I lock it all down. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Because this means war if you’re wrong.” Her gaze meets mine head-on. It’s what I’ve always admired about her. She’s never afraid to voice her doubts, never afraid to hesitate when it comes to protecting our kingdom—our people. Eris will give her all, no matter what choice I might make. Even if it means standing against me. “And I’m not talking about the border skirmishes and games we’ve been playing with Asturia to this point. I’m talking about brutal battles. I’m talking about winner takes all, Thiago.”
“Then we will win,” I assure her. “You and Baylor are the best we have. You’re the reason that Adaia hasn’t dared launch a full-scale offensive.”
There’s something in her eyes that makes my breath catch. Eris looks away. “You don’t play the games Adaia plays. I don’t play those games. And Baylor certainly doesn’t. When I say war, I don’t expect to be fighting in the trenches, Thiago. The knife will come from a direction we don’t expect.”
I can’t deny it. “Maybe this will bring about peace. A true peace.”
Neither of us believe it.
“I don’t understand this. You don’t make decisions like this. You don’t let your heart rule your head. You’re not thinking clearly. She’s pretty, Thiago, I’ll give you that, but you barely know her.”
“I know enough,” I counter. “She returned Finn to us, despite the fact her mother would punish her if she knew it was her hand that opened that cage. She is brave and honest and kind.”
“She’s the—”
“She’s my promise.” The words snap between us, landing like a blow. “Eris.” I try to breathe through the knot in my chest. “She’s my salvation. I have to believe that. And you alone…. You have to know what that means to me.”
A sudden movement cuts through the tension. A hooded figure appears, right on the edge of the mists.
Vi.
Suddenly none of it matters. She lifts her hands to the hood of the cloak and then lowers it. Our eyes meet, and suddenly none of it matters.
She came.
She came alone.
Baylor stalks out of the shadows and she throws him a surprised look as if she wasn’t even aware of him.
But then my gruff warlord does something totally unexpected. He offers his arm to her. “Allow me to walk you to my prince.”
That he would offer this means everything to me.
I don’t just want Vi to be my wife, I want my friends to welcome her.
They walk together, and I can see her breath catching, see hope and doubt warring within her. She’s beautiful. As beautiful as a moon-kissed night. Indeed, she was made for night, with those gorgeous, wide eyes and the tumble of dark hair spilling down her back. She wears her starlight dress again, and as she walks toward me, the cloak slips from her shoulders, leaving them bare.
“Hello, Princess.”
She glances up at me shyly as Baylor offers me her hand. “Hello, my husband.”
There’s a thickness in my throat as she takes my hands.
All my life I’ve lived for this. I’ve seen her face in every moment. I’ve pictured her so many times I could have almost conjured her from my dreams. When the world felt heavy on my shoulders, when the Darkness within threatened to choke me, I would reach out and bring her to life in my mind. She would turn and smile at me—the same way she did in the image Maia granted me—and hope would blaze to life in my heart. No matter what odds were stacked against me, no matter how much my shadows whispered to me, she was out there. Somewhere. In some time. Waiting for me.
And I just had to hold on until I could find her.
And now she’s here and she’s mine, and yet everything I thought I knew about her is wrong.
She’s shorter than I’d ever imagined.
More watchful and older than her years. Those dark eyes drink in everything around her, as if she’s
