I hand him the scroll and clasp my empty hands together. “We hadn’t realized all roads led to Bevix, obviously, but these are the people we know for sure were in on the plan to take your crown.”
“And my head.”
I flinch. “And your head.”
My heart thunders as his eyes meet mine, but for the first time in a long time, I can’t determine what he’s thinking.
“Don’t blame yourself,” he finally says. “Your guards were expected to allow you to be approached in that market.”
I’d thought it was Zion who made that happen. I frown. “You set me up? You son of a bitch.”
He laughs. “Need I remind you that you were actively betraying me this entire time?”
“I didn’t think you’d get hurt, you jackass. And I couldn’t go through with it in the end. You knew someone would use me?”
“I figured it was likely. Neither you nor your cousin was subtle about how badly you want to get off this planet.” His mouth twists, and I lift my chin, my nostrils flaring. His words run through my mind, and for a moment, I’m back in that room, his hard body covering mine, protecting me from the explosions.
“People have been betraying me my entire life. Why should the beautiful female who held my heart in her tiny hand be any different?”
I clear my throat. “You thought I’d set you up to be assassinated.”
He shrugs. “It seemed likely, based on what I knew of my enemies. But Varge cracked under torture. He told Korzyn about how the original plan was to assassinate me at the ball. It wasn’t until they realized you and Sarissa couldn’t be trusted to fulfill your part of the deal that they moved their plans up to the banquet.”
“And the dragon scale?”
“Insurance. A good way to see who the traitor was. My only regret is I didn’t anticipate them hurting you. If I’d been thinking clearly, I would’ve made sure you were wearing a scale too.”
“I thought you were dead when he thrust that sword at you.” He shrugs, and I scowl. “What if he aimed for your head?”
“Either way, it would have been over. I refuse to live my life surrounded by people I can’t trust. I’d rather choose death.”
I glance away at that. Of course honor would mean everything to a man who lost his parents to the worst betrayal imaginable.
My head is suddenly spinning, and I sink into the closest chair. Arix is instantly kneeling in front of me, his hands cupping my face.
“Are you okay? Do you need a healer?”
“I’m fine. Just dealing with the fact you knew this whole time. Was anything between us real?”
I expect him to smile and make a lewd joke about the numerous times he took me to bed over the past few weeks. Instead, disappointment flashes in his eyes, quickly covered by indifference as he gets to his feet.
“I have something for you too.”
He reaches into his pocket and then holds up his hand. I frown, getting to my feet, and it’s not until he angles his hand closer to the light that I realize he’s holding something tiny between his finger and his thumb.
I lower my head. It looks like a…chip.
I glance up, meeting his midnight gaze. “I don’t understand.”
“I’ve had my people searching for it ever since I declared war on the Dokhalls. It was surprisingly easy to get them to turn on each other with a little torture. Within days, we knew which group of Dokhalls had the chip. My warriors were instructed to carefully search every Dokhall they killed.”
I stare at him, my heart racing. We can get off this planet. We can get revenge. If we want, we can even get back to Earth—back to our lives. So why do I feel like crying?
Arix is studying my face intently. Whatever he sees has brought a faint smile to his face.
“What are you thinking?” he asks me.
“I-I don’t know,” I stutter. “Th-thank you. You didn’t need to do this.”
“This is what you want. For some reason, I’ve been consumed with giving you what you want from the moment I’ve met you.” He glances away. “To my own detriment.”
Guilt twists my heart. “I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
“Will you forgive me?”
“That depends.”
I blink at him. “On what?”
He gives me an enigmatic look but doesn’t reply, and I scowl at him.
He just shakes his head. “You should give this to your cousin,” he says, placing the chip in my hand and wrapping my fingers securely around it. He kisses my fist and then walks away, ignoring me as I call his name.
Sarissa is in her room, once again scanning her notes. She glances up, her mouth curling.
“Good to see you back on your feet. Are you hungry?”
I can’t even speak, so instead, I hold up the chip. Sarissa’s mouth falls open, and she jumps to her feet, snatching it from my hand, her fingers handling it as if it’s made of glass.
“What. The. Fuck.”
“Arix had his people looking for it this whole time.” My lower lip trembles, and I clamp my teeth down on it.
“Wow. You must be incredible in bed. Good work, cuz.”
She grins at me, but I can’t even bring myself to fake a smile.
“What’s wrong?”
I can’t speak around the lump in my throat, and she tilts her head.
“V,” she says. “This is incredible. This means we can probably get off this planet. We’re going to make the Grivath pay for what they did to us. And the Dokhalls too. No other human women are going to go through what we went through.”
I nod, and she stares at me for a long moment, finally stepping away and throwing up her hands.
“It’s the royal cock, isn’t it?”
I nod, blinking back tears. “Not just the cock but the man himself. I don’t think I can leave him.”
She sighs. “What did I tell you, Viv? Don’t get attached. What happens if we get off this planet and leave you behind and then you guys break
