“Go,” he said again, but tried to soften his voice. “Until I’m in control again.”
Silence. Then the quiet sound of her slipping away.
Immediately, the burning raged through his veins again. Needing her near.
But the venom had done this. This fire within him. He had to put it out.
Had to put it out.
9
Echo
Their courtship was over.
The night before, Bane had still shared her bed. They still shared a saddle. Yet he hadn’t kissed her. And even when his body was pressed close to hers, it felt as if he was far, far away.
Echo should never have trusted him. He’d said she would never be alone. But she was.
And it was her own fault. Because she’d taken the easy way out, and used his own words to escape the terrifying truth that had assaulted her as she’d watched his horrifying battle against the undying beasts.
He’d once said that love and trust couldn’t be forced or demanded; they had to be given. So when Bane had growled that he would make her love him, that had been her response. It was impossible to force a heart to love.
Echo hadn’t said the rest. That Bane could never make her love him…
Because she already did.
But she also couldn’t make herself tell him. As if an implacable hand gripped her throat, choking the words to a stop. Choking her heart. Because she was too afraid to tell him.
Now she was terrified that she was too late. That she’d finally speak what was in her heart and discover that he was already done with her. And could she blame him? He deserved someone who could trust him—who could love him—without reservation. His entire life had been a battle. Now his marriage would be one, too? Bane deserved someone who would not make him fight so hard.
So she tried to gather her courage. But having him so near—and so distant—seemed to whisper how futile a declaration now would be. As they approached the city gates, she recalled how only yesterday, she’d sat with him on the horse and looked toward the place they would soon call home. Her heart had been so swollen with hope.
Yet now as they rode through the empty city streets, her heart was heavy and sodden, because a stranger might as well have been behind her. As the castle came into view ahead, it seemed the blocks of stone that built it had lodged within her throat.
That would be their home. If it wasn’t too late. She just had to tell him.
She would tell him.
She would be brave.
She would trust him.
She wouldn’t be alone.
She gathered her courage.
Black wings flapped in her face.
Echo caught her shriek behind her hand. A crow settled on the pommel of the saddle and perched there—a rolled message tied to its leg. Echo reached for the string.
Free of the burden, the crow cawed and flew away.
“From Gocea?” Jorin asked, riding alongside them.
“Tamas’s seal.” Echo showed it to Bane. “Do you want to—”
“Read it.”
“Probably an announcement of his and Sapphira’s wedding,” she mused, flattening it out.
She was wrong. It read:
If you want Phaira, brother, the princess Sapphira is free for the taking. I found her a bit dull for my liking and her parents aren’t willing to cede any power, so I gain nothing from an alliance. So go and collect your bride. And tell the evil one that if she wants to marry me to spite them, I’d be willing to switch.
Bane snatched the message from her nerveless fingers. “He would give to you Gocea’s throne?”
And Bane could take Phaira.
Her heavy, sodden heart seemed to sink into her stomach. Her head spun dizzily.
Jorin spoke quietly. “My king—”
“Hold,” he snarled at the warrior. The squeeze of his arm around her waist said his next words were for her. “Is that what you want?”
Was ruling Phaira what he wanted? Not Sapphira. He would strip her parents and sister of power. But not so very long ago, Echo had believed Bane now wanted to make his home with her.
But he no longer courted her.
And she was certain of nothing at all.
“King Bane, Queen Echo,” Jorin hissed quietly. “I must insist—”
“Echo.” Voice hoarse, Bane crumpled the note in his fist. “He offers now what you wanted that first night. Is that still what you want?”
Even now, he asked what she wanted? Because he was the best of men. He’d made a vow in his brother’s bed that first night. And another vow with a ribbon around their hands. He would always honor those vows…and would give up anything she asked him to.
Even if he didn’t want her anymore.
It would be so easy to keep Bane here with her. She would not even need to scheme. One word from her, and he would stay.
But he would be so good for Phaira. And he could find someone to love who wouldn’t be so afraid to love him in return. Who wouldn’t make giving affection into a battle.