“I literally do not fucking care. Whether you stay or leave, that’s not my fucking problem anymore.”
I arch an eyebrow at his flippantness.
“You’ve threatened me every single day like a little inspirational quote-of-the-day calendar.” I lean into the wall and give his sexy back my full attention. “What gives?”
He flings up so fast, it shakes the nerves right through me. I smooth my hands on my leggings and try not to look terrified of being in such a small space with such a total psychopath.
“Because they all know! Leavon, the Fae Kingdom, everyone, Bella! There’s no hiding it. A change is coming. And we’re fucked because of it!”
His jaw ticks as he glares up at me with more hate than I’ve ever seen gleaming in his eyes before. His smooth chest rises and falls with fury shaking through his every breath.
“I’m not here to make change. I’m not that person. I’m not the Chosen.”
His lips twitch with veiled magic, but he covers it with a cruel, kissing smile.
“How many women have survived out of the hundreds that have been chosen for the king?”
I shrug my shoulders.
“How should I know?”
“Just you,” he whispers, his gaze slipping to the floor between us. “In twenty-four years, only you have survived. Do you think that’s a coincidence?”
“Twenty-four years?” The breath falters in my chest as that number slams into me hard. I just turned twenty-four three months ago.
“Yeah.” His voice isn’t calmer, but it’s quieter, laced with a hint of fatigue.
“What happened twenty-four years ago?”
His brows lift as he looks at me from beneath thick lashes. He stares for so long, it seems to occur to both of us how little I truly know of this hellish kingdom.
“Leavon killed the Dragon King. He crowned himself ruler. And the Darkness of this kingdom has never been the same since. Instead of helping us, the magic has hindered us, twisting us into Monsters not even our mothers could love.” He seems to take a careful moment to think through his words before speaking again. “Everyone says if he’s replaced, if someone powerful enough replaces him, our magic will be cleansed, no longer cursed by his greed. And the Kingdom of Carnal actually prospering, that scares the shit out of the surrounding kingdoms. People don’t like change, Bella.”
“You’d rather be cursed than prosperous?” I ask with an astounded sneer.
“Yeah. We would. We’d rather be cursed than dead. Because if we’re a threat of power to the Fae Kingdom, they’ll come for us. And we won’t win.” His galaxy eyes are swarming with mania, and I don’t know how to calm this man when he’s not trying to kill me.
I don’t even know why I want to.
“I won’t make change. I don’t want that.” The fate of an entire kingdom? Who the hell wants that kind of responsibility?
“You’re such a fucking blind optimist, you can’t even see that you don’t get a goddamn say in it, Bellatrix.”
I swallow hard at that.
What if he’s right? What if I am the Chosen? How am I supposed to be what these people need? Especially if they don’t even want it?
“I’ll leave,” I whisper.
He shakes his head at me, his hands shoving through his messy, blonde locks until he meets the curve of his black horns.
“I’ll leave tonight. Right after the festival.” I nod once with conviction, trying to make a plan to get Ivy to come with me.
I can do it. I’ll save us both. And then I won’t have to worry about screwing up an already screwed-up kingdom.
“Just... get some sleep.” He pulls back the thick blanket of his cot and scoots over to the wall. “You’ll need it.”
He’s still holding the blanket back for me. My eyes shift to the left and then to the right, anywhere but at his dick that’s now being revealed to me like a grand prize I never asked to see.