Page 21 of Calling of the Crown

“I let Jonah get his torture in, and after letting you get as close to death as possible, I appeared as planned and pretended I was saving you. This was meant to send you into my arms, getting me back on track to become King.”

“Only it didn’t work,” I reminded him, and I noticed there was a smug note to my voice, which I’d normally feel bad for. Now was not one of those times.

I remembered how bewildered Dax had been back then when I didn’t praise him and thank him endlessly for intervening. He’d been livid and seemingly out of his mind. Only now did I realize why he’d reacted that way.

“No, it didn’t work,” he said flatly, still numb from the serum.

“And if it had worked, if we got back together, what was your plan then?”

“The plan was for us to marry as pre-arranged by our parents and the Council of Doctrina. Once married and crowned King and Queen of Water Fae, Jonah would get his final payment and true wish. To slowly torture and kill you. I’d then pretend to be a grieving husband, all while leading Water Fae the way I wanted, starting with wiping out all Land Fae.”

“Bastard,” Marcus growled low from behind me.

I stayed focused on Dax, and before I could let myself dwell on the part of his plan that never came to fruition, I asked, “Since that didn’t happen, what was your next move?”

“I didn’t have one. I was trying to figure out what to do next when Jonah got impatient. He’d been promised your life, and he was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to make that happen for him anymore. The night your powers awakened, Jonah had called me to inform me that he was going to kill you, deal or no deal. I rushed to the creek where I knew he’d be, but he failed. You got your powers, and you were winning. He was about to rat me out as the person who hired him, so I killed him.”

There it was. The full story in all its ugly glory. It finally made sense. He’d silenced the Bat Fae and then had to clean up and hide his mess. Too bad for him he didn’t do a better job.

“Well,” I started, trying to find words amidst all I’d just learned. “What a plan, Dax. A truly awful plan. Is there anything else I need to know or something you’d like to add?”

“I never liked you. You were always just a means to an end for me. I only ever saw you as an annoying inconvenience.”

The quick reply paired with his unfeeling eyes made the words seer my soul like salt on an already bleeding wound. I’d always assumed that Dax never truly cared for me. But hearing it now when Dax could only speak truthfully made the statement really drive home.

He never saw us as anything. All the teasing we’d done in high school, all the moments where we’d existed as friends, all the shy kisses exchanged. None of it had been real. And that, that was somehow more painful than everything else I’d heard.

Glancing over my shoulder at Mingxia, who I found glaring at Dax, I asked, “Will he remember everything said here even after the serum wears off?”

She dipped her head. “He will, Your Highness.”

I nodded and turned back to Dax. Leaning in close, I whispered, “You will never, ever be King. Morardia will never be yours, and I hope one day you can grow to appreciate what I plan on doing with it.” I fought to swallow and added, “Maybe then we can actually try being friends.”

“I’ll never be on your side. I’ll always want you dead.”

I gave him a cold smile, one that matched his frozen heart. “Then I guess you’ll always be a prisoner, stuck with only your hatred as a companion. What a lonely, miserable life awaits you, Dax. Enjoy this hell you’ve made for yourself.”

Chapter Eleven

THE ROOM BRIMMED WITH LIFE and ease when I walked in. My friends, all in Fae form, were tucked away in the sitting room, and seeing their bright smiles and hearing bellows of laughter was like a much-needed breath of fresh air after dealing with Dax.

The twins sat by the unlit fireplace coloring while Alvaro watched them. Jesiah and Akira were curled up on a loveseat, laughing at whatever Ardley had just said from his place in a wingback chair. Avana was wedged between Marlow and Imani across from Jesiah and Akira, and I didn’t miss the way Avana and Imani kept glancing at each other before shyly looking away. Rance, Rune, Bassel, and Carlos stood at the back of the room where a bar sat, littered with tea, coffee, and snacks.

It was a new place for all of us with unfamiliar scents, furniture, and expectations. Yet it was home all the same, because we were here together.

“Bria!” Akira was the first to spot Dallas and me walking in. He leapt from his place beside Jesiah to race over with a hug, his large wings giving him a boost across the room.

I welcomed the affection with open arms, and even though Akira had always been a chipper person, I could tell in that small embrace that he was truly happy now. The loneliness he’d kept hidden from many eyes had been filled with a warm glow, thanks to love.

“How’d it go?” Akira asked as he pulled back to look me over with worried eyes.

“She got her answers.” Dallas sighed heavily. Rance came over and pulled her into his side to place a kiss on top of her head. Dallas’s tired eyes found mine. “Dax is officially scum of the Earth.”

“So it was really him?” Bassel asked.

Rune wrapped an arm around my waist to hold me close, and I could see the dozens of questions dancing in his fuming eyes. Instead of firing them at me, he waited to see what I had to say.

I took a deep breath and passed a look between everyone. “Yeah, it was all Dax.”

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