Page 71 of The Throne's Undoing

Another set of footsteps approached, and Terin came into Graeson's view.

In the torchlight, some color had returned to Terin's face, yet a heaviness still coated his expression as his gaze met Graeson's.

"She tried tokillyou, Graeson," Terin said.

Graeson slammed his fist against the bars. "I do not care! How are we supposed to convince her to trust us when at every turn she is knocked out?"

Ophelia snorted. "Perhaps you should have thought about that before bringing a monster into our kingdom."

At Ophelia's words, red bled into Graeson's vision.

"Whatdid you say?" Graeson asked, his knuckles turning paper white as he tugged on the iron bars.

"Graeson," Terin hissed, calling his attention. "The queen and Ellie are handling it."

"Handlingit? Handlingwhatexactly?" he demanded.

"Look," Terin said, "we had to do something! She is my sister, and I do not want any harm to come to her just as much as you don't. But we cannot risk everyone's lives! We must understand what is going on in her mind before we can eventhinkabouttrusting her. She has betrayed us once already. I will not let her harm anyone else I care about."

Graeson scoffed. "She is a human, too, Terin. She deserves to be treated as such."

Terin rubbed a hand across his face. "I know that! By the gods, do I know that!"

Graeson glanced between the three people who stood before them. The people he once considered to be his friends. The same people who put him in this godsforsaken cell.

"How long?" he demanded.

Terin blinked, his brows drawing together. "How long what?"

Graeson pressed his chest against the bars. A sharp pain from the wound in his side shot through him, but he pushed through it. Though the bleeding had stopped, the bruised and tender skin still throbbed. Graeson paid it no heed. He would get his answers. "How long have you been planning to betray me?"

"We never planned to betray you," Terin said, digging his fingers through his hair.

"But did you not go behind my back? Did you not lie to me about your intentions?"

"We didn't..." Terin's lips parted, but he closed his mouth shut once, twice as he struggled to find the words. "That's not--you have to understand! We were running out of options! You saw her! Kallie has more control over her gift than we thought. She didn't even have to say anything aloud to get the guards to turn on us."

"Howlong?" Graeson spat, each word containing the anger threatening to burst from his body. He was hanging on by a thread, and the god's rage pressed against his cage. If Graeson relinquished his control now, he feared he would be unable to regain it.

"Graeson," Terin said calmly, "please."

Graeson did not wish to hear his excuses, though. "How long, Terin, has this been the plan?"

"We didn't want to do this! But when my sister tried to kill you when we were attacked..." Terin swallowed, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. "We had to do something. We had to ensure everyone's safety. Fynn--"

"Fynn is dead!" Graeson shouted.

"I know, I know, but he..." Terin raked his fingers through his hair with an exasperated sigh. He turned his gaze to the ceiling. "I can still reach him."

"What the fuck do you mean you can still reach him?"

The color drained from Terin's face as Dani stormed forward, snatching him by the collar.

"Dani, I--" Terin was slammed into the wall before he could finish his sentence.

"What the fuck did you just say, Terin?" Dani bellowed. "And do not lie to me."

Terin looked at the others, but no one dared move. It seemed Terin had been keeping secrets from them all.

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