Page 63 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson

I moved for him as the door slammed open, and Thea walked in looking disheveled and exhausted. Gods, did she not use magic to come back? She walked all the way home.She stopped when she saw Jesper and I in the middle of the room, clearly having just fought. I punched Jesper and grabbed him by the collar, so he was looking at me.

“You’re lucky she showed up because I would have made good on my word. Maybe I still will when you least expect it. Touch her, and I will fucking end you.” I shoved him, and he stumbled away like a coward.

“Thea, you’re back?” Her father snapped. “I thought you were going to be gone a few more days.”

“We realized Crimson was gone.” She lied as she came and stood next to him. Her eyes drifted around the room and paused on King Sybrien, and I wondered if he seemed familiar to her. My breath caught when she looked at me. I could feel her heartbreak from here. She hated that I was the man that visited her dreams and that destroyed me.Her grief was consuming our bond.

Jesper stepped up to her and whispered something that made her eyes flash red in anger. She whispered back, and his whole body tensed. He glared at me and didn’t try to hide it, but I couldn’t glare back at him. I was too busy wishing my wife would look at me and I wouldn’t see fear in her eyes.

“We are here to talk about a peace treaty so that our realm can finally have some damn peace.”The king of Akecia spoke. “Crimson is willing to negotiate with Cerithia and Kizar for peace.”

“Why would we ever agree to a treaty when we can’t lose?” Luren’s voice echoed in the space.

Uh…to stop losing men and resources.I could feel Thea’s darkness around us in the room before she frowned, and it disappeared. What was she doing?

“Kizar and Cerithia stand together in this.” Jesper backed Luren. I stepped forward, desperate to have Thea.

“How about a proposal for an allegiance?” I spoke to Luren. “A marriage alliance. I want to wed Thea, and we can call peace.”

“Have you lost your fucking mind!” he yelled.

Thea’s cheeks heated at my proposal, not knowing we were already married. That we were bound in this life and each one that followed. Jesper sneered at me. His blue eyes looked almost purple from this angle. He always wanted Thea for himself, but he would never have her.

“Aren’t you tired of fighting and losing our men over this?” I asked. “Our kingdom does not want to keep killing our men for this war.”But I will if you don’t give her to me.

Thea’s face softened toward me when I looked at her. Then she flinched when our eyes met, as if she was seeing something she didn’t want to see.

“Absolutely not,” her father snapped. “What have you remembered that you didn’t tell us?” His eyes narrowed on her.

“Nothing.” She frowned.

“You can have Thea the day my body rots into the ground,” Luren growled.

“That can be arranged.” My black eyes shifted to him. My hands fisted at my sides as my chest rose and fell quickly. Fuck, I might actually kill her father right now.

“Father—” Her sentence was interrupted by his backhand.

“Stop arguing,” he hissed. My shadows swarmed around him with anger.

“You better watch yourself, Luren,” I warned as my shadows begged to snap his fucking neck, but I knew Thea deserved to kill him after everything he had done to her. So I settled with punching him using my shadows. Luren stumbled backward into his guards. Thea's lips twitched slightly as she tried to not smile.

"I should kill you for laying hands on me!" Luren yelled as blood poured from his nose.

"Then come down here and try," I taunted. Thea let out a painful noise and gripped her head as she reached out blindly to steady herself. Unfortunately, that meant she grabbedonto Jesper.

“Thea?” I asked.

She realized Jesper was what she had grabbed and yanked away from him with disgust.

“I don’t feel well,” she whispered.

“This discussion is over,” Luren declared. “My daughter will never belong to Crimson. She is a weapon of Cerithia. The prophecy still stands, and until it comes true, I will not let her out of my sight.”

Her confusion came through the bond. She didn’t know about the prophecy. I took a step toward her when she glanced at me, but Cerithia and Kizar guards stopped me. My guards stepped forward and tried to shove them away.

“King Luren, this has been going on for eight years. Don’t you think it is time to give up on her ever choosing you?” I didn’t know who said it, but it was a king.

“She always chooses me. Then she is tricked into going to Crimson by that delusional Prince Cassius!”

---