Page 15 of The Blood Crown

For returning to the human realm only to wish she’d never come back. For bringing danger snapping at their heels. Even once they made their way back to Ravenstone the threat wouldn’t disappear. It would only be held at bay by the wards and the black tourmaline walls of the fortress. But would theyever be able to safely leave the confines of the Blood Kingdom once they returned? Or would the Dark King’s death hounds be waiting silently, unendingly, for their chance to drag her to their king.

Ven took a step toward her in the already confined space, his eyes darkening as they held her hostage.

“Why did you leave?” he rasped, his voice tinged with something she couldn’t place.

Disappointment? Regret?

How could she begin to explain? That pull toward him . . . She’d felt it with every minute that she was parted from him, trying to pretend that the life she had returned to in the Capitol was the one she wanted. It was an ache deep inside her. A tether to him that refused to let her be free.

But how could she possibly put words to any of that?

“I couldn’t stay,” she said softly.

His gaze dropped to her lips for a moment, making her breath catch in her throat. He must have heard the way her heartbeat picked up, noticed the rapid rise and fall of her chest, but his eyes were locked on hers.

“I would have found a way for you to stay,” he whispered, the edge of his voice jagged with emotion, "if that was what you wanted."

They’d had this argument already, but clearly it wasn’t over.

“Ithoughtit was what I wanted.”

“What happened, Aurelia—I know about the First Brother, about Asher. But there was something else . . .” His eyes blazed fiercely in the falling dusk. “What happened withhim.”

She’d never spoken Bastien’s name aloud. But he’d known all along that someone else had been an invisible barrier between them. And even in the moments when both of them had offered slivers of their feelings for each other, he’d never pushed her.He’d never prodded for an explanation or forced her to make a choice.

She’d made that choice on her own—to go back to that life. And never once had he fought her on it . . . He’d made it safe for her to return.

Admitting that Bastien had betrayed her still wasn’t something she could voice. The details of it didn’t matter now, because beneath all of it was a deeper truth.

Evenbeforeshe'd discovered his betrayal, every minute, every moment spent with him had feltwrong.

And the harder thing to admit was that Bastien's lies, the threat she posed if she had stayed in the human realm—those were just convenient excuses for what she truly desired.

Because the life shetrulywanted was the one that she had built at Ravenstone, with the Wraiths . . . with Ven.

So why couldn’t she bring herself to admit the truth to him? He wasn’t a male to mince words. He meant what he said, and he kept his word. And he’d told her . . .

He’d told her that there was no future for them.

Her eyes snagged on the heavy silver chain glinting beneath his collar, whatever talisman hung at its center always tucked just out of sight. A token from a past lover? A memory of someone he'd lost? Whatever it was . . . he kept it close to his heart for a reason. And it was a reminder that he’d made her no promises.

Ven’s crimson eyes speared into her, waiting for her to say something. Anything.

She swallowed thickly, cursing herself as her gaze fell to the ground. “He wasn’t the person I thought I knew.”

His eyes narrowed, and she knew he saw right through her. But as he turned away, he uttered, “Then he’s a fucking fool.”

Chapter 7

Night stretched across the forest in front of Ven. Silence blanketing the pines along with the fresh dusting of glittering snow. Karro sat next to him, arms draped over his knees where he leaned back against a thick trunk of a tree.

How many times had they done this in their lives? Sat exactly like this, up late into the night keeping watch.

It reminded him of the young male he’d once been—desperate to gain acceptance from his mother’s people—to prove the blood of his father did not define him. Once he’d met Karro, only a few years older than himself, he knew that this was the only place he wanted to be, and that he would do anything to earn the trust and respect of his mother's people.

His adolescent years had been a challenge, mostly because all males of that age were assholes, some just outgrew it a little faster than others. But the Ledge, and later the battlefield, had earned him a place amongst them, and Karro had been by his side through it all.

Karro slid a knife out from the bandolier across his chest, his gaze dropping as he efficiently began cleaning his nails. They satin silence for minutes or hours before he finally let out a restless breath that misted the air in front of them. “Have you told her yet?”

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