Page 76 of Essence of the Throne

My fingers itch to grab my blade. The fucking bastard helped the king, but I only manage two words. “The griffin.”

His face crumples as if I'd spoken my thoughts aloud. “Of course I fucking helped him…why wouldn’t I? I want you near Caspian even less than his father, so I was all too happy to follow him in to the design space and switch out your riddle and artifact before the other sentries distributed them.” I inspect the gilded pendant he tosses at me as he continues. “But then I learned what the king is doing…” I turn the locket over in my fingers, its surface tarnished but etched with intricate, swirling patterns I do not recognize. I attempt to pry it open, but it doesn’t budge.

I pin the guard with a dark look, something that feigns anger, though I’m surprisingly anything but. It was quite the brilliant feat on his part. “And now you feel disgusting for aiding someone who has been using children’s bodies for his own gain?”

“I was protecting Caspian!” Gavriel snaps, his voice rising before he catches himself. “The king said you were a threat. That you’d destroy everything if left unchecked. And he’s still right, though for the wrong reasons. You’re the fucking Silver Wraith!” He throws an arm toward me as if I’m clueless about my identity. “I sawthe way you two looked at each other, and I couldn’t allow it to continue.”

A twig snaps behind us. We both turn to find Caspian standing there, his face a mask of barely contained fury.

“What did you just say?” His voice drops to a lethal whisper. “How could you ever do such a thing?”

The words hang heavy in the air, suffocating in their weight. The color drains from Gavriel's face, his mouth opening and closing as he grapples for an explanation. But Caspian doesn’t give him the chance.

“You helped him?” Caspian’s voice is low and sharp, each word like a blade carving through the tension. “You helpedhim—and said nothing? Even after everything he's done since?”

“I—” Gavriel starts, his voice falters, but Caspian cuts him off, stepping forward with fists clenched at his sides. He looks murderous.

What an inconvenient time to become aroused.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Caspian’s voice cracks, his composure unraveling as the skin along his face flushes. “How many lives have been destroyed because of him? Because of you? I trusted you, Gavriel. I knew you didn't like her, but this…disgraceful.”

“I was trying to protect you,” Gavriel insists, his tone growing more desperate with every syllable. He steps closer, but there's a flicker of hesitation in his movements, the way he flinches when Caspian’s glare sharpens. “Everything I did—I did it for you.”

“Bullshit,” Caspian spits, his voice rising. His anger feels alive, thrumming through the space between them. I bite down on my cheek to ground my thoughts; now is not the time. “You didn’tdo it for me. You did it because you couldn’t stand the idea of my attention on someone else. You wanted to keep me in line, just like my father.”

Gavriel’s face twists with a palpable distress, but there’s a defensive edge to his posture now. “You don’t understand. I saw what was happening to you. The way you looked at her—” He gestures toward me, his hand shaking. “You were losing yourself to her, Cas. I thought I was saving you.”

“Bybetrayingme?” My prince’s laugh is sharp and humorless. He shakes his head, disbelief etched into every line of his face. “You don’t save someone by stabbing them in the back.”

“I didn’t know what he was doing!” the guard yells, his frustration boiling over. “I didn’t know about the experiments, or the people he would kill. Not until it was too late.”

“And when you found out?” I interject, my voice cold and cutting. I step closer, just enough to remind Gavriel that I’m still here—and keep my prince from doing something he'll repent—my blade itching for an excuse to silence him. “What then, Gavriel? Did you run to Caspian? Did you try to stop Thalion? Or did you stay silent because it was easier than admitting you were wrong?”

He doesn’t answer, his jaw tightening as he looks between me and Caspian. His silence is all the confirmation we need.

“Get out of my sight,” Caspian commands, and the mix of fury and heartbreak in his tone catches my breath. He steps back once, as if the distance might somehow lessen the pain. “Go back to thecastle. Request a new post. I don’t care. But I never want to see you again.”

“Caspian, please—” Gavriel’s voice cracks, and for a moment, he looks more like a lost boy than the hardened soldier I’ve come to know.

“Now!” Caspian’s shout echoes through the trees, and Gavriel flinches as if struck. His shoulders slump, his gaze falling to the ground as he nods. Without another word, he turns and trudges away, his steps heavy with the weight of his choices. The sound of hooves fades a few minutes later.

I examine Caspian. His breathing is ragged, his eyes fixed on where the guard disappeared. When he finally looks at me, the vulnerability there makes my chest ache. I don’t do this—this comforting shit—but my arms just want to hold him against me forever.

“I trusted him, Ariella. More than anyone…and he—” He clears his throat before sucking a long breath through his nose. “It’s hard to imagine trusting anyone now,” he whispers more to himself than to me. “But you always feel like the exception.”

Something warm and uncomfortable looms deep in my chest. I want to insist he not trust me either—that I’m just as capable of betrayal as anyone. But the words stick in my throat.

Instead, I step closer and touch his arm in what I think would be a consolatory gesture, but it only serves to make me cringe. “We need to move. Your father will not wait.”

He nods, some of the steel returning to his spine. “You’re right. But—” His hand grabs mine, lifting it to his lipsso that he may press the gentlest of kisses to my skin. “Thank you. For stopping me from doing something I’d regret.”

I pull him toward the horses, feeling itchy from the gratitude. When was the last time someone thanked me? “Let’s go. We can make it back to the castle by nightfall if we ride hard.”

After insisting the prince sit behind me the remaining journey, we mount up and push the horses as fast as we dare. The sun sinks lower, and the looming darkness feels like a warning.

The forest blurs past as our horses thunder down the path. With Caspian’s arms secured around my waist, I can feel the uneven rhythm of his breathing against my shoulder. It's not long before he's asleep. The events in Meridian took more from him than he’ll admit.

“Let's stop,” I mutter when he rouses, slowing our pace. I do not want to stop, but I will for him.

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