Page 84 of Kingdom of Briars and Roses

I’d done both for this wretched place, and I’d do both again before it was done. But for now, I’d earned a reprieve. Just as soon as I delivered this particular report to the asshole who’d sired me.

He wasn’t going to be happy, but then I didn’t much fucking care what made the bastard happy. No, that was a lie. I cared very much about making sure he never got his hands on the things that made him happy ever again.

Unbidden, thoughts of my mother sprang to mind. I shoved them back, reminding myself she was safe. And as long as I played my part, she would remain that way.

A life for a life.

Wasn’t that what the old man had demanded? Until either his or mine ended, I was bound by blood to the monster on this throne. My only hope for a future for the people ofAutumn was my half-brother, and I’d grown weary of such hope over these last years.

Today, I was in no mood to deal with the bratty heir.

I might’ve put off coming at all if Duron had been content to wait. But I already knew the bastard would summon me—probably the moment my head hit the pillow. Best to get it over with and be done with him. With any luck, he’d send me on a mission that would take me far away from this place again soon. Hopefully, not before I got some decent sleep, though. After saving Callan’s reckless neck on the journey here then doubling back, I was exhausted.

We all were.

I’d left Slade and Daegel at the house and come alone to give my report. Now, I moved through the castle grounds unseen, shadows shifting in my wake. Some of them were my own. Some belonged to other creatures Duron employed here.

They would alert him to my arrival soon enough. And then he’d let me wait until after he’d eaten his breakfast before summoning me to him.

The sound of steel rang out in the stable yard, yanking me from my dark musings. I tensed, changing course to follow it. Beside me stood a small barracks area that was mostly used for the duty watch. The training arena on the far side was rarely occupied at this time of morning since most of the guards were still on duty or hadn’t arrived yet.

Whoever was in that ring wasn’t supposed to be there.

On full alert, I clung to the shadows as I made my way toward the sound of a sword striking its target.

When I spotted the lone figure, I stopped and stared.

She stood in the center of the arena, bathed in the gray glow of pre-dawn, her sword slicing through the air in practiced arcs. The light caught on her hair, a waterfall of gold spilling over her shoulders. Her movements were sharp, precise—but not flawless. There was frustrationin the way she swung, as though the blade in her hand was an argument she intended to win.

Aurelia.

I should’ve left her alone. She wasn’t my concern. For better or worse, her destiny was her own. But my gaze stayed locked on her, drawn to the determination in her expression, the tension coiled in her slender frame. She didn’t belong here, not in the politics and brutality of Grey Oak. Not in the gilded cage of royal life. But she would bind herself to it anyway, as if duty could smother the fire I saw in her now.

That sacrifice alone proved how much she’d changed since we’d first met. And I found myself hating the gods for requiring it of her.

A misstep. Her sword caught awkwardly, and she cursed under her breath.

“You’re lunging too soon.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

She spun, her blade raised, those pale blue eyes finding me in an instant. For a moment, she froze, recognition flaring then narrowing into something harder. Suspicion.

“You,” she said, the word an accusation. She lowered her sword only slightly, as if she thought I might attack at any moment. “Where have you been?”

I lifted myself over the railing and into the arena. “Out.”

“Out?” Her tone cut like steel. “Is that what you call running off to do Callan’s bidding?”

I smirked, though the expression felt like a mask I didn’t care to wear. “Did you miss me, Furious?”

She stiffened. “Don’t call me that.”

“Why not? It fits perfectly. Every time I see you, you look absolutely irate.”

Her jaw tightened, the faintest flush rising in her cheeks. Good. She was easier to deal with when she wasangry.

“You didn’t come back just to criticize my technique,” she said, her voice cold now.

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