Page 69 of Until the Stars Fall

“I…didn’t mean to.”

“That was not my question.” He drew in a deep breath. “How?”

“I don’t know. The knife…”

“Yes? What did you do to it to make it so lethal?”

“Nothing.”

“TELL ME!” he screamed, and for a second I expected him to lunge out of his seat and strike me, but Connor dropped a hand onto his father’s shoulder and whispered something into his ear.

The king looked up at his son and nodded once before settling back in the chair. He remained silent for a long time, steepling his fingers in front of his mouth as he studied me. What had Connor said to him? What was he contemplating? Did they even want to hearwhyI had killed him?

Finally, King Durand lowered his hands and tilted his head to the side, scrutinizing me like a falcon tracking its prey.

“You have broken the law and killed a fae. And a noble at that. Under other circumstances, I might have been able to show some leniency. But the fact is, none of this would have happened if you had any respect for this crown and its rules! Rules intended to keep you safe!”

“Please,” I whispered before I could think better of it. He didn’t seem to notice.

“What you did not only resulted in a preventable death, but also threatened the very peace and security the other humans here in the palace enjoy. I cannot have the other mortals viewing the rules as arbitrary, so I see no other option but to punish you to the full extent of the law.”

Brennan’s eyes flicked to his father briefly, but Connor only straightened.

“Miss Berg, you are hereby sentenced to death.”

“No!” I screamed, but a guard kicked me in the back, cutting off my breath. I barely got my hands up fast enough to keep my face from smashing into the floor. As I lay there trembling, I sucked in air but found no relief for my aching lungs.

This was wrong. This was not okay. Human or not, noble or not, if I hadn’t killed him, he would have killed me. Balling my hands into fists, I forced myself to sit back on my heels and face the king.

“It was self-defense, Your Majesty,” I said as calmly and politely as I could. I needed him to understand. I needed him to fucking care. “He was going to kill me!”

The king flicked a finger in the air, and his guards pulled me up by my arms. “Take her to the dungeon until her execution at dawn.”

This couldn’t be happening. In desperation, I finally turned my attention to Brennan, my supposed friend, this prince my stupid heart had chosen to fall for. “Brennan! Please! Do something!”

He didn’t move except to drop his eyes to the floor. The fucking coward. I didn’t need him to love me. I wasn’t asking him to marry me. But stars, I expected him to at least act like my friend.

“You coward!” I screamed at him as the guards began to drag me backwards toward the door. The least they could have done was turn me around so I didn’t have to watch Brennan betray me like this. I closed my eyes tight, shaking my head, not wanting to witness how little he cared for me. Soon we’d be through the doors, and he’d be free of me. They all would.

“Stop!” a male voice said, piercing the heavy silence.

My eyes flashed open.

There the prince stood, his arm raised in front of him, his golden-brown eyes staring straight into my heart.

Connor.

CHAPTER 33

Connor

Stars, I was going to regret this.

My father pushed himself out of his chair and rounded on me. “What do you meanstop?”

“You can’t kill her,” I insisted.

He jutted his chin out, his eyes blazing with indignation. “And why not?”

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