Page 138 of Reckless
I blink, still shocked at him addressing me by name. My throat has gone dry, voice raspy as I manage, “Yes.”
The crowd gasps dramatically, as if they hadn’t already known all this. I’m tempted to tell the king to spare us the theatrics and sentence me to death already.
“Not only that,” he continues quietly, “but do you admit to… killing the former king of Ilya?”
My eyes never stray from his. “I do.”
That has the people murmuring around me, cursing my name between breaths. Kitt nods, looking down at the marble floor reflecting my dirty face. The stretch of silence that follows is deafening, and I bite my tongue to keep from filling it.
When the king looks up, I see Kitt shining through his expression. The sudden shift has me blinking in surprise, blinking at the familiarity of that face. And when I see Kai straighten slightly beside me, I know he sees it too.
“This woman—Paedyn Gray—has committed atrocious crimes,” Kitt says, looking around the room. “She killed my father, your king, plunging his own sword through his chest before her dagger through his throat. She conspired with the Resistance, a radical group of Ordinaries, helping them find a passage into the Bowl Arena.” His eyes find their way back to mine, memories clouding that green gaze. “She lied. She killed. She betrayed.”
The sting in his voice has me dropping my gaze to the feet that slowly carry him down the steps of the dais. “And I have grieved. I have stepped suddenly into the role of your king while still mourning the former. And, yes, my reputation as a crazed king has reached my ears.” My eyes lift to his while the throne room grows thick with tension. Uneasy glances flick between the Elites, breaths held as they wait for their king to continue.
“But I assure you,” he finally continues, allowing everyone to breathe again, “that my future decisions are anything but crazed. And I will explain them all to you in due time.”
When his eyes land back on me, I know my time has come.
“Paedyn Gray…”
I duck my head, not wanting to see the words form on his lips.
So this is how it ends.
Not by the Trials. Not by the Scorches or bandits or sewerattempting to drown me, but by the mere word of a king.
A king that I created.
I wonder if he will make Kai do it. Maybe re-create the death of his father. That only seems fitting.
“Stand.”
I almost don’t hear him over my deafeningly dreadful thoughts.
It takes several stuttering heartbeats to finally scramble to my feet, wincing at the pain shooting up my sliced ankle.
The king’s eyes travel up the length of me before landing on my gaze.
He pulls that box from his pocket, small and velvet between his fingers.
The lid lifts, snapping open to reveal…
Nothing could have prepared me for the words that fall from his lips.
Not even a real damn Psychic.
The ring sparkles against the black velvet it sits within.
“You are to be my bride.”
EPILOGUEKai
I think I’m drowning.
But not into her blue eyes like I happily would.
No, I’m sinking into the floor, letting it swallow me whole.
