Page 2 of Revert
My gaze darted towards the door that I’d once believed to be the final obstacle between me and my goal. It shimmered as though mocking my efforts that had fallen just short. Frantically, my mind retraced every clue I’d uncovered throughout my investigation, every step that had led to this moment, every calculated risk. Somehow, Prince Castiel had uncovered enoughof my carefully concealed intentions to trap me…but I couldn’t see where I’d come up short.
Not like it mattered anymore.
“What sealed my condemnation?” Even if it was too late to change anything, I had to know.
His lips curled into a smirk. “Come now, Princess. What fun is a game if you don’t figure out the answer yourself?.
Even in defeat, he toyed with me. Like father, like son. Perhaps death would be a mercy, sparing me from a future chained to a man like him—if only the cost of my failure weren’t so unbearably high.
I had imagined many punishments ever since I set out on this mission, but always at the hands of the king. In my naivety I’d foolishly believed that should my fiancé condemn me, my fate might be less final. But in Thorndale, hope was an extinct commodity, fleeting as a fairytale.
And now I would pay the ultimate price—with my life.
His voice was disturbingly calm as he slowly advanced, his steps graceful leonine. “Throughout our courtship I came to know you as an intelligent and fiercely capable woman. It’s truly a shame it had to end this way—you would have made an excellent queen.”
His gaze flicked to the door behind me I yearned to breach.
“What you failed to understand is that even you are not immune to the consequences of such a dangerous endeavor. I’m admittedly impressed with what you managed to uncover, but I cannot allow you to go any farther down this path, not when that knowledge threatens the kingdom. Though I noticed the evidence of your disloyalty, I didn’t want to believe it. But you left me no choice but to condemn you the moment you stepped willingly into my trap.”
“As is typical for the Thorndale throne,” I said bitterly. “Threats supersede the value of a life, even that of your futurewife.” I knew no weapon of words could spare me, but my pride refused to allow me to go down without a fight.
His expression didn’t flicker. “Are you truly so surprised? You’ve spent long enough at court to understand how Thorndale works, the throne that demands loyalty. And I will do whatever is required to protect our secrets.”
I hadn’t realized I was shaking my head until he gave a short, humorless laugh, an uncharacteristic sound that chilled me more than his silence ever had.
“Surely you’re too sensible to still be in denial.”
Pleas burned my lips, but I forced them back. Uttering them was pointless—mercy didn’t exist in Thorndale, especially not for traitors. “Yet my failure isn’t an option,” I managed in a shaky whisper.
He advanced another step, eyes narrowing. “It’s the only option left to you. After years spent within these walls, you’re still naive enough to hope for a different outcome? Did you truly think you could outwit the throne of Thorndale?”
His words shattered the lies I had long used to survive, each one unraveling in my mind until I was forced to confront the truth. But though I had failed, I refused to cower in this final moment. Gathering what little courage I had left, I lifted my chin and met his gaze.
“Desperation made it impossible not to at least try.”
He cocked a brow, almost mockingly in a rare show of emotion, as if now that the end was near, he no longer felt the need for masks. “I didn’t realize yourtryingwould result in so little.”
If words could kill, his would have been fatal; even his cold indifference had never cut so deep. But his insult merely echoed the ache of inadequacy and utter helplessness I had fought so long to ignore, made all the more unbearable when there would be no second chance.
I refused to play his game. I wouldn’t dignify his cruelty with silence, nor allow him to have the final word. Even in defeat, I would fight. “You mock me for trying,” I said, voice low but steady. “But trying was all I ever had. Even if it’s pointless, I will give all that I have until the bitter end.”
Rather than appearing angry, his gaze held mine, as if searching for something buried beneath the fear and defiance. Then, unexpectedly, he gave a slight nod. “That spark I glimpsed is brighter than I thought. Come what may, ensure that you kindle it.”
The encouragement struck like a cruel joke when my remaining life could be measured in a minute, perhaps less. I didn’t want to spend my final moments allowing him to toy with me for his own amusement. I had expended all my strength fighting back until I had nothing left, leaving me helpless in the face of death—one far too handsome for such a loathsome role.
He closed the last of the distance separating us, leaving me nowhere left to run. Resistance was futile; I had seen his expert swordsmanship—deadly, precise, and unbeatable—enough to know that this was one fight I couldn’t win. Even if I managed to escape, he would just chase me.
I was trapped.
Despite being thoroughly cornered, instinct caused me to press my back against the wall. I tried to avoid looking at the sword he constantly kept strapped to his waist, the instrument of my demise, but my gaze was inadvertently drawn to it anyway. The ruby gems lining the hilt caught in the torchlight, shimmering like fresh blood. The sight constricted my chest, my heart stuttering violently with its final pulses.
He drew the blade slowly, almost leisurely, as if he had all the time in the world to prolong my punishment…before everything ended forever. Though terror rooted me in place, I managed to lift my chin and glare.
“You’ve emerged the victor, and still you toy with me. Must cruelty be your final act?” Though my words acted as a futile defense, without skill in magic or the sword, manipulation was the only weapon I had left, one I would utilize until my dying breath.
His blade lowered just slightly, in grim acknowledgment more than hesitation. “No, cruelty was never the goal.”
I blinked hard to keep the tears from spilling down my cheeks. “Then what is this?” I spat. “A lesson? A punishment?”
