Page 165 of A Queen's Game
Sylas looked up with a smile. “Good, that means you’re learning.” Elyse glared at him as he pulled a paper from his pocket. “Now I can give you this last letter from Brynden.”
Elyse yanked it out of his hand and left it unopened before her. Did she want to read what he wrote? Gods, did she even want to see him again? Brynden was a stranger—he was her humiliation.
Reluctantly, she opened it.
To see the body of a goddess makes me a lucky male. To forever have it immortalized by her hand makes me blessed. Your talent knows no bounds, and you have entangled my heart in ways I could never free myself. I have no dreams of that release and would suffocate on your love if given the chance. Death by your hand would be the sweetest ending.
My goddess, my darling, Elyse, you have me now and you will have me always, regardless of if you ever forgive me for my transgressions. A male who has sinned against a goddess deserves the torment he brought onto himself, and I am a male who suffers. The thought of losing you, to never hold your talented hands, to kiss the sweetness of your lips, is torture.
What keeps me up late into the night is a single thought, however: a lifetime of opportunities we will miss if we are not together. The missed opportunity of having you at my side. The missed opportunity to watch you grow into your full power. The missed opportunity to worship at your temple every day. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to have you as mine, my goddess. I would tear down the world around us if it meant keeping you by my side.
My time in Satiros nears its end, and I have no wish to leave you behind. Refuse me as you must, but don’t allow yourself the continued suffering of this cursed place. Though I hate the idea with such a seething rage and burning pride, I ask you to consider an alternate marriage. It threatens my very existence,the thought of you marrying my closest friend, but I would endure millennia of pain if it meant you would feel none.
At this point, I’m sure Sylas has made the offer. Elyse, my goddess, I ask you not to make your decision now, for I understand it is jarring. But the gods may have their eye on you—we will get one last evening together before I go. Through the work of Keyain and his wife, we will journey into the streets of Satiros under their watchful eyes. Though I loathe him, I would take any chance I had to be with you. Any.
Until then, my dreams will be of you in gowns of Chorys Dasian red with black and white diamonds at your neck. Of sunny walks holding your hand along the shores of The Mavros Sea. Of you in my arms, where you belong.
Elyse squeezed her eyes closed, unable to stare at the letter. It was Brynden—every bit of him she knew—baring all for her. “You told me all of that on purpose. His age, his sister, all of it because you figured it’d end like this.”
“No, I thought this would end with Brynden breaking into the palace and stealing you.”
Elyse paled at the comment. Brynden wouldn’t do that, would he?
“He cares about you in ways I haven’t seen with the others,” Sylas continued. “He refused to leave Satiros without you, so a marriage to me was his solution.”
Her heart paused, unable to take a breath as his words hit her. “The others?”
Sylas watched her for a moment, his eyes shifting around her face. “He’s courted females prior to you, though only betrothed once.”
He might as well have slapped her. “So, I was never his first choice.”
“Elyse,” Sylas said, pulling her gaze. “They were a very long time ago, before you were born. As I said, he was only seriousabout one of them, and even then it was nothing like what he feels for you.”
She nodded her head, fighting the constriction of her throat as tears threatened her eyes. Stupid. So stupid to think she was someone special to him. “What happened to her?”
“To who?”
“The female was betrothed to. Why didn’t they marry?” she paused, taking a deep breath. “Or did they marry?”
Sylas rubbed his chin with a sigh, looking anywhere but at Elyse. “Simi died when they were still betrothed.”
Sadness struck her heart at the thought of loving someone to only have them die. “How tragic.”
“Listen, he should’ve told you this, not me,” Sylas said. “He didn’t have much time to tell you about it, so don’t be angry.”
Anger wasn’t the right way to describe how she felt. Disappointed. Foolish. Sorrowful. Those feelings washed over her as she watched Sylas.
His expression was soft, concern furrowing his brows. “Please share what you’re thinking, Elyse. I don’t like seeing you like this.”
She hesitated, unsure what to say. “I feel humiliated.” Tears trailed down her cheek as she tried to blink them away, staring at the ceiling. “For the first time in my life, I felt like I was special to someone. I felt—” her breath caught, stalling her words. “I felt like I wasn’t alone. That I had a future. And now, I realize how foolish I’ve been.”
“The fool isn’t the partner who was tricked, but the partner who intended to deceive. He could’ve told you when he offered his hand, but instead he…” Sylas’ voice trailed off, letting the implication sit.
“He tried to fuck me.”
“I mean,” Sylas said, brushing back the hair from his face, “that he did. It didn’t change his decision, though. Even now, hewants you, Elyse. He wants to fight for you. Just know this: you are special without him. You are more important, more powerful by yourself than he is without you. Don’t let him make you think otherwise, even for a second.”
Elyse swallowed hard, taking in his words.
