Page 54 of The Crown of a Fallen Queen
Beth’s fists clench at her sides, the siren barely contained. “Yes. In spite of all yourhelp.”
“It’s all in the past now. We have to pull together—” Ethan stops, his gaze landing on Lori. The Winter Queen is chatting quietly with Damian near the exit, the two of them clearly well-acquainted. Ethan drinks in the sight of her and sips his drink with the slow, focused intent of someone who wishes he were draining her dry. “—in these difficult times,” he finishes.
Lori turns to look as though she felt him staring, and her bright smile falls from her face.
The dark light in Ethan’s eyes, the way he studies Lori, his gaze dipping down the lapels of her pantsuit, dries my mouth. He can surely see the dark soul that has nestled inside her body, and he’s not only curious about it, butthrilled.
He’s found a new prey, and licks his lips. “Excuse me. I need to meet my son’s latest wife…”
I could punch him for his gleeful tone and swallow hard at my mistake. I should’ve stopped them from meeting altogether. I should have convinced Elio to keep Lori locked in her room for the duration of the summit. Because with a dark soul inside her, she falls under Ethan’s purview, and he might offer to help her, to cleanse her of it, but Eros knows what he’d want in return.
“She’s in danger. We need to run interference.” Beth clasps her husband’s arm and follows after Ethan, clearly determined to keep him from hurting yet another woman.
“Should we go after them?” Seth asks, but a soft nudge on my shoulder calls my attention away, and my heart somersaults.
“Devi,” Damian whispers my name in an intimate, brutal way that flips my stomach. His golden eyes stare into my soul—molten and endless. The dark swirls inked behind his ears are a living picture of the lazy nights we spent back at the academy, sharing secrets and plotting revolutions.
Seth glowers at the Shadow King, his arm snaking around my shoulder in a pointless show of testosterone. “Hey, D. What’s up? Where’s Nell?”
Damian doesn’t even spare him a glance. “Would you give us a minute, Seth?”
Finally, someone from my past who’s not miraculously best buddies with my fiancé. I was beginning to wonder if Seth had charmed everyone I’d ever known as part of his evil plan to wed me.
“To do what?” Seth asks, voice tight. “I need to speak with her alone, too. And soon,” he warns.
“And I’ll be back before you know,darling. Let’s take a walk around the gardens.” I slip from Seth’s embrace and hook my arm around Damian’s, tugging him along.
The look of betrayal on Seth’s face pinches my gut, but he’s not allowed to act so territorial. Not when we’ve only knowneach other for less than forty eight hours and Damian is happily married to someone else.
Damian and I stroll into the gardens, our boots denting the soft, melting snow. Spring is really starting to break through the frost. Pale shoots unfurl from the Hawthorn’s branches, delicate, feather-like flowers daring to bloom at the ends. Above us, silver and gold snowflakes drift in the late afternoon breeze. Puddles stretch between the stones, reflecting a sky the color of thaw. It’s beautiful in a quiet, aching way, the way the world tries again after a long, painful slumber, much like the man next to me.
Once we’re hidden by the hedges, I squeeze his upper arm over his black tunic. “You look good, Samhain. How did you do it? How did you break your curse?”
“Nell did. She’s the most infuriating woman I’ve ever known, and she changed me. Taught me how to love again, to let go of the past. She’s…everything.”
I take a good look at his heart. The moving shadow that was there has been replaced by an emerald-green glow, and my breath hitches. He’s in love, and not the kind of love that fades. By some twist of fate, he’s found the one.
If a part of me was holding onto the infinitesimal possibility that we might ever rekindle what we had, it’s extinguished here, seeing his whole face come alive. And I’m glad for him. This beautiful man suffered enough at my hands.
“You married your mystery girl after all.”
“Yes.”
Last time I saw him, he confided her existence, but we were both pessimistic about his chances.
“I’m happy for you,” I whisper.
The light in his eyes speeds up my heart. If Damian managed to rid himself of his curse, if Elio is finally happily married, it gives one cursed Fae reason to hope…
“What about you and Seth?” Damian grimaces like the thought of us together is highly unpalatable, and while the others’ meddling irked my nerves, he’s allowed to feel this way.
“It’s a long story.”
He doesn’t speak further, and neither do I. He’s the one that got away. If I hadn’t chased a crown, maybe we’d have built a life. I don’t regret choosing my ambitions—I’d do it again—but sometimes I wonder who I’d be if I hadn’t been so hungry. A different girl. A softer one.
But the time has come to close that door for good, and it’s freeing, really, to turn the page.
We cross paths with Lori. The Winter Queen is fleeing the ballroom, her eyes glassy with tears, though she slows just enough not to crash into us.
