Page 51 of Break Her Heart
“I thought the king never left the castle,” I mumbled, breaking the stillness.
He turned to me with a smirk. “And lose the chance to have everyone’s eyes on me?” He laughed, as if it were obvious.
His words reminded me of the last time we walked through town together during the day. How he’d dropped to his knees in the middle of the square, clutching his hands like a desperate lover, tears in his eyes. Begging for forgiveness.
He was someone completely different now. And yet I could still see the old August slip through sometimes.
“When we get there, keep your hood on until I make the decree.”
I glanced at him, eyebrows raised. “Add to the dramatics of it all?”
He said nothing, but I caught the corner of his mouth twitching like he was amused. Or maybe proud. It was always so hard to tell with him.
I rolled my eyes and turned to look out the window again. Frost veined the edges of the glass, blurring the world beyond into pale silhouettes of rooftops and people gathering at the gate. We were almost there. A crowd larger than I had ever seen had already gathered. Most of them were bundled in thick cloaks, boots half-buried in the snow. The cold must have stung their skin just as much as mine, but still, they came. Curious. Starved for distraction.
“I sent word to the Legion to notify every house of this in hopes we would have as big of a crowd as possible,” August said.
“So you command a castle of vampires and the Legion now,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Oh how far you’ve come from taking pleasure in watching me kill the things you’re in charge of now.”
He tilted his head, just slightly, studying me like he didn’t quite recognize me.“Have I given you the impression that I don’t still enjoy those things, Winnie?”
Shivers ran down my spine, and it wasn’t from the heavy snow outside of the carriage.
We came to a stop, and I pulled my hood on, careful not to knock the crown off. But before August could step out, I felt the full weight of the silence outside the carriage.
It wasn’t just quiet, it was suspended. Like the moment before a match strikes. I glanced out the window. Rows of people packed the square, boots buried in snow, eyes locked on the carriage like it might birth a god.
My heart beat louder in my chest. I could almost hear the shift of fabric, the creak of someone leaning forward for a better view. No one spoke. No one dared.
Then August stepped out.
The ripple of whispers broke loose like a sudden gust of wind. Meeting one king only a week ago and now seeing another step out wearing a crown. It was something out of a fable. A dangerous one.
I waited for him to move aside, to let someone else help me down. But instead, he turned back toward me and simply held out his hand. My chest tightened. I bit my tongue before I said something I couldn’t take back. Now wasn’t the time.
I took his hand, and we walked together, our fingers laced. I took his hand because I had to. Because the crown on my head meant I no longer had the freedom to refuse. But the moment our fingers laced, something ugly twisted in my chest.
His touch still did things to me. And I hated him for it.
I stole a glance at the crowd and quickly scanned it for any sign of Adar, even though I knew it would be useless. Everyone had their hoods drawn tight, faces shadowed. Adar couldn’t risk being recognized, couldn’t risk someone attacking him. Still, I hoped. I needed to know he was here. That he was safe.
A Legion soldier stepped forward to greet us—the older one I’d first seen with Adar in the woods. He didn’t bow, but his stance shifted ever so slightly in deference. A silent nod to August’s new title.
August stood beside me like a fallen god, every inch of him regal and dangerous. His crown gleamed in the winter sun, and his pale hair lifted in the breeze. He looked untouchable.
August leaned in close, lips nearly grazing my ear. “Get ready, Winnie. You’re about to see the chaos that comes with you getting everything you wanted.”
I didn’t respond. I didn’t trust what I might say.
“My dear father was in a tragic hunting accident last week and is no longer with us,” he said, his voice calm and cool, but it carried through town like thunder. “But I am starting a new age. An age of peace, forgiveness, and…love.”
The word cracked against my ribs like a whip.Love.From the same mouth that told me he felt nothing. I clenched my fists inside the folds of my cloak.
I knew he was still angry with me—for the countdown I’d placed on him, for the secrets I’d kept—but he was thriving in this moment. Whether he’d admit it or not, he basked in the weight of every gaze turned toward him. Power radiated from him in waves, and I realized that maybe he had always been this powerful. Maybe he’d just hidden it to make himself more palatable to me.
“And because of that, I have a decree,” he continued. “One that I expect everyone to follow immediately.”
The crowd froze. A young mother clutched her child tightly, a hand pressed over their mouth like a seal. Even the wind seemed to pause.
