Page 74 of Empire of Wrath and Ruin
I tried to explain, tried to find words that could somehow make this hurt less, but she wasn't listening anymore. She turned and walked away—not running, because Livia never ran from anything, but moving with that determined stride that meant she was done with this conversation.
Done with me.
"Go after her," Marcus said roughly from behind me.
I was already moving.
I followed her through the temple's corridors, keeping enough distance that she wouldn't feel hunted but close enough thatI wouldn't lose her. She went straight to her chambers, and I heard the door slam with enough force to rattle the frame.
I stood outside for a long moment, pressing my palm against the wood, trying to gather the courage to knock. What could I possibly say? How could I explain that every day of deception had been agony? That I'd wanted to tell her the truth from the moment I'd realized I was falling in love with her?
When I finally found the courage to knock, there was no answer. I tried the handle—locked, of course. Livia wasn't the type to leave herself vulnerable when she was hurt and angry.
"Livia," I called softly through the door. "Please. Let me explain."
Still nothing.
I pressed my forehead against the wood, feeling the weight of every lie I'd told, every truth I'd withheld. The irony wasn't lost on me—I'd spent months learning to trust her, to open my heart to someone for the first time in my life, and all the while I'd been carrying the one secret that could destroy everything between us.
"I know you're angry," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I know you feel betrayed. And you're right to feel that way. I should have told you the truth from the beginning."
I heard movement from inside—a soft footfall, the creak of floorboards. She was listening, even if she wouldn't respond.
"My father..." I swallowed hard, the words feeling like poison on my tongue. "He is a monster. I've known that since I was old enough to understand what the Empire really did to conquered people. I've spent my entire life trying to find a way to make amends for the blood on my family's name."
The silence stretched on, but I could feel her presence on the other side of the door. I closed my eyes, letting the pain and guilt I'd been carrying for months finally pour out.
"I never meant for it to happen like this. I never meant to fall in love with you. I couldn’t bear it, hearing you talk about your family after you told me who you were. Hearing the pain in your voice and knowing it was my blood that caused it. I've hated myself every single day since I learned who you were."
I heard movement inside—soft footsteps on stone—but the door remained closed.
"I left the palace because I couldn't stand what my father was becoming. I joined the academy to get away from him, to try and make something of myself that wasn’t in his image of who he wanted me to be. I wanted to be more, I wanted to train under real men who could show me how to lead, how to do things right.”
I laughed softly, though there was no humour in it. “It took me a while to find men like that, and I never thought I’d be sharing the woman I love with them.”
For a moment, everything was quiet. Then I heard the soft sound of footsteps approaching the door, and the lock turning.
The door opened just enough for me to see her face—red-eyed, tear-stained, but still so beautiful it made my chest ache. She stepped back without a word, allowing me to enter, but the distance she put between us might as well have been a chasm.
"How can you love me?" she asked.
"How can I not? And I do, with everything I have," I said, not caring anymore about pride or self-preservation. "That's what makes this so impossible."
“Your real name,” she murmured. “Tell me.”
"Prince Jalius Aurelius," I said, the words feeling like a curse darker than any shadow Taveth could throw my way. "Only son of Emperor Valerius."
She shook her head, and I could see that she was shaking, her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she stared at me with a mixture of betrayal and fury that made my heart ache. Like I wasa stranger—worse than a stranger. Like I was the embodiment of every nightmare that had shaped her life.
"You're his son," she said, and each word dripped with venom. "The Emperor's son. The son of the man who ordered my village burned, who had my parents murdered in front of me."
I stood perfectly still, not taking my eyes off her. "Yes."
"And you've been lying to me this entire time. You've been in my bed, you've touched me, you've—" Her voice cracked, and I saw her hands shake. "How could you? How could any of you let this happen?"
I wanted to reach for her, to try to explain, but the fury radiating from her warned me off. She was like a cornered animal right now, dangerous to anyone who got too close.
"Livia, please," I said softly. "Let me explain—"
