Page 77 of Happily Ever Crowned (Underworld Royals 1)

“Lux always told me that the key to your power resides in your heart, and it seems she’s right.” I curled my fingers into a wave, diminishing the energy into embers and releasing my yearning for her power. “You’ve let me inside and I could take it all, if I so desired. At least, that’s what the prophecy says.”

Her cheeks whitened, her own flames dying on her palm. “You took some of it earlier. While in the fields.”

“When you were done, yes. I tested the theory, then briefly wondered if I could use your power to kill Necros. Because while you can’t harm him, I hold no such vow.” Which meant, in theory, I could do whatever I wanted to him, including using the fire of his betrothed to kill him. “But the problem is, sweet star, if I take too much, it’ll hurt you. And though that may not have been a concern when we first met, it’s become one.”

And there was the truth.

The words I had kept from her since the beginning.

The real reason I was here.

“You’ve known all this time…” She trailed off, her emotions swimming through her features, each one sending an arrow into my chest. But I couldn’t stop now. I had to be honest with her. It was the realization I came to earlier today when her power infused my spirit.

If I didn’t tell her, I risked losing far more than my rightful kingdom.

I risked losing her.

And I didn’t want to lose her.

“Yes. I came here to win your heart and use your powers to destroy Necros.” The admission hurt, but not nearly as much as the tear that fell from her eye.

“So it was all a lie,” she whispered. “This was always about your revenge.”

“Until it wasn’t,” I replied, taking a step toward her.

She took several back, holding up a palm. “Don’t.”

I never knew a word could pain me so much, but it was nothing compared to the agony I felt inside her mind.

“Valora, I’ve spent my entire life preparing for this. Twenty-five years of pent-up hatred and plotting, all aimed at the man who dares to call himself king of this kingdom. Who renamed my lands Caluçon because he stole the powers of an infant to wipe out shadowkind.” Just saying the words stirred a rage inside me—a rage that desired the powers within her. It would be so easy, her life energy mine for the taking. I could feel it throbbing in time with mine, waiting for me to act, to steal her very breath.

But my heart held me back.

A fickle organ I never thought much about other than its importance in keeping me alive.

Until this moment.

Now I knew with every ounce of my being that if I chose revenge over the emotions building inside me, I’d crave my own death. Because hurting this woman was a destiny I couldn’t endure.

Valora trembled, her spirit fracturing before my eyes. “And now you wish to steal those powers from a full-grown woman. From me.”

My shoulders fell, my head shaking slowly in the negative. “I’ve wanted nothing more than to kill Necros for longer than I can remember. Yet, a few weeks with you has changed all my priorities. Here I am, able to take exactly what I’ve desired… and I can’t. Because I can’t hurt you.” I slid to my knees before her, needing her to hear me, to understand. “Whatever this is, whoever you are to me now, it means more to me than his death. I cannot—will not—use you to kill him. I will find another way.”

Her glassy eyes met mine, the lashes blinking rapidly, her lips parting without sound.

“I could have taken your power earlier, finished him once and for all, but I didn’t,” I whispered. “I also could have absorbed them while attending his idiotic celebration, killed him right there in his drunken state, but I didn’t.”

“Why?” she breathed, her entire demeanor brittle, on the verge of breaking completely. “Why didn’t you?”

I’d already told her that, but I would try again. For her. For us.

“Because I won’t risk hurting you, Valora,” I said softly. “I’m telling you all of this now because you deserve to know. Because I refuse to hide this from you. Because I still believe we can work together and take him down, but we need to be united for that to happen. We need to have total faith in each other. And that can’t exist while I’m keeping this truth from you. So here I am, on my knees, telling you everything and begging you to forgive me. To believe me. To accept me once more. To make me yours.”

I’d spent the evening thinking Adrik was working with Necros, that everything between us had been a lie, a manipulation, a wicked trick.

And now…

Now I didn’t know what to think. What to say. How to react.

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