Page 69 of Heir Of Sun And Moon
Flynn’s slate eyes, usually bright and full of personality, look a little duller as he clutches his hands to his stomach. Blood begins to pool around him, staining the bright green of the wet marsh grass that ominous deep red. His gaze holds mine, but there is no fear there. No, the emotion in Flynn’s eyes reminds me of the calm look Alexi had on his face right before the king drove a sword through his body. And that is so much worse because I don’t want Flynn to accept this fate.
“Did you really think that you could leave me?” the king whispers in my ear.
I try to cringe away from the feeling of him pressed so intimately behind me, but no matter how I move, he doesn’t ease up his hold on me.
“Do you want to know how I thought I might find you two here?” he taunts, speaking loud enough for Flynn to hear. “I learned my lesson with Alexi and made sure there wasalwaysa second pair of eyes on your guard.” He gestures to Flynn with his chin and I watch as Flynn stills and flicks his eyes to the king’s. “And imagine my surprise when I caught him leaving his post earlier today after my little visit with you.” He drags his fingers down the side of my cheek until they reach my neck. They halt there, right over my racing pulse.
The sun’s light is nearly gone, the moon not quite risen, but even with the impending darkness, my eyes are still drawn to Flynn’s. I’ve always been drawn to him. From the first time I met him—scared and reeling after losing Alexi—he has never made me feel afraid or unwanted. He has always soothed me in ways that I never understood but intimately craved. And I know without a shadow of a doubt that if I watch him die, I won’t survive it either. He brought me out of my loneliness and anguish and showed me what it was like to feel cared for, cherished. Though parts of me are still jagged and broken and I know I can never again feel true peace, I could have gotten close being with Flynn. I thought we would have that time together to try—to try finding our own version of happiness.
“Rhea, it’s okay,” he whispers, looking up at me with those gorgeous dark eyes. Trying to soothe me even now. But it’s not okay.I’m not okay.
“Guards, seize him,” the king says in a harsh voice. He’s more than willing to kill Flynn in front of me to prove a point. I watch as two of the guards remove both of the satchels and his sword from him, tossing them to the ground. They stand on either side of Flynn and grab his arms firmly. He doesn’t fight them as they jerk him to his knees. His wavy black hair is disheveled, those unruly strands dangling over his forehead in rebellion. I hate the way the guards are touching him, like he’s nothing to them when he’s everything to me.
“No!” I scream, fighting with everything that I am to get out of King Dolian’s grasp. To get to the man kneeling in front of me bleeding out.I can save him. I can save him.My mind taunts me with those four words, because while I can save him, I need to be able to touch him to do so.
“It’s going to be okay. Rhea, look at me.”
My eyes scan him in a frenzy, but I can’t focus. My blood pounds in my ears, and all I can picture is Alexi’s cold, dead body in my lap. All I can see are his lifeless eyes. All I can feel is his blood going cold and thickening on my hands. I can’t do it again.I can’t. I can’t.
“A traitoranda liar,” King Dolian growls.
“Sunshine, I promise you that we are going to get out of this. Keep your eyes on me.” Flynn’s voice is steady, even as a guard kicks him brutally in the side to get him to stop talking.
I jerk against my uncle as Flynn growls, trying to hunch over but unable to because of the guards’ hold. It’s all so reminiscent of how Alexi died. It’s history repeating itself, and I’m at the center of it all.Again.The king wraps his arms around me so tightly that I can’t breathe—the heat from his body causing my own to revolt. Tears cloud my vision as I kick and scream.
“Another death to add to your collection, my darling. You and I might not be as different as you like to believe.” His lips graze my shoulder as he inhales deeply, his beard tickling my skin when he moves closer to my neck.
I still—my fight temporarily leaving me because what if he’sright? Even if we somehow escape, Flynn will never be safe as long as I’m with him. And if he brings me back to his family? They’ll be in danger too. A new idea forms in my mind, my heart beating furiously as I do the one thing that will damn me but save him.
“You will die for touching her,” Flynn vows, jaw clenched in anger.
“It is notIwho will die on this day.” The king chuckles darkly as he speaks, his breath cascading down my ear and cheek. His hand wraps around my chin as he jerks my gaze away from Flynn and towards him.
“What about a deal?” I beg, staring into his unforgiving hazel eyes. They narrow as he tilts his head to the side, his chestnut hair staying perfectly coiffed with the movement. Even in the face of chaos, he is regal and poised. “I want to make a deal for his life,” I repeat.
“Go on,” King Dolian answers, his fingers still abusively gripping my face.
Flynn starts to protest, calling out my name, but I block him out as I seal my fate. “I will go with you willingly. I will marry you and do so without any sort of fight. I will—” I swallow, fear clenching my throat like a tightened necklace, but I force out the next words even though it’s the final drive of a dagger into my soul. “I will serve you in any way you’d like, but you must let Flynn go. Youmustlet him leave and go home to his family.”
“Rhea, no,” Flynn growls, but I keep my gaze on the monster holding me hostage. I said I would rather die than let him touch me in that way, and I meant it. But for Flynn—for him—I would sacrifice everything. Even the last broken piece of my heart. It wasn’t mine anymore anyways—it was his. So for him, I will do whatever it takes.
“Please,” I beg while a tear rolls down my cheek. A King’s Guardsman stands behind my uncle, his hand drawing my attention when he moves to grab his sword.
“You must care about him,” King Dolian sneers as my eyes go back to his.
Immediately, I know I’ve made a mistake. Knowing I care about Flynn is a weakness to him—for him to use against me.Oh gods, what have I done?
“Rhea, you must believe I am the type of man willing to bargain. A man willing to make deals for traitors who believe that they can have what is mine. What hasalwaysbeen mine.” He leans in even closer, his breath tickling my lips. “I will kill him because Iwantto. I will marry you because Iwantto. Those things are a mere truth becauseIam the king, and therefore, I can do what I please,” he rumbles, moving closer until our noses touch. “I can also bed whom I please.” Without warning, his lips push down on mine, the act causing bile to rise and my blood to boil. “Kill him,” he says against me, his gaze penetrating mine before he lets go of my chin and I swing my head back to Flynn.
A desperate sob breaks out of me as I watch one of the guards begin to lift his weapon, the other two tightening their grip on his arms—keeping him from escaping.
In the darkness of the fallen night, with only the silvery light of the moon and stars, I see the gold sword draw back. Shadows drift around us in the pockets of pitch black, lapping around the guards’ ankles and Flynn’s knees. My eyes connect with his—always with his. I swear heglowslike a midnight flame, the only thing in focus when the rest of the torturous world is blurred out. Words dangle on the tip of my tongue, but my mouth is frozen in shock. My breath squeezes out of me as I prepare to watch another person who truly saw me and did not back away die. Because of me.
Chapter Thirty-Five: Rhea
Alow,familiargrowlsuddenly slices through the darkness before the king screams behind me, jolting from an impact that causes him to drop his hold on me. I freeze for all of a second before scrambling away, already knowing it’s Bella. She’s here, and she’s finally getting to attack the king.
The guard whose sword was drawn—ready to kill Flynn—runs past me to help King Dolian. Using the distraction, Flynn twists his body and jerks out of the guards’ hold on him, grimacing as the movement pulls at his wound. Rolling onto his back, he kicks a leg out and knocks one of the guards at his side down while the other stumbles towards him—tripping over something in the darkness. Grabbing his sheathed sword from the ground as he rolls to a stand, he narrowly dodges the swinging arc of a golden blade, gritting his teeth as he clutches his wound with one hand. Both the guards advance on him as he rights himself and begins to walk backwards, sliding the sword quickly from its scabbard. I start to take a step in Flynn’s direction, unsure of how I can help but knowing I just need to get to him.
