79

My wolf whined internally. I’d never spoken like this to anyone—least of all the king. In my grief, I didn’t care. Consequences be damned. He needed to realize the extent of what he’d done. “Reyna, please,” he said softly. “What can I do to fix this?”

“Nothing,” I said. “Not now. I just—I need time. A lot has changed. I have to accept that.”

“Am I that bad?” the king asked. His expression was soft and almost hurt. “Is marrying me such a nightmare?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. I set my glass down and washed my face in my hands. “I don’t know anything right now. I thought I knew where I fit in this world, but that’s all been taken away from me. I have to figure out who I am—what I’m supposed to be. If the queendom is only about death and blood —I can’t do it. There has to be more than that.”

Again, I expected the king to argue with me. But when I looked up, he was just watching me with a furrow in his brow and that same curious, sad look on his face. He nodded. “I understand.”

“You do?”

“You’re right, in that being king is more than a title. But in the same way I am the king, I’ll be your husband, too. And I will listen to you—as your husband.” He stood up, bowed, and took his leave before I had a chance to process that.

Then I was alone in front of the low fire with only the brandy to keep me company. I stood up to place a fresh log on the dying fire, then poked it into place and watched the flames grow and crackle. Then I took a seat by the fire, this time in the seat he’d vacated. It still smelled like him—like sweat and leather. I leaned heavily against the back of the chair and sighed as his scent comforted my wolf.

24

“S o glad to see you feeling a little better this morning,” Amity said as she fastened tied the laces on the back of my gown. “Dinner tonight will be lovely. And I’m sure you’re excited to see your father.”

My stomach turned. “Yes, of course I am.”

The last thing I wanted was to see my father—not with the new knowledge that he had worked with Griffin on this plot to take the throne from Nightfall. But if I acted strangely, he’d know something had happened. I needed him to see me only as his obedient daughter, at least until I had a better idea of what his new plan was. Griffin’s challenged had failed, but surely the duke had a backup plan. I just had to figure out what it was. I certainly couldn’t indicate I knew about Griffin’s scheme, or the prophecy and my role in it.

“And I’m sure he’ll be delighted to see you, as well,” Rue said. “Especially dressed in such fine

Daybreak colors.”

I nodded. The gown was beautiful, eggshell white and pale blue with golden stars stitched along the wide neckline. My hair was loose over my shoulders. In the mirror, I looked just the same as the woman who had left Daybreak for this Choice, save for the new determination in my blue eyes.

It was just dinner. Once I knew what the duke had up his sleeve, I’d feel better. At least, I clung to that hope to carry me through this dinner.

Amity and Rue shifted, then escorted me out of the hall and down the stairs to the front room of the manor. There, the king waited for me, flanked by his own guards in their dark wolf forms. He looked so different than when I saw him yesterday evening. He was dressed neatly, in fine, dark clothes, without his cloak and with his thin golden crown gleaming under the dim lights of the front room.

As I approached, the king extended his hand. I took it gracefully as I descended the last few steps.

“Lady Reyna,” he murmured. “You look beautiful this evening.”

I smiled delicately but couldn’t find any words to respond. My stomach was twisted into knots at the thought of seeing my father.

If he was really my father at all. He had barely raised me. And now I didn’t even know if we were connected by blood. If my entire life in Daybreak was built on a lie.

At his behest, I placed my hand in the crook of the king’s elbow and we walked side by side toward the ornate doors of the dining room. The guards shifted back into their leather-armored humans, then stepped ahead of us.

“Ladies and gentleman,” one called, “the King and future Queen of Frasia.”

Applause rang politely around the room. The dinner wasn’t immense, not like the balls the king

had held earlier in the Choice, but the council and all high-ranking members of the court were in attendance. The court looked relieved that the king had finally chosen a queen, and the council members kept their faces carefully neutral. Did they know that I knew they had chosen Adora over me?

I was just as impassive, smiling demurely around the room. Trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. The guests were scattered about the room, sipping wine and chatting as they waited for the dinner to begin. The table was in the center of the room, wide and set with fine china, and at the head were two ornate seats. And I’d be seated at one of them.

In the corner, my father stood, deep in conversation with the duchess. My heart crawled into my throat. He looked just as regal as usual, a heavier version of his usual linen finery with a navy cloak over his shoulders. He looked the same as he always did. The duke had never been particularly kind to me, but he’d always been fair. Could he really be the one who had led me into this trap? So indifferent to my own desires?