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ERIK
I managed to release my anger about my doomed meeting with the elders by pacing up and down the corridor outside the council room, practically wearing a hole in the stones underfoot.
After that, I wandered aimlessly through the castle hallways. Soon enough, I ended up totally disorientated.
It began to dawn on me all over again—I didn’t know this place. I hadn’t yet had a chance to become familiar with the layout. I had no bolt holes, no secret corners, nowhere I could go to lick my wounds.
This was my domain—my literal castle—and I was lost.
All the servants I passed along the way inclined their heads with deference, but from the sideways looks on their faces it was clear they saw me for what I was. A total stranger.
Worthy of respect, sure. I was their king, now. But they didn’t know me, and I didn’t know them. Perhaps they hated me? How could I live up to the legacy of my half-brother, even if he had been disliked for actions such as kidnapping Stavrok’s mate? At least he’d been a true-born king. I was, at best, an interloper.
Eventually I found my way back to a section of the castle I recognized.
In the end, I returned to my office in the council chambers, out of a lack of a better idea on where to go.
The space was empty. The elders presumably gave up the meeting as a lost cause. It was just as well. A headache was building behind my eyes, and I wanted nothing more than a stiff drink and a fuck—in whichever order they came to me.
That was where Marienne found me half an hour later, with my head resting on my arms as I sat at my desk, surrounded by dozens of law codes, balance sheets, and tax bills.
I must have been a pathetic sight.
There was a tentative touch on my shoulder and I knew instantly it was her. I tried not to sink into her touch, though her hand was as light as a feather, and strangely comforting.
When I lifted my head, there was nothing of the fiery temptress who had shared my bed last night. In the mid-morning light, she was wan and frail, flitting around the side of the desk like a butterfly and settling into the unoccupied chair.
She truly is like no woman I’ve ever met.
And yet, there was something off about her today. She wasn’t meeting my eyes.
Something had happened earlier, while we were in bed. Something that had shaken her to the core.
She had rushed off without explaining and instinct had told me not to stop her, but I sensed I was about to find out what had occurred.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” I kept my voice light, trying not to show any hint of the anxiety that stirred within me.
“I...” She lay her hands, palm-side down, on the desk top and finally met my gaze. “I owe you an apology,” she said.
My chin snapped up. Something churned in the pit of my stomach.
Does she regret what happened between us?
I raised an eyebrow. “For what?”
“For rushing off like that... after...” She bit her lip, looking embarrassed. I forced myself not to stare at the way she caught her full lower lip between her teeth.
“Oh.” It was my turn to feel uncomfortable. “There’s no need to apologize, Marienne. You were under no obligation to stay.”
She seemed disappointed to hear that. My confusion grew by the second.
“Wait, is that why you’re here?” I asked. “Simply to apologize?”
She sighed. “No. Not entirely.”
I could sense that she was stalling, but I couldn’t guess why. I raised my eyebrows, waiting.
“You know that I have magic.” The words rushed out of her so fast I almost didn’t catch them.
“Of course.”
She flushed, tucking a long strand of hair behind her ear. “So, I’m a sorceress. That’s why Magnik chose me to become his queen. Because he wanted access to my magic. For himself.”
At the mention of the previous king, my stomach sank. “Why do you ask?”
“Sometimes I...” She swallowed. “Sometimes I have visions. And when we were together this morning...” Her eyes darted away again. “I saw something, Erik. A vision. That’s why I... That’s what happened. I had a vision, and I ran.”
I exhaled, relief washing over me. She hadn’t run because she regretted our coupling. I thought back to the moment she’d left. In truth, she’d looked scared and vulnerable. Like she was a thousand miles away, not safe with me, in our bed.
“Does it hurt?” I asked.
Marienne seemed thrown by the question. “What?”
“When you have your visions.”
A strange look crossed her face. “No-one’s ever asked me that before. I suppose I’m used to them. I’ve always had visions, ever since I can remember.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.” My voice was gentle, but I couldn’t hide my curiosity.
“It’s not a physical pain,” she said. “But it’s like the world around me disappears. Sometimes I can’t trust that what I’m seeing is really... real.”
On impulse, I reached out across the desk and clasped her hand.
“There,” I said simply. “That’s real.”
Her face softened, and her thumb stroked across the back of my hand. “It is indeed.” She contemplated our joined hands for a moment, then raised her beautiful eyes to mine. “But Erik, I must tell you what I saw.” Her expression was grave. She grew even paler than when she’d first entered the room. “I came to warn you.”
I frowned. “Of what?”
“Something’s coming. A darkness.” She broke off, her eyes wide and distressed. “King Damon is planning to attack. I saw the castle burn. Our people, dead in the streets. I—I watched you die in my arms, Erik.”
A tear fell down her cheek, glinting silver in the sunlight.
I stared at the open book in front of me without really seeing it. She saw me die?
My gaze drifted to our joined hands.
“In your vision. We were... together?”
Warmth bloomed in my chest when I said the words out loud. They felt right. Marienne and me. Together.
Her gaze slid away from me. Gently, she disentangled her fingers from mine and withdrew, leaving me oddly bereft.
“Yes.” Those lovely eyes refused to meet mine.
My surprise hung in the air between us.
“Surely you’ve already noticed?” she said. “You must feel it.”
My heart hammered in my chest. She sounded resigned; regretful.
“Noticed what?” I tried to hold back the harsh tone, but I was getting frustrated. “Feel what?”
“Our connection.” Finally, she looked up.
“Of course, I have.”
My heart rate increased when I stared as if hypnotized into her eyes. They swirled and shimmered like depthless pools. “The bond between us. The moment we laid eyes on one another, everything changed.” She bit her lip, and I suppressed a sigh of longing. “Your dragon knows me, doesn’t it? Why do you think it stirs every time you see me? Every time you hear my name. We were meant for each other, Erik. We are soul mates.”
Soul mates? Fated to be together?
It was like a final puzzle piece falling into place.
That was why she had hidden from me when I first came to the castle. All these years, she must have known. And I hadn’t had a clue.
Something had drawn us toward each other, binding us together. Like a thread running through our lives, winding us closer and closer. Right from the moment we’d seen each other, all those years ago.
My mind was blank with shock. Soul mates. Fated mates.
“You knew about this?” I whispered. “The whole time? Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
She looked utterly miserable. My chest tightened as realization struck.
She doesn’t want this. Us.
Why would she? Marienne was powerful, beautiful and strong in her own right. Anyone who laid eyes on her could see that she was in a different league to me.
Apparently, the fates had shackled her to me, a low-born lout who was only here by sheer dumb luck.
“It’s complicated,” she said. “Last night...”
My skin prickled as I remembered the way I had held her in my arms. The passion, the lust, the inescapable desire. It was all due to the fated mate bond?
My chair scraped back from the desk as I stood. My movements were abrupt and jerky; it took a second for me to realize I was shaking with anger.
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” I said, turning away. “I understand now.” She didn’t want me, but had no choice except to follow fate’s design.
The magic had forced her into it. Was that the problem?
I didn’t want to see the disgust in her expression. Or, worse, the pity.
“It wasn’t my choice, Erik.” Her voice was closer now, and when I turned my head, she stood right in front of me. “Neither of us have a choice in this. I’m sorry.”
Her eyes flashed with repressed emotion.
I ached to pull her against me with every fiber of my being, but I resisted. I couldn’t bear to face her inevitable rejection.
Our bond was inescapable, inevitable. I was still reeling from the truth, but I couldn’t deny it: we were bonded. Worst of all, some part of me had already known, ever since that first day, when we were worlds apart. When she hung on the arm of King Magnik, her husband, radiant in the sunlight, waving out at the cheering crowds.
I closed my eyes.
“It seems that the fates have a sick sense of humor,” I said. “Shackling you to your husband’s low-born half-brother. You wanted the king, and you got the bastard.”
As soon as I uttered the words, I regretted them. I knew I was being unfair; Marienne had already told me Magnik had chosen her, not the other way around. How could anyone say no to a king?
But pain made me harsh. The barbs that had twisted themselves into my heart tightened as her eyes filled with tears.
“Since you arrived in the castle, I wondered about you. Who you were, what kind of man you have become, since that day I saw you in the street.” Her strong tone belied the tears that spilled over, tracking down her flushed cheeks. “I think I finally have my answer.”
“I guess you do,” I snarled. “I am truly sorry to disappoint you, Your Majesty.”
I made sure to imbue the title with the same disdain I had received from the elders this morning. Her eyes widened, and then narrowed.
“So am I,” she said. “Your Majesty.”
We breathed in tandem, inches apart. I fought back the desire that pumped through my veins, the warmth I could feel radiating between us.
It didn’t matter what our bodies wanted for us. I would never be good enough for her, and we both knew it.
At least we were on the same page. My status in life might have changed, but one thing was certain: last night had been a huge mistake.
She had just made that abundantly clear.
I wasn’t worthy of touching her. And I never would be.