King of Battle and Blood (Adrian X Isolde #1)(98)

“If it is a queendom you want,” he said, “then I will abdicate. I will give you my throne.”

“Father—”

He was talking nonsense.

“You can end this, Isolde,” he cut me off, speaking firmly, and I blinked.

“What?”

“You can kill Adrian.”

“No, Father,” I said, shaking my head.

“End him, and whatever spell he has cast over you will end too. You will know when it is done. Please, Isolde.”

“I cannot kill him!” I snapped.

“Then I will help. Killian and I. We will—”

“You would have to kill me!” I yelled, and my father blanched. We stared at each other in silence for a moment.

“What did you say?”

“I said there is only one way to kill him, and it would mean you’d have to kill me.” I swallowed hard. I was not willing to tell him that Adrian had fed from me, but I could confirm other things. “You were right about a curse, but it wasn’t what we thought. Our fates are tied, Father. If I die, he dies.”

I stared at my father as he realized fully the impact of what I had told him. Of everyone, I could trust my father to keep the secret. He would never wish harm upon me—he had almost gone to war just so he would not have to give me up to the Blood King.

“So you see,” I whispered, “there is no way.”

My father shook his head. “Isolde.”

“I’ll be all right, Father. Adrian will protect me.”

There was a knock at the door. “Your Majesties,” Ana called. “It is time.”

I took a few steps, closing the distance between us, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I love you,” I said, and as I drew away, he held my face between his hands.

“You are the hope of our kingdom, Isolde.”

Ana collected us, and together we made our way to the great hall. It had been decorated with flags in Adrian’s colors—red and black with gold accents—but there was an addition to his crest. Among the roses and the wolf was a sparrow.

The room was packed with many of the same people as last night and some additions. Once again, there was a tension here that ate away at my skin, a tension that I was even more aware of now that Adrian and I had bonded. And though I saw a few friends—Daroc, Sorin, Isac, and Miha—we were among far more enemies.

Ana walked ahead of us, bowing to Adrian before taking her place beside Daroc on the dais. My father strode beside me, offering his arm as I made my way down the aisle toward Adrian, who stood tall and proud, dressed all in black and crowned in iron. I held his gaze, full of things he had said and wanted to say. I wondered about my father, at the desperation with which he had begged me to end Adrian’s life. Had my admission been enough? Would he give up on the task and encourage others to do the same?

We came to the bottom of the steps, and my father bowed before ascending the steps to stand beside Killian as the coronation began.

“My king,” I said to Adrian and dipped into a deep curtsy, the folds of my dress fanning out around me.

Adrian’s lips curled. “Is Your Majesty willing to take the oath?” he asked.

“I am.”

“Do you swear by your king to honor and protect the people of Revekka?”

It was strange, the notion that I was agreeing to protect vampires, to protect the kingdom I had once despised, and yet I found myself agreeing with my whole heart, because I knew the truth of this world. I had seen the murder of High Coven by a power-hungry king. Adrian was not the monster—evil could live within any creature. Adrian was the vengeance.

“And will you use your power justly and mercifully as it applies within the bounds of our rule?”

“I will.”

“And will you serve beside me and upon my council to execute our law?”

“Yes,” I breathed.

Adrian’s eyes never left mine as he spoke, and I felt like he was seeing me throughout all my lifetimes. I wondered if he had ever guessed this future for himself like Yesenia had—like I had.

Ana approached holding a velvet pillow, and Adrian gathered the crown that sat atop between his hands. It was black and iron, and though it sat heavily upon my head, I knew it belonged there.

“Rise, Isolde, queen of Revekka, future queen of the Nine Houses.”

I took his hand, and as I did, he kissed my knuckles.

“You are my light,” he said.

“And you are my darkness,” I replied.

They were old words, a memory from my past, and they felt just as natural as Adrian’s touch.

He pulled me up the remaining steps and into a kiss that I felt deep in my belly. My hands went to his face as I devoured him just as hungrily, and when he released me, the crowd began to clap and chant.

“All hail the king! Long live the queen!”

I scanned the faces gathered, noting those who joined the hymn and those who remained silent—one of them being my father. I felt a horrible pang in my chest as I connected with his hard stare.

“All hail the king! Long live the queen!”

Adrian started to guide me down the steps when the doors to the great hall were thrown open and in ran a guard who stumbled and fell to his knees.

“Cel Ceredi is under attack!”

Dread tightened my throat as Adrian and I exchanged a look.