Protect the Prince (Crown of Shards #2)(115)

More importantly, I believed in myself—and my magic.

I scratched Grimley’s head. Well, as much as I could scratch living, breathing stone, but the gargoyle seemed to enjoy it, and his tail thumped with happiness. At least someone was happy tonight.

My gaze drifted back over to Sullivan. His whole world and everything he thought he’d known had just been shattered. I could understand that, especially since I was feeling that way myself, at least when it came to my magic.

My heart ached for him, and I longed to go over, wrap my arms around him, and tell him that it was all right, that everything was going to be okay. But I couldn’t do that because it would have been a lie, and I was finished lying to him. My lies had brought him nothing but pain, misery, and heartbreak, and I doubted he would ever forgive me for my deceptions.

Especially since I didn’t know how I could forgive myself.

So while our friends ran around, dealing with the blood, bodies, and crises, I sat there and watched him grieve for the mother who had betrayed him, his family, his kingdom, and everything that he believed in.

I wished that I could take back everything that had happened over the past few days, that I had never come to Glitnir, and especially that I had never destroyed Sullivan’s family.





Chapter Twenty-Six


That was just the start of a long, long night that bled into a long, long day.

Besides my friends and I, the only other people who knew the truth about Dahlia being a traitor were Heinrich, Dominic, Gemma, Alvis, and Rhea, and we all agreed to keep it that way. Rhea told the guards that Dahlia had heard the commotion in the gardens and had died defending Sullivan, while Heinrich did the same to the nobles, who were still talking, laughing, eating, drinking, and dancing in the throne room.

The news of the Mortan attack put an end to the royal ball. The nobles left, and Heinrich ordered the servants and guards to leave as well, saying they could clean things up in the morning. Rhea and my friends were still busy dealing with the bodies in the gardens.

The last of the servants scurried out of the room, leaving me alone with Heinrich. The king let out a weary sigh and sat down on the dais steps. I walked over and sat down beside him. I had returned Gemma’s dagger, but I was still carrying mine, and I laid the bloody weapon on the stone step beside me.

A glimmer of silver caught my eye. The decorations were still up, including the two giant banners that featured my crown-of-shards crest and the Ripley gargoyle crest. The symbols in both banners winked at me, almost in sympathy. I grimaced and dropped my gaze from them.

Heinrich and I sat there in silence for several minutes before he finally spoke.

“I really did love Dahlia,” he said in a soft voice. “I always loved her. From the very first moment I saw her working in the kitchen when she was a child. And I thought she loved me too. But now, to realize that it was all a lie . . .”

“She did love you,” I said, trying to comfort him. “And she loved Sullivan too.”

“Just not as much as she loved Morta,” he rasped. “I don’t know what to make of it. I don’t know how to feel about it.”

He ran a hand through his hair. At least, he tried to, but his fingers hit the silver crown on his head. Heinrich yanked off the crown and gave it an angry glare, as if it were the source of all his problems. I knew exactly how he felt.

His fingers curled around the wide band, as though he was considering throwing it across the room. But in the end, he sighed again and laid it down on the step beside him, just as I’d done with my bloody dagger.

“So where do we go from here, Everleigh?” Heinrich asked in a weary voice.

“I’m not marrying Dominic. I only agreed to your proposal to try to find the traitor and protect you and your family. I just never dreamed that it was Dahlia.”

“I knew that you weren’t going to marry Dominic,” Heinrich said. “I knew it from the first time you looked at Sullivan. But I had to prove to the nobles that I was still a strong king, and getting you to marry Dominic seemed like the best way to do that. You came here in friendship and to apologize for something that wasn’t even your fault, and I treated you badly. I’m sorry for that.”

I nodded, accepting his apology.

Heinrich turned toward me, his face serious. “You will have your treaty, Everleigh, and it will be exactly the way you want it. Andvari will stand with Bellona against the Mortans. You have my word on it, and you have more than earned it.”

He held out his hand, and we shook on it.

“Yes,” I said in a grim voice, “I did earn my treaty. I just wish that it hadn’t cost so many people so much suffering, especially Sullivan.”

Heinrich gave me a sad, resigned smile, but he didn’t say anything else, and we sat there in silence, drawing what quiet solace we could from each other.

*

Eventually, I left Heinrich in the throne room and went back to my own chambers. Calandre and her sisters sucked in horrified breaths at the sight of all the blood, rips, and tears in my ball gown.

I winced. “I’m sorry. So sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your hard work.”

Calandre stared at the ruined gown a moment longer, then gave me a bright smile. “It’s nothing, my queen. Just a dress. I can always make you another one.”

“You’re a terrible liar, but I appreciate the effort.”