-Darius- Hearing the things Katherine said to me… it couldn’t be put into words what it meant to me. It made my heart beat so fast, and the way she looked at me made me feel like I was her whole world. I had dreamt for so long for her to look at me like that, for her to tell me that we stood together and had a future together. I had wanted her to look at me like she couldn’t breathe without me. Like she used to look at Acan. Now those feelings were directed at me, and she grew mad for me, she wanted to fight for me, which meant more than I could say. I only fell for her even harder in that moment. She stole away every piece of me, making me feel so unbelievably happy. I knew those feelings she brought out in me would keep me strong. They would help me get through this, and then hopefully, I could fight my way back to her and be with her from then on. Acan would have no other reason to send me into battle. At least not without going himself. But I needed Katherine to understand that wh
-Katherine- It was an awkward meeting with Silver the next day. Not just because I knew her husband was sending my husband to his death but also because of how I had acted the day before. Now I needed to make things right and make Silver like me so she wouldn’t come after me. Darius was right. No matter how much I hated it, I had to play my cards right, or it might come back and bite me in the ass. So, I went to find Silver and her ladies, who were all having a great time in one of the queen’s rooms. They turned quiet as I entered and didn’t seem to even want to look at me. I sighed, feeling like we were all children just acting awful with each other. It felt ridiculous, but I had to swallow my pride and go talk to her. So I walked over there, and Silver, of course, wasn’t looking at me. "Morning," I said. No one answered me, but that was okay. I wished I didn’t even have to say anything. I sat down among the many pillows facing Silver, who was still not looking at me. "I do apolo
-Darius- I was meeting with my brother again. He had laid out an entire map of where the Dark Ones were hiding. It was a darker side of Adorna, where the sun never seemed to be able to light it up. They enjoyed that darkness and thrived in it, but striking them there would be a fatal mistake, it would only ensure that we would lose the battle. If I was going to be the one fighting them, then I was going to be the one who decided how this was going to happen. "It won’t work," I told my brother. "Of course it will. Strike them hard and fast." "Look at this, Acan," I said, sweeping my hand over the dark side of Adoran. "Does this look like a small landscape to you? Or a dark place that stretches for miles. We do not know where they are hiding. We do not know what tricks they might have up their sleeve. Remember who it is you’re sending out there." I looked at my brother pleadingly, and he seemed to back off a little, leaning back and looking at the whole attack from a new perspectiv
-Katherine- Darius’s plan was not a bad one. I understood where he was coming from and why he was suggesting it, but the thing was, I didn’t believe we could leave. Adorna needed a better king, and once my dad died, Darius would be king anyway. He would have an important seat to sit on no matter what. Why shouldn’t he be king of us all? Why shouldn’t he be the righteous one? He would definitely be a better one than Acan or his children could ever be. I would not allow Silver and Acan to scare me away anymore. I would fight for what was mine, and I would get my revenge, but how did I explain it to Darius? All he wanted was a quiet life for us and the family we were building. Would he ever agree to my plan, which I knew he would see as nothing but foolish? "Why don’t you think we should go? You hate it here. You always have." "But Darius, I am still a crown princess," I explained. "Even though I married you, I will become queen one day, and you will be my king. We can’t leave court n
-Katherine- I looked at myself in the mirror, smoothing down the dark, silver dress. I wore Darius and my colors. My red hair was up and braided, and I saw the onyx ring glistening in the lights from the candles. I looked down, turning it a little back and forth. It was so subtle, but I loved it. It was simple, yet it carried such big promises of eternal love. I thought I had eternal love with Acan. I thought the ring he was coming to be was going to be a strong foundation for us, but it wasn’t. We weren’t happy. I thought we were, but it was a lie. This ring on my finger wasn’t a lie. It was true, and I feared this time I was the one not appreciating the meaning of it. I didn’t want to scare Darius or let him down, but I knew we could never be together in a peaceful life with Acan and Silver out there. They were linked to us in a dark and dangerous way that we had to cut. We had to free ourselves so we would never get hurt by them again. I knew it wasn’t as simple as walking away. I
-Darius- This party was not really how I wanted to spend my last day here. Acan and I had been busy preparing, and I was leaving tomorrow. Early in the morning, I would leave with the army Acan had assembled, going to other estates to pick up more men, and then we would be moving to the dark side of Adorna. It was not going to be a pretty battle, and I had no idea if we were going to survive it or if this was going to be a years-long war. Some wars dragged on, with no one ever emerging as the winner. I really didn’t want to spend years away from Katherine. It meant missing out on a lot of great time with her but also missing out on watching our child grow, and I didn’t want to miss that. I didn’t want them to look at me like I was a stranger because I was returning from years of war. I wanted them to know who their father was and that he would never willingly leave their side. I wanted to show them the love that my father struggled to show me. I knew he loved my mother, and I knew he
-Katherine- I looked at Darius, confused, as he spoke of being afraid for me. I didn’t understand what that meant. He smiled at me a little, then reached out, bringing me closer to him. His warm hand rested on my hip, and I looked up into his dark eyes. He smiled at me, and it made my heart pick up the pace. He continued to gaze at me, not really speaking, and it confused me. "Are you okay?" "I am afraid to never hold you again," he whispered before moving his hand from my hip to my cheek. "I fear I will never touch you again. Never get to love you." "Darius… I’m still here," I told him. "I know you’re clever. I know you’re strong. But we have no idea what’s going to happen. The Dark Ones are powerful and tricky. They are just as clever despite their hunger for power. I don’t know if I will be coming back, and what then? Your plan relies on me as well, does it not?" I sighed, nodding a little. I couldn’t replace Acan, it had to be Darius, and it only showed me how patient I truly
-Katherine- The doors to our bedroom burst open as Darius and I hurried into it. We refused to let go of each other at any moment because it felt like the moment we did, we would slide away from each other. We would be unable to hold on, so it was now that we held on tighter than anything else. We pulled each other’s clothes off, moving further and further back until we fell down on the bed. Darius was too impatient to get my dress off and decided to cut it open. "Shit, Darius, the doors!" I gasped as he split open my dress. Darius looked behind himself, realizing the doors were still open. He hurried away from me, only wearing pants, then closed the doors, locked them, and then came to me again. I smiled, and he continued his work, splitting open my dress and getting it off me. "I did like that dress." "I will give you more," he promised before leaning over me and getting me higher on the bed. He kissed his way down my body, going to one of my breasts and sucking on it, making m