Chapter 43
Cassandra
It’s been almost an hour since Kieran basically asked me to marry him without actually asking.
I would like to be excited about that part, but all of my thoughts disappear the minute we arrive back at the Court and witness the damage the riots and fighting have done to this beautiful place.
Gideon warned us that a fire had broken out, but I wasn’t prepared for this.
The fire tore through the contestants’ living quarters, leaving blackened walls and cracked glass in its wake. It’s clear how much the rebels despised us from what they did to the whole block, doors ripped from hinges, windows shattered. The scent of smoke still clings to the air.
And the library—the library is gone.
They torched it all. Thousands of stories and centuries of carefully collected knowledge destroyed by hatred.
There are no bodies on the ground, but the blood splatters are still fresh in some parts.
Smoke burns in my lungs.
“We will rebuild it,” Kieran whispers, throwing an arm over my shoulder, but my words are still stuck in the numbness. “It will be fine.”
I nod—because that’s all I can do.
“Where are the rebels now?” I ask. “And Atticus?”
“Some dead. The others fled. We put those who survived in prison,” Octavia replies, glancing aimlessly at the ruins. “Atticus is still on the run, along with Florence.”
Gods, this is such a mess.
“They won’t get far. My creatures are after him,” Virgil says.
I scratch my arms, not sure how to feel about any of this. As long as Atticus is out there, how can I feel safe? He could go after my family—threaten them.
“He won’t get anywhere near you, or your family,” Kieran whispers like he can read my mind through my expression. He lifts my chin up with his fingers, voice soft. “I’ll send people to protect them.”
The channelling link is no longer there, but he still sees me.
I’m so grateful for that.
“I’ll go,” Gideon offers. “I’ll take some guards with me.”
I look at him with gratitude. “Thank you, Gideon. Please let them know that I’m fine.”
He nods, then he is already on his way.
Then I turn to Kieran, dread clawing its way up my throat, and I’m trying not to choke on fear as I ask the next question, “Please tell me Lucas is okay …”
He glances at Virgil, who quickly nods.
“We pulled him and Jordan out of the trials. They’re with the healers for now, but they’re expected to fully recover.”
Thank Gods.
I place a hand on my chest as a warm stream of relief spreads across it. Kieran softly rubs my back, as if to comfort me.
“We’re going to debrief. Would you like to come with, or do you want me to drop you at home first and I can fill you in later?” he asks gently, one hand stroking my hair.
If this were any other day, I’d insist on going in with him. But after all this—the trial, the night, and the morning I had, and all this wreckage—I don’t think I can.
“Please take me home?”
“Of course.”
He takes my hand in his, and we both vanish to the house together. Nausea coils in my stomach as the world stop spinning, and I hold on to Kieran because I need something to anchor me after days of uncertainty.
“Do you want me to stay?” he whispers, picking me up in his arm in one single swoop. I gasp, but I’m too tired to resist—and it does feel lovely being carried inside like this. I shake my head in his arms. “Are you sure?”
“Your people need you.” I can’t help but mock, “Your Majesty.”
“Yeah, about that.” Kieran chuckles. “I’ll explain when I’m back. You try to get some rest. Daphne already warded the house again so that Atticus can’t get in. You don’t need to worry about anything.”
“You know that’s easier said than done.” I pull him closer for a kiss. “And I won’t stop worrying until you’re home.”
“Keep doing that and I won’t leave at all.”
And there he goes—making me laugh again. After everything we’ve both been through, a few words from him and my world is bright again. “You have eternity with me. Go be a king.”
“Fine,” he mutters, pressing another hard kiss on my lips anyway before letting me down on the sofa. “You know, I’m going to need something to destress after all the headaches I’m about to go through.”
I grin. “Then you’d better leave soon, so you can get the hell back to me.” I brush my lips on his neck. “I’ll have a bath. And maybe I just won’t put anything on and wait for you in bed.”
“Yeah, okay, going now,” Kieran growls, but lingers for another kiss. “Gods, I fucking love you.”
I burst out laughing.
Yeah.
Everything will be just fine.
We’ll all get through this together. All of us.
Kieran came back after a few hours and filled me in on what happened in the past week whilst I was gone.
Turns out the army has been working quietly in the shadows—literally in the shadows, with Virgil’s shadowborn assassins—to weed out the members of the rebellion from the inside. Every thread Atticus thought he had pulled just … snapped.
With Aurora holding the scissors.
She’s been acting as a spy this whole time.
She confronted Atticus after rescuing me from the cell. He tried to brainwash her into believing getting rid of me would get her Kieran, and she played along with it—then fed all the plans Atticus told her back to Gideon.
Aurora might be a sociopath, but she’d do anything for this Court. Even sacrificing her own brother.
It’s so difficult to hate the bitch, honestly.
“So, let me get this straight,” I say, trying to digest the information. “You suspected all along that it was Atticus?”
“Yep,” Kieran replies, turning onto his side, his perfect hair flopping just too nicely on his forehead—and I have to blink, because it’s been so long since we shared a bed and I still can’t believe I am sharing one with this Fae.
“I mean, the perfume was an unexpected move, but I’ve suspected for a while.
Every time I asked him to look into the rebellion, he always came up with vague information, then some people we captured got away too easily,” he explains, running a hand through his hair.
“Which was weird for someone so highly capable. So, I had a spy keeping an eye on him.”
“Who?” I roll onto my stomach.
“You’re going to love this bit.” He grins. “Jordan.”
My jaw drops. No noise comes out of me.
“Jordan?” The name tears out of me like a scream. “We’re talking about the same Jordan whose eye you took because he groped Laia? The sex addict Jordan who’s a pain in the ass to everyone? The one Atticus told me and Lucas to spy on because he could be working with Florence?”
“The very same.” His grin deepens. “Don’t you think that makes the perfect cover?”
I blink, speechless.
“I promised him a wish and his eye back,” Kieran adds.
“Did I trust him? Not entirely. But he ended up surprising me again and again. He gave me more valuable information than Atticus ever did. And here’s the twist—Atticus was convinced the bastard hated me and was actually working with the rebellion.
When I was recovering, Atticus slipped more iron dust into my medicine every day, just enough to keep me weak.
Then one day, he let Jordan handle the poisoning … not knowing Jordan was my spy.”
“Are you telling me I’ve got to thank fucking Jordan for the fact that you’re alive?” I clutch my head like it might explode. “Why didn’t you tell me he was working for you?”
“We needed your interactions with him to be authentic.” Kieran laughs like he didn’t just drop the most shocking plan of the century.
“Jordan cut off the poison and kept feeding intel to Aurora and Gideon. I’d been fine for days, just playing weak.
I was waiting for the perfect moment to catch Atticus off guard, and I knew you were safe at home.
” His eyes darken. “Until he found out and dumped you in that trial …”
I stop breathing, reaching for his hand. I know from his eyes that the image of those Fae on me is still burning in his mind.
“We had to move quickly. The others were handling the rebellion, and I was looking for you.” He breathes, squeezing my hand. “It took me hours. That fucking forest was brutal even for me. I keep thinking what would happen if—”
“Hey,” I cut in softly, moving closer to him until our foreheads touch. “Nothing happened.”
Kieran exhales, long and hard, then presses a kiss on my forehead. “I can’t believe you killed three direwolves on your own.”
“Oh, you should have seen me.” I laugh. “I was a total badass.”
“No, my love,” he whispers, gently brushing his finger on my neck. “You’re a queen.”
And now I’m blushing like an idiot.
“So—when did you become a king?”
“Barely a day before I found out you were in the trial,” he says, his voice sharp.
“I decided I was done with it all. I needed to take the throne to end this rebellion once and for all. You wouldn’t believe what kind of authority a single, stupid word holds.
I was sworn in by the High Priestess, and of course, Felix had to record every miserable second of it.
Wouldn’t surprise me if the news has reached the stars we fell from. ”
An inappropriate chuckle bursts out of me. Gods, I wish I was there for it—Kieran being bored out of his mind, sulking his way through vows whilst Felix scribbled down notes to every word spoken.
“Just so we’re clear, I don’t really care about being a queen,” I murmur, leaning in for a kiss. “I only care about you. And if being with you means playing queen and sitting through boring meetings or doing charity work, then that’s what I’ll do.”
“I’d never expect anything from you,” Kieran whispers, hand sliding to the back of my neck. “All right? Never. I only took the throne to keep you safe. You’re in no way expected to live this miserable life of constant headaches.”
And I’m grateful Kieran says that, I really am.
But …
“No, Kieran, we already talked about this.” I brush my thumb across his cheek. “We do this together. The good. The bad. The ugly. All of it. You don’t get to decide which burdens you carry alone.”
Kieran doesn’t say a word, but his eyes say everything.
No one has ever looked at me like this before—like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever held.
Love burns in them, fierce and unyielding.
So does joy, and dread, all tangled together.
And I know exactly why. Because once you have this—the thing that we have—you’re terrified there’s never going to be enough time in the world.
Even immortality wouldn’t be enough.
His lips brush mine, breath unsteady, his voice breaking on a whisper. “Marry me.” Then another kiss, a desperate plea. “Please?”
We are mates, and I know now what that entails.
I shouldn’t be surprised.
But that really caught me off guard.
I blink, sucking in a breath, heart thundering like crazy. “First, you took the throne for me. And now this.” I shake my head. “Can’t believe this is coming from the same male who broke up with his girlfriend of ten years because he didn’t want to be King.”
Kieran furrows his eyebrows. “What is it going to take for you not to bring up Aurora when we’re in bed, naked?”
I burst out laughing. “Sorry, it’s just …” I bite my lip, still grinning. “I can’t believe you’re doing all this.”
He sighs. “It’s not about what I’m willing to do. It’s about who I’m willing to do it for.”
And that’s probably the truest thing I’ve ever heard. We always hear stories—people who have been together for years and never marry, then break up … and the next person they meet, they marry instantly.
“I love you, Kieran,” I whisper, pressing my lips on his for another hungry kiss. “And yes, I will marry you. On one condition—my family gets to attend.”
The corner of his mouth curves into a smile, storm-lit eyes softening. “My dear, you’re the Queen. You can do anything.”
And now I have to climb on top of him to reward him for saying such lovely things. His hand immediately slips down my body, another in my hair, every touch scorching, aching.
But before I give in to the breathless need clawing at me, I pull away just enough to whisper, “So… what’s going to happen to Lucas and Jordan once they’ve recovered?”
“Tomorrow, we hold a coronation. I’ll make a statement, and both of them will be granted a wish.”
My eyes widen. “Both of them?”
Gods, I can dance with joy right about now. That means Lucas can bring Declan back!
“Yes. They have both served this Court well.” Kieran presses a kiss on my neck, one hand squeezing my ass like a warning that talking time’s nearly over. “Jordan saved me. Lucas saved you.”
And who’s going to save me from being devoured by him in this bed again and again?
I lick my lips as I feel him harden against me.
Eternity sounds terrifying, but there’s no one I’d rather spend forever with but him.