46. Chapter 46
46
Chapter 46
Bronwen
August’s scream pierced through the woods as his father crumbled into nothing, leaving only ashes between us.
“B! What are you doing?”
I glanced at my brother who frantically waited for me to end it all. To kill August. I wanted to— I think . My mind screamed at me to move, to finish it, but my body betrayed me, frozen in place. I could feel the weight of my brother’s expectation, the heat of August’s presence, but still, I couldn’t force myself to act. And protecting him when my brother tried to kill him? I didn’t mean to do that.
I never thought to protect him. Never told the magic to shield him. But somewhere deep inside, in a place I couldn’t control or even understand, I didn’t want to see him hurt. My mind fought against it, rationalizing all the reasons he didn’t deserve my protection. Yet, the magic hadn’t listened to reason.
An arm wrapped around me, and the world tilted. A flash of light, and then darkness. When my feet hit solid ground again, the air was colder, sharper. I blinked, trying to adjust, and saw the trees around us—taller, denser, their gnarled branches entwining above like skeletal hands, casting oppressive shadows that danced with every gust of wind. The moonlight barely pierced through the canopy, and the silence here felt different—heavier, as though the forest itself was holding its breath. The snow underfoot muffled every sound, but the cold bit into my skin, a constant reminder of how isolated we were. Each shadow seemed to move, closing in, amplifying the tension that crackled between us.
August paced frantically in front of me, a slur of mumbles coming from his mouth that I barely understood. He glanced at the moon as he whispered, “It’s only a matter of time now.” He ran his hand through his hair. “You don’t understand what you just did, Winnie.”
“I know exactly what I did,” I paused as I watched him whisper more things I couldn’t understand. “Your grace.”
He turned to me, and a broken, hollow laugh escaped his lips—short, sharp, and devoid of humor. Before I could react, he was in my face, his hand closing around my throat. His grip was firm but trembling, tightening briefly before loosening again, his fingers twitching like he couldn’t decide whether to crush or release me. His thumb pressed just enough to make me gasp, but then his hand flexed, his pulse hammering beneath his skin, a war raging in him that he was barely keeping at bay. His eyes, dark and bloodshot, burned with a mix of desperation and fury, but there was something worse lurking beneath—the kind of unhinged devastation that came when a man lost everything and had nothing left to fear.
In an instant, he slammed me against a tree, pressing his full weight against mine as he hovered above me. There was a weight in his gaze, a deep well of betrayal that threatened to pull me under. His breathing was ragged, erratic, his chest rising too fast, too sharp, as if his body couldn’t keep up with his unraveling mind. His chest heaved with the effort, and I could feel the tremor in his arm as his emotions teetered on the edge of control.
“I don’t want to be king.” His words were sharp. Just as he stared at me like he was ready to kill me. “You have no idea the series of events that you have just started.”
I stared into his eyes, feeling the weight of everything that had passed between us—the lies, the anger, the shattered trust. My voice barely a whisper, I said, “Kill me.”
The words hung in the cold air, fragile yet heavy, as though they could shatter at any moment. I didn’t flinch, didn’t look away. I fully expected him to end it right there, to let his rage and grief take over. After everything I had done, after the revenge I had claimed, maybe I deserved it.
But he didn’t move. His hand loosened, his fingers ghosting over my skin as if trying to remember the feel of it before he let go completely. His lips parted, and for a moment, it seemed like he might say something else, something real, but then the darkness in his gaze solidified. “Oh no. You’re not getting out of this so easily.”
I looked up at him, confused. He glared at me a moment until his signature smirk formed on his lips. But this time, the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“You made me king.” He leaned in closer, his lips inches from mine as he whispered, “I’ll make you my queen. ”