Chapter 32 #2
“What do you think your king would say if I told him that you hesitated over this choice? Do you suppose he will not know what your hesitation means? That you have already betrayed him in your heart. Already considered allowing him to meet his doom without ever drawing a free breath.”
Xavi would have laughed again had his control not stood balanced on such a razor edge. If there was one thing in this life that he and Kel both trusted beyond all doubt, it was each other. They had descended into the depths of torment and despair and never faltered, so what was there to fear?
Let the fae tell whatever lies she chose—Kel would never doubt him. Would never doubt that both Xavi and Ryn had done only what they needed to do to survive. For Kel’s sake. And because… no. No matter what Xavi’s feelings for Ryn might be, they did not change his commitment to his king.
“I swore to protect both Kel and Ryn, and everything I have done has been to serve both of those ends,” he said. “I have betrayed no one, least of all my king.”
That was the truth, and he would never…
“But you have,” the fae purred triumphantly. “Unless you have somehow convinced yourself you bear no guilt for falling in love with a woman who was never meant for you.”
Love?
And this time, Xavi did laugh once more, but it was a sound of utter disbelief.
Her claim was preposterous. He loved no one. There was no room for love in a heart filled with bitterness and the scars of battle.
And yet. And yet…
He heard the echo of his own words, accusing him with their very desperation.
It has been a thousand years or more since I knew hope. And now, I do not know if I can keep walking through this dark world if you die.
It was a truth wrung from his deepest self in a moment when nothing else seemed to matter. He might lie to the fae, but he could not lie to himself. In that moment, he would have walked through fire to save Ryn’s life, without pausing to consider any other consequences.
Was that love? How could he even know? And more importantly, was it truly an act of treachery? If Kel knew his deepest thoughts, would he believe that Xavi had betrayed him?
I’m sorry, Kel. He spoke the words into the darkness of his own mind, not knowing whether they would be heard, but believing they needed to be said. For whatever you may believe I’ve done. Whatever lies this fae has told you. No matter what the future holds, you know I am loyal unto death.
He would sooner stab himself in the heart than wound Kel.
But it was Ryn whose words now returned to haunt him.
I think you might actually be my friend… And friends don’t betray each other.
She had protected him during the trials, at immeasurable cost to herself. He could no more choose to harm her than he could choose to live without water or air.
The doorways mocked him as surely as the fae witch’s laughter.
“One final word of caution.” Her voice seemed to echo from the impossibly high ceiling. “What I have not yet told you is that your little human now faces this same choice.”
What? Pure fury wrenched a snarl from his lips, and if the fae had stood before him, he would have eviscerated her without mercy or hesitation. How dare she continue to torment Ryn, who had played no part in this tale of tragedy and vengeance?
“Two doors. Two paths. Like you, she must choose whether to sacrifice her own desires or your king’s life. I wonder… Will she choose Keldreth—the bondmate she does not wish for—or the person who means the most to her?”
A tone of vicious satisfaction crept in, as though the fae could no longer hide her true nature. “And if you do not make the same choice?” Quiet laughter resonated through the chamber. “You both fail the test.”
Fail the test. What meaning could those words possibly have, in a place where no rules seemed to apply and their future depended solely on the whims of a mad fae enchantress?
“And what will this failure cost us?” Xavi managed to ask.
“While your pain is truly the sweetest source of power, should you fail, your deaths would grant me sufficient magic to fulfill the promise I made centuries ago… and deal with this curse for myself.”
The fae witch had just given him the answer. Perhaps she’d meant to complicate the decision, but in the end, she’d revealed the truth of her intentions, and thus removed all doubt.
“And what if we do not fail?” he asked sharply. “As there is a price for failure, there must also be a prize for victory.”
At least that was what Ryn believed. That magic was about balance. About cost and recompense. She had been right about everything else, so in this moment he would choose to trust her. To take this blind leap and believe that she was truly the only person who could have brought them this far.
“Have I not already told you?” the fae responded acerbically. “The prize is your freedom. You will no longer be bound by these trials or this curse.”
“So you’re saying in order to win our freedom, all we must do is make the same choice?”
“Yes,” the fae confirmed, and Xavi’s lips curled in a vicious smile.
He knew exactly what Ryn would do, because she had told him. With every word, every action, every decision she had made since the moment they met.
And whether this was a possibility the fae had planned for or not, he no longer cared. All that mattered was eventually finding her within reach of his blade.
“Very well,” he said coldly. “I have made my choice.”
“And?”
“I choose…”