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“You let me fall for your best friend based on a lie,” I went on, banishing the fantasy in my head. “I would have done anything for you—pretended to love Wren, even—if I’d known who you were. But instead, youbulliedme, made me feelworthless,and pushed me further and further into his waiting arms like I’m nothing more than a sheep being herded into a corral. And then youslut-shamedme for it! I don’t know much about your mating bond, but I do know that if I was truly your mate and I was truly the intended High Queen, then I deserved better.”

“You do deserve better,” he told me, his eyes going to some faraway place as they studied my face intently. Like he was imagining the same fantasy of our storyline following the truth instead. “I realise that you don’t want to know me, bookworm, and I realise that it’s because I am destined to disappoint you by order of the Oracle.”

I felt my magic flickering in delight at his acknowledgement of fate, even as the pit in my stomach flipped and shrieked.

“And youarethe intended High Queen of Faerie. It doesn’t make a difference whether you like me or not.”

I took a deep breath. “Yes, it does.”

Chapter forty-eight

Where Your Loyalty Lies

Later, I found thereal Wren pacing up and down the candlelit hallway outside my room.

He froze when he heard my footsteps, the colour of his cheeks deepening, and as soon as he opened his mouth, I knew that I was about to hear another useless apology.

“Don’t bother,” I called, striding towards him. “He already told me that it wasn’t your idea, and it doesn’t make a difference.”

“Aura, please.” The impersonator ran a hand through his dark hair. “I am bound to serve him. I couldn’t tell you, no matter how much I wanted to.”

I came to a stop in front of him and crossed my arms. “And the—theother stuff? He made you do that, too?”

Real Wren blushed. “No. By the Elements, Aura, I tried to stay away from you. I wanted to wait until you could know who I really was, but it was impossible.Youare impossible. I amcompletely and utterly under your spell. I never lied to you, I swear it.”

My eyes narrowed. “You never told me the truth, either.”

The High King’s true Hand cursed at the ceiling. “So much of it was true. Everything I said upstairs, in the bedroom, was real. In the dining hall—”

“Please.” I exhaled sharply. “Don’t.”

Shaking his head, Lucais—no,Wren—reached a hand out towards me but thought better of it and let it fall to his side. “We had to try to keep you in the dark. If you knew and chose to stay in Belgrave, it was only a matter of time before we would have had your head delivered to us in a box.”

Dread snaked down my spine, and I swallowed back a dose of watered-down bile. Saving my life was one thing, but forcing me into a lie was another.

“Why was it so easy for me to believe it?”

Real Wren’s throat worked. His expression was tortured. “Because it’s not the bond, baby,” he whispered. “It’s us. It’s real. You decided to love me all on your own.”

I shook my head. “Did I?”

I couldn’t explain why I fell head-over-heels for Fake Lucais that day in the dining hall, purring in his lap like a cat on catnip after Real Lucais had riled me up in his bedroom. I’d blamed it on the mating bond when the whole time I was falling for a scheme. It wasn’t my fault. It wasn’t real.

Knowing that didn’t make me feel any less sick, though.

“You didn’t think to stop it, to make him tell me the truth, or find a way to tell me without saying it out loud, even once?”

Wren’s face fell. “I tried. The first time we kissed, he nearly killed me. Morgoya broke it up and calmed him down, and I told him how I felt about you. We were going to call it off, but…”

“But what?”

He sighed again and threw his hands up. “But fuckingpolitics. Your magic is unhinged, and we couldn’t risk it when we needed to investigate Gregor’s Court and meet with Enyd and her Court.”

I scoffed. “Gee, thanks. That’s nice to know.” I stalked towards the windows; it was the same row of glass overlooking the backyard that I had stood beside the day I met him. “How long were you planning to avoid it?” I asked. “Your mouth, then your hand—”

“Aura, be careful asking these questions,” he warned. “You might not want to know the answer.”

Incensed, I whirled on him. “Justtellme!”