Page 122 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

“You think you’re safe with him,” he said, his voice quieter now. Too quiet. “But Zander isn’t being honest with you.”

I stiffened. “What are you talking about?”

Remy turned back to Zander, jaw tight. “Tell her the truth, tell her this can’t last.”

Zander didn’t flinch. “That’s not your choice to make.”

“No,” Remy snapped. “But it’s hers. And she deserves the truth. About what your family will do when they find out what this is.” He motioned between us. “About the throne. About what you’re willing to sacrifice.”

Zander’s voice was a low growl. “Don’t talk about sacrifice as if you understand it.”

“I understand regret,” Remy fired back. “I regret leaving her. Every gods damned day. But at least I didn’t lie to her about who I was or what I was.”

“You lied to everyone,” Zander said, stepping forward. “You lived a double life, and when it cracked, you ran. Don’t come back now acting like you’re the noble one.”

“I’m not claiming to be,” Remy said, the fire draining from his voice, leaving something heavier, something broken. “But you? You’ll hurt her worse than I ever did.”

He looked at me then, and there was something hollow behind his eyes. Not just guilt. Resignation.

Then he turned and walked away, his footsteps fading into the corridor’s silence like a closing door I hadn’t realized was still open.

I looked at Zander.

But he said nothing.

And that silence… cut deeper than any blade.

Remy’s shadow disappeared around the corridor bend, his words echoing like a ghost that refused to fade.

You’ll hurt her worse than I ever did.

I turned to Zander, my heart thudding beneath the bruises I hadn’t had time to heal. His jaw was still clenched, eyes narrowed in the direction Remy had gone, but I didn’t give him time to speak.

“What was he talking about?”

Zander blinked, caught off guard. “What?”

“Remy,” I said. “What did he mean? That this can’t last?”

Zander exhaled slowly. “He thinks I have an obligation to the throne,” he said, brushing a hand through his dark hair. “He thinks that duty will always come before everything else. Including you.”

My stomach tightened, but I didn’t let it show.

“And?” I asked.

Zander stepped closer, his lavender eyes softening at the edges, the tension in his shoulders easing like he didn’t want to carry this between us. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, reaching up to touch my cheek. “I’ll work it out.”

Then he kissed me.

And for a moment, just a moment, Ilethim.

His lips were warm, coaxing, and there was desperation beneath it, the same fierce ache he’d poured into our first kiss. The kind that saidthis is mine, even if I can’t keep it.

I melted into it for a breath, two, before his words clawed back into my mind like jagged truth.

I’ll work it out.

I pulled back, my breath brushing against his lips as I stared up at him.