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Chapter Three

My fingernails dig into my palms, leaving crescent-shaped marks. Rion is down there with August, and it’s making me feel sick. With Rion’s electric magic, I can only imagine what he’s doing to August. Leaning back against the brick wall with my head against the cold, hard surface, I close my eyes and take deep breaths.

He killed your dad, so you shouldn’t feel bad. He’s not on your side. He locked you up in his room like a prisoner , I tell myself, but allowing anyone to hurt my mate goes against every one of my instincts.

I cover my ears with my hands, even though I can’t hear any sounds. Rion is probably using a sound barrier. I don’t know what to think anymore. With my father gone, I’m no longer grounded, and I can’t remember why I’m even fighting August in the first place. For a moment, I imagine giving in and getting to know him. I wonder what that would be like?

I doubt all his friends will ever accept me, and giving him a chance would mean turning my back on everything I’ve ever known. But I’ve lost sight of what we’ve been fighting for in the first place, and it’s made me realize something—I was loyal to my father, not to this cause.

What even is the point of fighting the royals?

I don’t want the crown. I could have become queen through marriage. I don’t want to lead. I’m sick and tired of all the scheming and unnecessary death. I’m tired of what’s happening downstairs in the dungeon.

What would my father say if I walked away? He’d probably be rolling in his grave if he knew where my head is at.

“You okay?” Halia asks, leaning against the wall next to me. With her bright red hair, big blue eyes, and shimmery skin, the Mermaid Princess is not someone you can easily forget. She’s stunning and has been my best friend for as long as I can remember.

“No,” I admit, swallowing thickly. I turn to face her, wrapping my arms around myself. “Could you ever be okay if your mate was being tortured?”

She winces, tucking a red lock back behind her ear. “No. I don’t think I could let it happen.”

Great, I’m a heartless monster.

“You aren’t heartless,” she murmurs, letting me know I said those words out loud. “You don’t have a normal situation, Milana. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Your father raised you to be loyal to him. To his army.”

“Did you know that Vera lied about Rave being an abusive father to Vale?” I blurt out, August’s words replaying in my head.

Halia nibbles on her bottom lip. “I’ve only seen Rave with Vale once, and he seemed like a good father. Vera wasn’t a good person.”

Halia has slept with Rave before—I know that much. I know she was upset when he found his fated mate, Astrid. The same Astrid I was told August loves.

She must have beer-flavored nipples or something.

“I’m an idiot.”

“No, you just see the best in everyone,” she replies, gently nudging me with her shoulder.

Apparently, everyone except my own fucking mate.

“Have I fucked up?” I whisper, licking my suddenly dry lips.

“I’m a romantic, you know this,” she replies, pushing off the wall and coming to stand in front of me. “You don’t need to fight your father’s battles anymore, Milana. You don’t owe his rebellion any loyalty. They will use you, spit you out, and go on like nothing has happened. You are replaceable. But to your mate…”

“I’m his only one.” I sigh, and she rests her head on my shoulder.

“You know I’m here for you no matter your decision.”

“Rion isn’t going to let me just walk out of here with August.”

“Rion won’t know about it until it’s too late,” she replies, shrugging. “Besides, who died and made him king?”

“My dad,” I blurt out, and she winces.

“Fuck, sorry.” But her lip twitches like she wants to laugh. Halia and her dry-fucking-humor.

“When do you have to go back?” I ask.

“Tomorrow,” she replies, glancing down at her legs. “I’m looking forward to being back in the ocean. Three days on land is three too many. Next time, we’ll meet back at the cabin.”

My lip twitches. I know she only comes here to see me, and I appreciate it more than she knows.

She looks down toward the staircase that leads to August. “So, what are you going to do about him?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “But I can’t pretend it doesn’t hurt me to know what’s happening down there. And I fucking brought him here. I have to live with that.”

“He kept you captive too,” she reminds me.

“Yeah, in a nice comfortable room, where I was fed delicious food. I once told him my head hurt when I was there, and he sent a fucking healer to help me. Our accommodations for him have been a little different.”

She shrugs. “You guys aren’t royals. Look at where we are… an old, abandoned castle with rats bigger than my head.”

I roll my eyes. Yeah, this place is shady, but it’s our hideout. I still have my father’s stunning two-story house to go home to.

“I messed up bringing him here. I thought I could turn off my feelings. I tried, trust me. But seeing him down there, sitting on the fucking ground…”

“Stop going down there, Milana. Get out of here for a while and clear your head,” she suggests.

It would be so easy to just turn my back on the situation and tell myself I’m not doing anything wrong. But the truth is that August isn’t even originally from the Incubus Kingdom. He’s a common fae who fell in with that crowd.

He’s not a royal.

But he did have something to do with my dad’s death.

However, I don’t think he killed him.

August is a warrior.

If what August says is correct, Rave would have been the one to make the kill, trying to protect his mate.

Would my dad want to kill Astrid because he couldn’t have her?

I might not have believed him—if I didn’t have a memory to prove it. One night, I walked in on Dad talking to Rion, and I still remember what he said…

“She has succubus blood, so she’s either with me or against me. I can’t have her just out there existing. She can’t have succubus babies that will rule the Fae Kingdom instead of ours.”

My father was all about trying to keep our bloodline as pure as possible. Without the incubi giving birth to daughters, it was almost impossible. I was born before the curse hit, and I’m still of mixed blood, not that that is common knowledge. No one knows the truth of who my mother was.

Would August care if he knew his mate has some human blood in her? If he knew my mother was half human, half fae?I know my father cared. The male who cared so much about the incubus bloodline had a daughter with some human blood.

It was a secret he took to the grave with him.

What would August think?

It might not matter, though.

Because after this, he may never look at me the same again.