Page 3

Annalise

C yrus’s gaze feels like the weight of a thousand sandbags as he takes me in. The swirl of deep blue in his gaze is a mixture of pleasure and irritation at my expense. My eyes shift to my son in his arms, but the second I take a step forward, Cyrus has his blade drawn, the tip easily breaking the surface of my skin, sending blood trickling down my collarbone. His amusement is all but gone as his eyes hold malice for me.

It reminds me of the first time we ever met. When he was threatening me at the edge of my village, and now he threatens me again. His predatory actions are so lithe that our son doesn’t stir in his arms.

“You’ve been very busy since abandoning me in the midst of battle, I see,” he growls.

His gaze roams over me, lingering on the trinket my father left me.

“You’ve created a life, a business, and have resorted to raising my son all on your own… among peasants. Humans, no less.” He says the words as if he’s disgusted by my choices.

“Was it worth it? Did you enjoy your time away? Your false freedom? Your betrayal? You must have known I would come for you, Annalise,” he growls.

“Cyrus, please don’t do this,” I say as I reach for my son.

Cyrus steps back, his gaze narrowing at my boldness. I feel the pressure of his blade biting deeper into my flesh as he glares at me, clearly fighting with the decision to end my life or not.

“Don’t do what? Return to my kingdom with my heir? You’ve committed treason by taking him across the sea to this wasteland.” Cyrus angles his gaze at me, a wicked smile playing on his lips.

“I have every right to exact your punishment right here… right now,” he growls, stepping closer.

Cyrus angles the blade so that it’s parallel to my throat, and I flinch as the blade pierces my skin. My heart is pounding against my chest as my eyes swiftly roam around the room. I try to remember all the hidden weapons I own, but with Cyrus holding my son in his arms, I feel helpless. I know that I could escape on my own. I’ve rigged the place so that I can make an easy escape, leaving my enemies in the rubble.

But I can’t abandon my child.

I thought I would never know happiness again after the death of my father and the loss of Dimitri. But the moment I chose to give birth instead of ridding myself of the burden, the moment he came into the world and into my arms, I felt hope again. He is my reason for existing.

Cyrus’s gaze swiftly shifts behind me.

“Leave us,” he says simply.

Cyrus’s eyes remain lined to mine as Dimitri moves next to Cyrus, his hands outstretched to take our son. My instincts kick in, and I use the small window that Cyrus is focused on something else to attack. The trinket is still active in my bloodstream, giving me enough speed and strength to knock Cyrus’s weapon away, raising my own to cut Dimitri’s throat.

My blade is inches from his skin when suddenly I feel a hard grip around my neck. The room blurs dramatically before my back slams roughly into the wall, my head colliding with the brick. The force causes dirt to trickle from the ceiling between me and the beast who attacked me.

“Ahck!” My body’s reaction to the attack comes seconds late as pain and nausea finally make its way over my body. I vaguely register the clatter of my weapon across the room. Cyrus holds me firmly, his gaze narrowed. I didn’t even see him move. When attacking Dimitri, I could at least keep up. But Cyrus’s movement didn’t even register. I shift my attention to the door Dimitri approaches, my hands gripping Cyrus’s in a panic as I squeeze in a pathetic attempt to release his grip or at least break something, but it once again has no effect.

Cyrus scoffs in irritation before I feel the rough pull of the trinket being ripped from my throat. I barely have a moment to cry out in pain as his fingers roughly thread through my hair, and his fist collides with my stomach. I know instantly that he’s holding back; otherwise, my ribs and spine would have shattered under the brute strength. But it doesn’t stop my lunch from coming back up.

Cyrus’s steps slowly circle while I clutch my stomach in pain, my struggle to suck in air audible as the room blurs. I watch helplessly as Dimitri leaves with my child in his arms, my hands grasping at the air.

“You can’t take him…,” I moan.

Cyrus uses his foot to roll me over on my back, as I am still unable to move from the force of his attack. He looks down at me, no mercy in his gaze. He just watches me struggle for air, grasping my chest as it refuses to come, with tears streaming down my temples to soak my hair.

“I can do whatever I want. I am your king,” he says. His words send a shiver up my spine, and I find myself grasping at straws.

“How can he be your heir? He’s only a halfbreed Cyrus-Ah!” I cry out as Cyrus is next to me in an instant, his grip around my jaw deadly as he holds my face to his.

“You will not use my name. And you will never refer to my son as that .“ Cyrus’s eyes are deadly as he looks at me. His pupil is sharp, making him look less human than I’ve ever seen as he glares at me. His grip tightens when I don’t respond, and I whimper in response. But he finally releases me, stepping back. He is beyond livid. In the last days I spent with him, I remember him telling me specifically to use his name. But now, all of that has been tainted. Now, he’s as he once was. If not worse.

Cyrus releases a bitter chuckle, turning to face me. “You should have at least stuck around to confirm my death before you decided to embrace this… fool’s errand. You should have learned the truth regarding beasts before you put all your hopes on an out-of-date weapon created from my father’s blood to kill me.”

He shakes his head in disbelief, looking around the room.

“I underestimated you. You are more than clever, Annalise. You are intelligent. You wait for your moment. You don’t act rashly. And wow…you chose your moment perfectly. You genuinely believed that I would die when I went up that mountain. And you did nothing to prevent that from happening,” he says.

I finally catch my breath, my nails digging into the wood as I find the strength to look up at him.

“If you’re going to kill me, just do it already,” I snap.

Cyrus smiles at my words. Instead of killing me, however, he laughs and kneels to look me in the eyes.

“Look at you—so much bravado from a woman who tried to raise a beast while clearly knowing nothing. I would never deprive my son of his mother’s presence. I know how my childhood was without one, and I wouldn’t take that from him. I’m not as selfish as you are to deprive my child of his parent.” Cyrus stands, turning away from me, his gaze roaming over my home. He steps towards the cupboard, pulling it open to reveal another hidden weapon. “You’ve put in so much effort to protect him, however. I can see you care for him.”

Cyrus looks down at me, and I am no longer able to read his emotions as he studies me.

My tears spill over.

“Then please… don’t take him from me,” I whisper.

“My mercy only goes so far. If you value his childhood and his being able to grow up with you in his life, I suggest you put any attempt to flee behind you. Your life was forfeit the moment you decided to bring him into this world. You no longer have a say in your future. Only I do.” Cyrus makes his way towards the door, pausing as a soft chuckle escapes him before looking back at me. “And I promise you won’t like that future.”

Cyrus pushes open the door, his words ringing out in the night air as guards infiltrate my home, making their way toward me.

“Take her.”