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I opened my mouth… “I have no desire to argue my case.” Fromeverything I’d read, everything I’d witnessed, berserkers responded most to respect. “I won’t dishonor my king by lying or harming a member of his clan. I can only proclaim my trust in the sentinel who knows me best and place my life in his hands.” I knelt and bowed my head. “Do to me what you believe is right, King Callen.”
He flinched, stumbling back a step, and Sorcha gaped at me.
“Yes, Callen,” she rushed out as soon as she recovered. “Renderjudgment against her or let the others do it for you.”
I lifted my head and met his stare, my heart drumming. The moment of truth. Would he judge by head or heart?
He returned to his spot, wonder and fury in his gaze. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I love you.” Truly loved him. And if these were my last minutes on this earth, I wanted them filled with honesty and respect.
“How dare you?” Sorcha hissed. “He ismyhusband.”
He worked his jaw.
“Did anyone bring popcorn?” Malachi asked. “This is better than my soaps.”
Snickers abounded among the kings. The lone berserkatrix yawned.
“You heard Queen Isobel. She offered the decision to me, and I’m ready to render it,” Callen called to one and all.
Sorcha smirked. I winked at her, if only to throw her off. Which I did. The smirk fell into a scowl.
Callen slid his gaze to the other woman and announced, “Isobel, you betrayed your king with his brother, a crime more grievous than the falsity you’ve accused Elizabeth Darcy of committing. As the photos you referenced prove, she was once our enemy. Betrayal from her was a given. But not from you, my once trusted companion. Therefore, my marriage to you is null and void. You will be imprisoneduntil I decide the best place for you. A mercy I suggest you accept.”
Shock blasted from Sorcha. And me!
He captured my gaze. A second later, his entire body jerked, as if he’d been rammed with a weapon. His head fell back, his arms spread, and his feet lifted several inches off the ground. Azure light exploded from him, zooming across the land, knocking down everyone in its path. Even I toppled, hit by a force of wind I couldn’t resist.
What wasthat?
Only Callen remained upright, his big, big body seemingly in the grips of a berserkerage.
The kings and queen jumped to their feet while I climbed to mine.
Sorcha scrambled away, distancing herself from Callen, before standing. “Whatever just happened, I—I’m your firebrand. Don’t forget that.”
As he floated to the ground, he squared his shoulders. Up went his chin. The same azure light crackled in his irises, making him impossibly beautiful. Pure power radiated from him, now embraced by peace. I pressed my hands against my fluttering belly.
“My firebrand you are not.” He even sounded different. Fiercer. So strong and intractable it inspired fear in everyone around him. They muttered their surprise.
Sorcha was right. Something had happened to him. But I wasn’t afraid. Not the slightest.
“A mark doesn’t fade on a fate, yet you no longer bear mine.” He met the gaze of each royal, maintaining contact and daring someone to naysay him. “A judgment has been issued. Your presence is required no more. Go.”
“Callen,” Sorcha cried. “You canna do this to me. I’m yours!”
“What will you do with the brunette who somehow does bear your mark?” Malachi asked, ignoring the ex.
Callen canted his head to the side. “Elle pledged her services to me, and I accepted. Nothing more concerns you.”
“You are correct.” The speaker smiled, though it was tight. He knew there’d been a switch, but he wasn’t pressing the issue. I didn’t have to wonder why. I wouldn’t want to go against this unrufflable Callen, either. “Until next time, gentleman.”
“So no one is dying today?” another king asked, glancing about.
“Bummer,” someone replied.
My mind whirled as the audience vanished in succession. Forget Callen’s one-man light show. He’d trusted me. Had chosen me. Elizabeth. With zero proof—well, other than my mark and our connection—he’d sided with the woman he’d seen holding a knife over his wife’s fallen body.
