AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I stepped forward and took one of her slender arms from her hip, pulling her to me. I had to crane my neck to look down at her, and her aquamarine eyes were teeming with emotion. “Yes, I did. No male willeverlay an unwanted hand on you and go unpunished for it. It is only because you have requested time to make your decision that he is alive at all right now.”
She raised a brow at me. “You seem fairly confident that I’ll choose you in the end.”
The smirk that rose to my face was a well-practiced one, aimed to hide the hurt that twisted my heart into a thousand knots. “You will.”
And maybe if I said it enough times, I’d actually believe it.
That deep-rooted fear of abandonment, of being utterly unloveable because of how fucked up I was, challenged my words, clawing them back down my throat and replacing them with the ones I actually wanted to say.
Please don’t leave me.
I swallowed them down. After almost succumbing to the fear prior to the arrival of our guests, I’d vowed to allow Izidora time to make her choice, and I wouldneverbreak a vow to her. Never.
Unlike Kazimir, who, if I had to guess, was rolling toward Steel with Anton and Slavian at this very moment. The two young Félvér High Lords were guaranteed to indulge in their desires, dragging the Night Fae into the haze of lust that covered every inch of the place. Sex ruled the Iron Realm just as much asthe gems we mined in the mountains and the metal we crafted into unbreakable armor and weapons.
In Északi, power ruled above all, and the Iron Realm, long thought to be the weakest realm, had been harboring secrets for more than a century. The power we’d amassed would soon be flashed before the other monarchs, and I’d show them why they should leave the blood-purity mindset behind. Before Béke was over, they’d be begging to unite with us.
So, let Kazimir fuck some Félvér females at the club and forget about the fiery female still standing before me, eyes glittering as she tipped her head up, sending her soft, chestnut hair spilling down her back.
“Does it still hurt?” she asked, referring to my already-healed wound.
“Sprite, this is not even close to my worst injury. I will be fine.” Her long lashes fluttered as I stroked her cheek, then tucked her hair behind her pointed ear. She chewed her lip for a moment before nodding and stepping away. Before she got far, I grasped her wrist and tugged her to me, wrapping my arms around her waist as I inhaled her rosy scent. “Thank you for healing me. Be sure to keep your magic well full, just in case you need it.”
She huffed a laugh. “I will.”
Izidora may grow tired of my constant reminders to take care of herself, but I didn’t give a fuck. She waseverythingto me, and I would die if something happened to her. That was why I’d pushed her so hard during our time together, and I’d watched her inner flame grow from a burning log into a wildfire. She was a true force of nature who knew just how powerful she could be. I savored the feeling of her small body pressed against mine like one might savor a decadent dessert, my shoulders dropping a little as she stroked a soothing pattern against my chest.
Drazen cleared his throat as Zuriel, the only Angel remaining in the Iron Realm, glided into the room. His icy eyes ghosted over the three of us before settling on me. We’d formed a tenuous relationship as he’d spent countless hours training with Izidora, teaching her how to use her empath magic and pull from her ever-deepening well.
“Glad to see you’re okay, Ruslan.” His deep, melodic voice floated through the small space, and Izidora pulled out of my embrace, turning to face her cousin.
“It means a lot that you came to check on me, Zuriel,” I replied, actually meaning my words.
The Angel only shrugged, his expression betraying nothing, per usual. “The guests are restless, wondering what will happen next after the exodus of their host and the representatives of an entire realm.”
“They can wait,” I declared, attention bouncing between Drazen and Zuriel as an idea began to form in my head. “Actually, I need to speak with both of you. I believe we have an opening to carry out my plan for the Félvér.”
Drazen’s dark brows rose over his deep blue eyes. The male was intimately familiar with my longtime wish for the Félvér to be free to roam the continent. After all, he was one of the only people I trusted, and he headed my personal guard – the whole Iron Realm army, too, now that I was king. But Zuriel’s face remained as cool as ever, not even a twitch of his eyes or mouth to betray his thoughts. The Angel always knew more than he let on, and I wondered if he had already guessed my plans or knew of them some other way.
“The Night, Crystal, and Day Realms arrived as a united front. But with Kazimir’s behavior tonight, I wonder if that alliance might have cracked, even a little.” My gaze fell over Izidora, who had spun to face me when I spoke the name of her other potential mate. “I know you share my feelings aboutwanting our people to be free, so I hope if you do… choose him, you will still help me carve out freedom for the Félvér.”
She nodded, waiting for me to get to my point.
“If we can continue to break their alliance, then we might have a chance of opening the minds, and doors, of the other realms to uniting for the good of our continent and all those who inhabit it. Zuriel, coordinate with the other Telivér to be more visible throughout Béke. I don’t want you to hide as you have in the past. If we’re going to push for this new way of life, we need to lead by example.”
Zuriel’s facade cracked for a moment as a softness bled into his eyes. “It would be my honor.”
“And Drazen,” I continued, “let’s show off the Félvér superiority as much as possible in the competitions. I want to impress the fuck out of the other monarchs and show them why the ‘pure blood is the only way to maintain power’ mindset is bullshit.”
A wicked grin crossed his face, and he straightened the pile of black hair atop his head. “Oh, I can guarantee that. I’ll get our strongest, fastest, and best fighters to compete for the Iron Realm.”
My heart soared on the wings of this new plan, and a feeling of rightness settled over me. It was time to shed the skin of the sadistic prince and become the wise, ruthless king that I needed to be. For I could be both, exacting the pain and pleasure from those who served me at just the right moments to ensure compliance and cooperation. It would be a mistake for anyone to see this softening as anything other than preparation for an unyielding, relentless pursuit of what I wanted.
There could be no dark without light; there could be no pain without pleasure. The highs and lows of life were there to make me feel fucking alive. Those dark parts of me would never leave,but allowing fragments of light to pierce the dark would guide me down the path of victory.
“But what happens if we fail to convince them?” Izidora asked. As a Félvér, Izidora had just as much reason to want acceptance for those with mixed blood as Drazen or myself.
“Then there will be war, and a bloody one at that. It will be the Fae against the Félvér, mirroring the war between the Angels and the Demons millennia ago. I’d like to avoid the near-genocide that happened during that war at all costs.” I was more than serious, too. Félvér blood was precious, and losing our brethren would eat away at the tendrils of light lifting the darkness from my heart. A flash of my siblings’ faces crossed my mind, but I shoved them away, unwilling to allow my father’s fucked up games to derail me.
