“So I picked someone,” Justin said, oblivious to my anger. “I picked Ryan. I made a godsdamn choice and even if I didn’t love him, even if I didn’t have feelings for him, I picked someone. I made my own choice. I wasn’t forced by my father. And it was fine.”
And, of course, that’s when Ryan showed up, clambering through the hatch.
Justin, hearing his fiancé, smiled darkly at me and said, “I’ve fucked him, you know. Had him on his hands and knees and I fucked him. He begged for my cock and I gave it to him with all I could. There were bruises left by my fingers on his hips.” The stone beneath his feet split and he took another step forward.
“Justin,” Ryan barked. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Teaching a lesson,” Justin said, eyes never leaving mine. I kept my face a blank mask, not allowing him to see anything, be it hurt or jealousy. It was weakness and I wasn’t going to allow him to see it. “He needs to learn his place.”
“This isn’t you,” Ryan said, coming to stand beside him. He put his hand on Justin’s shoulder. “You don’t want to do this.”
“He’ll never be yours,” Justin said, ignoring Ryan. “We made a deal. An oath. Did you know that, Sam? A knight’s word is his honor. He wanted to make a name for himself. Wanted to rise up through the ranks. He agreed to be the King Consort to secure his place among the knights. It may not have been born of love, but it was still my choice. And his. Regardless of how we started, I care about him. And I know he cares about me.”
“You know I do,” Ryan said quietly, looking at Justin. “And I keep my oaths.” He looked over at me with something akin to sadness.
And didn’t that just sting. Even though I knew it, even though I knew there were feelings of a sort between them, hearing them spoken aloud hurt more than I thought it could. And I knew Ryan was a man of his word. Regardless of what he felt for me, however far it reached, he would keep his word to the Prince. Because he had to. He’d made an oath, and it was the strongest promise a knight could make.
I tried to pull the magic down then. Tried to contain it so nothing more would happen. I needed to leave. I needed to leave this all behind, separate myself from the others. Find an empty space far from anyone and then release it all at once. I didn’t know what would happen, didn’t know how powerful that release would be, but even I knew it’d been building for weeks. I’d just chosen to ignore it.
The stones began to shift underneath our feet.
I gritted my teeth together.
Gary shouted something I couldn’t make out.
The hatch. I had to get to the hatch.
I couldn’t allow them to get hurt. Not any of them. Not even Justin.
I took a step and the stones cracked again.
And then Ryan said, “Sam,” his hands coming up to my face, and everything just stopped.
The rumbling.
The shifting.
The flashes of green and gold.
The ache along my skin.
The buildup that thrummed within me, begging to be released.
It all just stopped.
I opened my eyes.
And there was Ryan, always Ryan. He cupped my face and his thumbs traced my cheeks. His eyes were so bright and he said, “Hey, Sam, you’re with me, okay?” I just nodded, unable to look away, even though I knew I wasn’t with him, not really. But it didn’t matter because I felt soothed, his touch a balm, and I knew then I’d never find anyone like him again. There might be others out there who could anchor my magic, but they’d never be like him. He’d never have to know, but I would. I would know him forever.
And so, of course, that’s when I understood I’d underestimated Justin yet again.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he said.
“Justin, why don’t we—” Gary started, but was cut off almost immediately.
“Does he know?” Justin demanded. “Did you tell him?”
And he knew.