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Chapter 1

“Lower your swords,” Queen Eloana colossy onyx in the sun as she sank onto one knee The raw e out of her seeped into the Te of anguish and a helpless sort of anger It stretched out towardinside me “And bow before the…before the last descendant of theof Gods within her Bow before your new Queen”

The blood of the King of Gods? Your new Queen? None of that made sense Not her words or when she had removed her crown

A too-thin breath scorchedbeside the Queen of Atlantia The croas still upon the King’s golden-haired head, but the bones had reilded one the Queen had placed at the feet of the statue of Nyktos My gaze skipped over the terrible, broken things scattered about the once pristine, white floors I’d done that to the the thin fissures in the marble I didn’t look at that or anyone else—every part offocused on him

He re up at me from between the vee of the swords he’d crossed over his chest His daainst the sandy-hued skin of his forehead Red streaked those high, angular cheekbones, the proud curve of his jaw, and ran down lips that had once shattered ether with the truth Bright, golden eyes locked with mine, and even bowed before me, so motionless I wasn’t sure he breathed, he still rely beautiful cave cats I’d once seen caged in Queen Ileana’s palace as a child

He had been er in a diuard who had sworn to lay down his life for mine A friend who had looked beyond the veil of the Maiden to truly see me underneath, who’d handed ilded cage A legend cloaked in darkness and nightdom believed to have been lost to tiinable horrors and yet ed to find the pieces of who he used to be A brother ould do anything, commit any deed to save his family His people A man who bared his soul and stripped open his heart to me—and only me

My first

My guard

My friend

My betrayer

My partner

My husband

My heartmate

My everything

Casteel Da’Neer bowed before me and stared up at dom I didn’t need to concentrate like before to knohat he was feeling Everything he felt ide-open totastes—cool and tart, heavy and spicy, and sweet like chocolate-dipped berries Those unyieldingly fir just the hint of sharp fangs

“My Queen,” he breathed, and those two smoky words soothedinsidefroive thes thrown about the floor One side of his lips curled up, and a deep diht cheek

Dizzy with relief at the sight of that infuriatingly stupid—and adorable—dimple, my entire body shuddered I feared that when he sahat I’d done, he’d be afraid And I couldn’t blame him for that What I’d done should terrify anyone, but not Casteel The heat that turned his eyes the color of war fro But he was the Dark One, whether he liked being called that or not

So adrenaline eased And when it left, I realized I hurt My shoulder and the side of my head throbbed The left side ofto do with the old scars there A dull ache pulsed in s and ar I swayed in the warm, salty breeze—

Casteel rose quickly, and I shouldn’t have been surprised by how fast he one fros happened at once