“Trust is the easiest thing to give when you think you’re safe. And the hardest thing to take back once you’re not.”
Ronan’s steps were slow, deliberate, the sound of his boots echoing against the stone.
I couldn’t stop staring at his eyes—black, depthless, swallowing every trace of the silver I knew.
The stranger smiled like he’d been waiting for this moment. “Finally.”
I tried to move, but the bindings jerked me back toward the throne. “What did you do to him?”
Ronan didn’t answer right away. He stopped in front of me, close enough that I could feel his heat. His gaze flicked over my face, unreadable.
“He’s not mine to corrupt,” the stranger said. “He’s mine by birth.”
The words hit me like a blow. My wolf snarled, the urge to deny it rising in my throat, but Ronan’s expression…
