Everything clicked together at once.

The final trial. Angelika coming after me—only me. The way Raihn had looked past me, up to the stands.

That little nod.

“You fucking idiot,” I choked out.

Raihn stepped closer, and I let him.

“I was ready to let it all go for you,” he murmured. “Do you know that, Oraya? I was ready to let my kingdom fall for you. You should have let me stay dead.”

Because if he was gone, there was no one to honor the Bloodborn’s deal.

He made a dead man’s bargain to save me knowing that he would not deliver on it. I hadn’t imagined it. He had pulled my wrist. He had helped usher my knife into his heart.

Until I had brought him back.

He took another step. And again, I let him.

“That is,” I rasped, “the stupidest plan I have ever heard.”

And again, a humorless smile flitted over his lips. “Maybe,” he admitted. “Desperate men do desperate things. And I—I believed in you, Oraya. I believed if you won, you would seize power in your own way. I believed that you would use it to accomplish all the same things I wanted to do, and probably do it better, anyway. And you wouldn’t even need to sell your own gods-damned kingdom to animals to do it.” The smile twisted, becoming something of a grimace. “So was it really a stupid plan?”

Yes. He put far too much faith in me. Just some nobody human.

Human.

The word set my world off-kilter. Of their own accord, my fingers moved to my throat.

Raihn’s eyes followed them. “Did you know?”

I knew him well by this point. It was almost comforting that I could hear the hint of betrayal in the question. Betrayal! That was rich. Like I had deceived him.

“It must be a mistake. I don’t know how… I just…” I shook my head. “I’m just… human.”

As the words left my lips, I heard the echo of how I had hurled them at Vincent. I am human!

It was never going to be you, he had told me, so many times. You are not like them.

I thought of that refrain with fresh meaning, now.

“You smell me. You’ve—” I choked on these words. “You’ve tasted me. You would know, wouldn’t you? If I wasn’t?”

“I would.” The wrinkle deepened between Raihn’s brows. “But maybe… maybe half human. You did taste… different. I just thought it was because… well…”

In any other circumstance, maybe I would have enjoyed seeing him fumble over his words like this.

He settled on, “Because of how I feel about you.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

I felt dizzy. I had not intended to sit, but I found myself leaning against the windowsill.

Half human.

That would make me Vincent’s biological daughter.

No. There was no way. It just… it didn’t make any sense.

“I can’t be,” I forced out. “He found me. He… he just found me.”

Raihn asked, quietly, “Why was he there, that night?”

“Because it was a rebellion, and he—”

“But why did he come to that house?”

My head hurt. My heart hurt. “I don’t know. It was just… just…”

Luck.

Fate.

I hadn’t realized how much I had leaned on that. That fate had brought me to Vincent’s embrace. It was my blessing, because the will of Nyaxia had saved me that night. And my curse, because such a fragile thread separated me from so many more tragic futures.

I had not realized how heavy that word had weighed upon my past, and the way I looked at it, until suddenly it was gone. Suddenly fate was replaced with secrets and whispers and questions I would likely never get answers to. Because Vincent, my father—my father in spirit, and in blood—was dead.

“What was it that he said to you?” Raihn asked. “As he…”

Died.

It was the kind of question one asked when they already knew the answer. Already knew what it meant.

I was going to tell you, Vincent had said.

Ask yourself why he’s afraid of you, Raihn had spat at me, before the final trial.

In a world of immortals, there was nothing more dangerous than an heir.

I felt sick.

I didn’t understand. I didn’t understand any of it. If I was Vincent’s daughter, and he knew who I was, why would he keep me at all?

Why wouldn’t he kill me?

Raihn stepped closer again, whispering, “Breathe, Oraya.” And only then did I realize that I was shaking so violently I nearly fell off the windowsill.

“We will find the answers,” he said. “We’ll do the wedding, and—”

Wedding. Oh, Mother.

“I’m not marrying you,” I spat.

“Yes, you are.”

“Fuck you. I am not.”

A muscle feathered in his cheek.

“It’s the only way I can keep you alive. If you’re not my wife, you’re my enemy. And I can’t justify letting you go.”

“What a fucking hypocrite you are,” I snarled. “You, who was so fucking appalled by Vincent’s bonding.”

Raihn flinched. He knew I was right.

I turned my head enough to look out the window. I knew this view so well. I tracked the evolution of an ancient city from this window every single night, every morning.

Now, it was a kingdom wailing through its death throes. The night sky was bright with red and white—Nightfire. Little streaks of light trailed through the distant streets. Bloodborn soldiers, invading my home. I knew that if I pressed my ear to the glass, I would be able to hear the screams of those below.

“Good thing you freed us from that tyrant,” I spat. “Everything looks so much more peaceful now, doesn’t it?”

Raihn closed the gap between us in two strides. His hand pressed to the glass as he bowed over me, one palm cupping the side of my face in a touch that couldn’t decide if it was a comfort or a threat.

“Think about this. Power is a bloody business. You know that as well as I do. We have teeth, you and I. Now is the time to use them. We’ll rip apart the worlds that subjugated both of us, and from the ashes we’ll build something new. And there is no one I would rather have beside me to do that with than you, Oraya. No one.” His voice lowered to a plea. His gaze dipped—to my mouth—before flicking back to my eyes. “And when I leave this room, and come back with a priestess, you will marry me. You will do it because I can’t kill you. I tried. I can’t. A world without you would be a dark, depressing place. And I’ve already inflicted enough pain without committing that fucking injustice, too. So let me save you.”

Now it was my turn to know he was right—to know that he meant every word of what he said—and hate it.

Anger made things easy.

Love made things complicated.

“Is this you begging me to save myself? And what if I refuse, just like she did?”

In that moment, I thought maybe I would. Maybe I’d die, just like Nessanyn, solely because he wanted me to live. Sheer spite.

“You won’t.” His nose was inches from mine. The words warmed my mouth. Low and smooth.

“How do you know that?”

“Because you’re smarter than her. You have more than a dream. You have vision.”

The admiration in his voice hurt, because I knew it was real.

My eyes flicked up to meet his. I took in all those stunning threads of color. All those pieces of him that did not fit together.

I thought for one long moment that he might kiss me. Even worse, I thought I might kiss him back.

Instead, his lips ghosted over my forehead. Barely a touch.

Then he straightened. “I’m getting the priestess. Every second we put this off, you’re in danger.”

“Wait—”

Before I could protest, he was gone.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

The wedding ceremony was performed in my chamber. The priestess was one of the Ministaer's—one of those idiots who spent half their lives staring at a stone wall in the church. Her gaze was lowered as she whispered scriptures in ancient tongues.