Red Ruse

Prologue

"Betrothed to a girl with eyes for another, for the brother, the prince no one could ever ignore." His words take on a feral edge, heavy with a wild anger. But there is a truth in them, a harsh truth I've tried so hard to forget. It makes my skin crawl. "You took everything that should've been mine, Cal. Everything."

Suddenly I'm standing, shaking violently, but still standing. He's lied to us for so long, but I cannot let him lie now. "I was never yours, and you were never mine, Maven," I snarl. "And not because of him, either. I thought you were perfect. I thought you were brave and strong and good. I thought you were better than him."

Better than Cal. Those are words Maven thought no one would ever say. He flinches, and for a second, I can see the boy I used to know. A boy that doesn't exist.

He reaches out a hand, grabbing at me between the bars. When his fingers close over the bare skin of my wrist, I feel nothing but repulsion. He holds me tight, like I'm some kind of lifeline. Something has snapped in him, revealing a desperate child, a pathetic, hopeless thing trying to hold on to his favorite toy.

"I can save you."

The sound I make barely resembles a laugh. "You can't."

"I am king." He grits his teeth. "You will live if I want you to. I will ensure it."

I scoff. "You're not omnipotent. People saw me run from the guards with Cal, saw you chase us through the halls and call us murderers. How will you explain that?"

"The truth is what I make it. I could set this world on fire and call it rain."

"The world burns all the same. You can't hide from the consequences of your actions, Maven. Face it. I'm going to die, and it's going to be your fault." My voice falls to a hush. "Live with it. Or don't. It matters little to me."

Silence, save for the drip of water echoing in the distance. His grip tightens. "What will it take?"

"Excuse me?"

"If death isn't enough . . . " He draws a breath. "What will it take for you to choose me?"

Choose me. I want to hurl the words in his face, tear a jagged wound in his soul and let it bleed onto the floor. How dare he turn this into another score in his rivalry.

But the words don't leave my mouth.

This is an opportunity. I have leverage over him, a chance to ask a favor when there are so many lives at stake. I take a breath, then stop.

Cal stares at me from the other end of the cell. I could save him. I could use this chance to soften his sentence, persuade Maven banishment would be the better option. It's the least I could do.

Choose me.

"Leave the newbloods alone." The words taste of ash, and I can feel Cal staring as I turn away. "Abandon the list. Let them live in anonymity and safety."

He frowns. "Mare--"

"You want my pride? Then save them." I stare him in the eye. "Prove there's something in you worth choosing."

A beat passes.

"Say it." Maven clenches his fist so hard he might draw blood. "Say you'd rather live with me than die with him. Say that kiss meant nothing to you. Say he'll disappear from our lives so we might have a second chance."

My hands shake. "Promise you won't go after them."

The air is thick, growing colder as he withdraws. "My word for yours, Mare."