Crown of Feathers (Book 2 of the Crown Trilogy)

Eight

He did it for the thing I wanted most?

My cheeks burn and my legs shake as I push away from the counter and stalk toward Kyron. I stop short of the bed and glare down at him. Through my gritted teeth, I say, "Don't you dare tell me you did it for my father."

"I did it for you, so you could take him home."

"Fuck you, Kyron! We could have found another way, but you left me in the dark. In fact, you conveniently left me in the dark about a lot of things."

He winces as he stands and towers over me, his black and amber eyes blazing. His jaw ticks as he runs his tongue over his teeth. "If I thought for a second we could walk in here and rescue him, we would have done it."

I pull my shoulders back and lift my chin. "We knew it was going to be hard. I wasn't delusional about that, but you started plotting with your mother a month before we attacked. You let her know my soldiers were coming."

"Your soldiers? I believe I was their general."

I scoff and shake my head. "You stopped being their general the minute you purposefully put their lives at risk."

"I took the necessary steps to protect them. I put a clear contingency plan into play to minimize the loss."

"And that was the only thing which went to plan that day! We were lucky the casualties weren't greater."

"Because I outfitted them with armor to protect them!"

My body trembles and I clench my fists at my side. The anger brewing in me heats my face and I scream, "And what about me? How the fuck were you going to protect me? You left me to go down into the cells by myself."

"My warriors were on orders not to hurt you, Raelle."

"Your warriors? Your fucking warriors! You were Lucent's general or Stigian's prince; you can't be both." I turn around and move to grip my hair, only to find my crown in the way. I rip it off and toss it onto the tabletop. It slides across the surface and stops before it can tip to the ground. I swallow down the lump in my throat and say, "They were told not to harm me because I'm your parah. You knew what we are, and you said nothing to me. When did you figure it out, Kyron?"

His throat bobs and his voice drops to barely a whisper. "I had my first suspension they night I took you to stream to watch the aurora. And I knew for sure after you almost drained me."

A breathy, humorless laugh escapes me. "That's a long time to keep something so important to yourself. You didn't feel compelled to share what you discovered with me? I mean, it pertained to me as well."

"I'd asked you that day in the infirmary why you thought you were drawn to my gift more than anyone else. You had a reasonable explanation about me being an elemental, so I decided to ease you into it. When I realized you wouldn't break your bond with Leif no matter what, I thought it was best to keep it a secret. I know the pain of not fully having your Parah, and I didn't want you to suffer that too."

I leave the room in silence for a moment while I let his confession sink in. His actions were not right, but they were reasonable. If he felt a fraction of the pain I've felt these past months, his choice was selfless. Merciful even. And perhaps I could forgive him if it weren't for the decisions he made afterward.

"So if you had to live with the pain of being separated, why not do it with a crown on your head?Oh, and you didn't have to bear you big secret alone anymore; you could tell your mother," I say, sarcasm drenching every word.

Kyron shoves one hand in his pocket and cradles the injured one to his chest. With an unnerving calm, he says, "It is in her best interest to keep my parah safe. I used it to your advantage."