The Fate of Crowns: The Complete Trilogy: A YA Epic Fantasy Boxset

by Rebecca L. Garcia

“I did.”

  My gaze flicked to the bed, then to him. “If we spend too long in my room, people will talk. Cedric will know, and if he finds out you were in here, he will be mad,” I explained. “We can go to my father’s office to discuss.”

  “It’s your office now, Winter.”

  “Right.” I cleared my throat. “Well, let’s go there.”

  A playful grin played on his lips. The Blaise I knew returned. “Or you’re worried if we’re left alone for too long, you’ll kiss me again.”

  My cheeks heated. “That was a mistake,” I explained, referring to the last time I’d been in Niferum. Kissing Blaise behind Cedric’s back wasn’t something I’d consider doing again.

  He walked toward me, focused, his gaze unrelenting in its invasiveness. I backed against the wall. He leaned his arm against it, trapping me between him and ancient stone. “It wasn’t a mistake for me.”

  I swallowed thickly. “I care about you.” I knew he needed to hear it, even if he pretended not to. “But I’m not going to hurt Cedric.”

  He leaned down, bringing his lips near to the side of my face. His breath tingled my ear. “Surely you’re bored of your sparkly pet by now.” He traced a finger with his free hand down my cleavage and stopped right above the top of my dress.

  I ground my teeth. “He’s not my pet.”

  He shrugged again, unmoving in his stance yet edging his body closer to mine. “He acts like it. Like a dog. Always at your side. Haven’t you wondered why? What secrets he holds?” His expression turned venomous.

  “What is your problem with him?”

  He fell silent. “Ask him. Maybe he’ll tell you.”

  My heart hammered. “So there is a reason for the sudden hate?”

  He didn’t divulge. “He’s not good enough for you. Don’t trust him.”

  I choked on a laugh. “What, and you are good enough?”

  “I don’t pretend to be anything other than who I am, and that is far from good, but I did right by you.” His expression dropped. “Yet I was left empty-handed in more ways than one.”

  My eyebrows furrowed. “How do you mean?”

  “I’m not playing nice anymore, Winter. I risked too much last time.”

  My heart felt like lead in my chest. “You’re wrong about Cedric.” I wondered what he meant by being left empty-handed. “Please, Blaise, if he knows you were in here, he’ll think I’m with you. I’m sure he thought it last time.”

  “Good. I hope he finds out.” He moved his head down to my neck, brushing his lips against my skin.

  Suddenly aware of my racing heart and flushed face, I ducked under his arm. “I hope you’re ready to be serious when we’re in public,” I scolded. “This is unacceptable. I’ve risked a lot having you here.”

  “As I have for you. Believe me. I’m only here for one reason.”

  “What would that be?”

  “To retrieve all that was lost to me.”

  “What was lost?”

  He looked over my shoulder.

  A guard walked in. “Sir Cedric is here to see you.”

  Blaise scowled. “Sir Cedric?”

  I nodded. “One moment,” I said, then turned toward Blaise. “I’ll ask him, but please, don’t cause any trouble. My people already have their doubts about you being here. Don’t prove them right.”

  “I’ll… try to behave,” he said in promise, but the glint in his eye told me otherwise. “Good night.” He kissed my cheek, his lips lingering longer than they should have. “Come find me when you know the truth. I’ll be waiting. Also…” He splayed his fingers against my chest, right above where my heart raced to his touch. “I can tell you’re glad I’m back, even if you pretend otherwise. Let me ask you, does Cedric make your heart pound like this?” His hand pressed against the cool skin of my chest. He gazed into my eyes, and I held my breath. “Do your pupils grow so big when you look at him like they do when you look at me? I can get lost in them, except there’s something different in them this time. Something foreign.”

  My lips parted. He could tell? No one else did. Was it obvious? Then again, how many people spent time staring in my eyes, except for Cedric, who hadn’t noticed anything different.

  “I’ll leave you to find out the truth.” He ran his finger down my cheek. “Don’t worry, love, you’ll be mad, but just know, if it will make you feel any better, I plan on killing him for it.”

  ***

  Cedric leaned back against my freshly fluffed pillows. “He came to your room? Brave.” He gritted his teeth. “What did he say?”

  I sat on the edge of my bed, playing with the beads on my necklace when I looked at him. “What did you do?”

  A flicker of panic crossed his expression, and my stomach dipped. Blaise had been telling the truth.

  “He doesn’t like me because I’m with you.”

  “Do not dance around the truth. He left it so you could tell me. He didn’t tell me a thing because he gave you the dignity to tell me yourself whatever it is that’s made him so mad. He’s willing to kill you over it, so you better tell me so I can intervene.”

  “Saint Blaise,” he spat.

  “What’s gotten into you?”

  He inhaled deeply, then sat upright. “I guess you’ll find out sooner or later, but you’re going to hate me for it.”

  “I doubt there’s anything you could do that would make me hate you.”

  “Tell me that again after we’ve finished here. This is why I was going to leave today, before he came. I want you to remember that I decided to stay, remember how I said I was going to be brave. It was for you.”

  I pressed my fingers against my temple. “Cedric.”

  He exhaled shakily. “I just need you to remember that.”

  “I will.” My hands were shaking.

  “When we left, before we left, I may have spoken with him,” he said.

  That didn’t sound good. “And what did you talk about?”

  He cursed under his breath. “Understand, you had just come back from death. You were different. When you were around Blaise, you were different, and not in a good way. He brings the worst out in you.”

  “What did you say to him?”

  “I told him to stay away from you, to never write to you or talk to you again. He said he would only ever have a written treaty with Magaelor through marriage to join the kingdoms, and there was no way I was going to ever let that offer reach you.”

  My eyebrows pinched downward. “You stopped the treaty?”

  “To benefit you. You’re not in your right mind when you’re with him.”

  “That’s not your decision to make.”

  “I saw you with him.” His expression darkened, a look I wasn’t used to seeing on his face. It frightened me a little. “I saw you kiss him. I came to find you on one of the nights you said you were too tired to meet me. I knew he was up to something.”

  I swallowed thickly. Words failed me. All this time, he’d known. “Why…” My voice broke. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “Because it wasn’t you. He took advantage of you. We were seeking refuge in his kingdom. Without him, you wouldn’t have been able to fight or reclaim your throne. He used that to guilt you into being with him. It’s why I wasn’t angry at you. I know you are better than your actions.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Cedric, that’s not true. It wasn’t his fault.” I pretended not to see the crestfallen look on his features.

  “He lied to you. Hurt you. You told me so.”

  “I did the same to him,” I admitted. “Still, I can’t believe he would threaten your life over you telling him off.”

  “That’s not why he hates me,” he admitted. He let out a weighted sigh. “I knew he’d tell you. That he’d have figured it out.”

  “Figured what out?”

  “Another reason I’m not mad is because… I haven’t been entirely honest with you either.”

  “Honest about what?” A shiver snaked
down my spine.

  “Try to understand, I didn’t have a choice. I did what was needed. For my family.”

  “Cedric, tell me what you did,” I ordered, tears welling in my eyes.

  “I was never meant to fall for you. It wasn’t supposed to be that way.”

  FOURTEEN

  My fingers brushed against my lips. My heart cracked in half as he spilled the painful truth. My fingertips trembled, and the darkness inside me struggled to reach through the haze of the potion, begging me to hurt him. To hurt Cedric. He’d been given a mission to get close to me… so he could steal the Sword of Impervius out from under me. He had also seized the Dagger of Ruin when opportunity struck.

  “I’m going to assume this mission occurred after Kiros kidnapped me?” I clenched my jaw, recalling the pain I’d been in as death neared, through the bars of the cage I had been kept in. My temples ached.

  “Yes.” He wouldn’t look at me.

  I nodded slowly, biting the inside of my lip. My mind attempted to weave together the tatters of my memories, but the heartache shrouded everything else. “So, when you broke me out, it was so you could earn my trust?”

  Rage flexed my fingers, forcing adrenaline through my veins.

  “It’s not the only reason.” His eyes flicked toward mine. “I didn’t want him to torture you. To keep you. I still cared about you.”

  My tears fell thick and fast. Betrayal had never cut so deep. “You used me to get access to the Sword.”

  “We would never have had a chance to get it while your cousin was in control.”

  My stomach hurt. “I’ve heard enough. Get out.”

  “Wait.” He placed his hands in the air. “Before you force me out, I need you to know why. I need you to remember that I stayed even though I knew Blaise was coming after me. I could have walked away with both the Sword and Dagger, but I didn’t.”

  I crossed my arms, barely containing my fury. “Explain everything. Don’t leave anything out.”

  Everything made sense now. His words: Occasionally, we all have to betray the people we care about to do the right thing. His worry about Blaise’s letters or visits. The guilt I’d seen in his eyes. None of it was my imagination.

  He unfolded his arms. “Things haven’t been easy for us in Berovia. My parents and siblings are under threat. Xenos has captured other faeries,” he explained. “He was siphoning our magic, like they used to do centuries ago. It may be illegal, but it didn’t stop him. He did it in secret, and it wasn’t until you told me about the dragons we figured out he must have been keeping them in underground caves. He’s wanted us out of control. He was power-hungry, and his son is just as bad.”

  “Kiros is not as bad as his father, but that is awful.” I shook my head. I was still mad, but knowing what they were doing to faeries, draining their magic until they were mere husks of people without a way to die, made me sick.

  “Maybe he’s not, but he doesn’t want to share power with us either. We needed a safeguard.”

  “The Sword of Impervius and Dagger of Ruin. The only two weapons that can kill an immortal.”

  “He was after them,” Cedric explained, worry guiding his tone. “You were never meant to find this out.” A sheen of sweat covered his forehead.

  “Who was after what?”

  “Xenos, and Kiros knew too. They were looking for the Sword and Dagger. Now they have the Ring. If they got them, he’d have a way to kill us. Xenos wanted my family dead so the line of succession died with us. He never wanted to share Berovia with us. I’m sure his son shares his ambitions.”

  “You wanted them first,” I stated. It made sense. It was what I would do, although I wasn’t going to tell him that.

  “After I was released,” he said, “I was sent home. My mother and father were forced to give the last of their gold so Xenos would release me from the dungeons. We had nothing, except for the Amulet of Viribus. When we found out they were siphoning dragons, I knew we were in trouble. With that magic, Xenos could have overpowered my family easily. Our people were being taken, captured, tortured…”

  “Like me,” I stated. “Yet you betrayed me. You could have told me.”

  “I got you out. We got you out. My brother gave me the last of their coin to get an army to get you.”

  “Which brother?” I spat. “The one who murdered mine?”

  “Yes.” He sighed. “After we spent more time together, I knew I could trust you. Well, I thought I could.”

  “You could have! If you just asked.” My heart tugged. “I’d have given it to you. Blaise wouldn’t, but I would.”

  “I was going to,” he admitted. “But then you told me your plans to reunite the Objects of Kai, even asking me to get the Amulet of Viribus, to break the curse on them. You made up an excuse, but I knew the truth. Blaise is cursed. I’ve always known. Many have, especially among royals. The boy prince who foolishly put on the Crown of Discieti.” He clicked his tongue. “Your motivation was him, and I realized you were never going to pick me over him, so I kept quiet. I still cared about you, but I needed to help my family. After the battle, when the defenses were down at the castle, I snuck in and found the Dagger. Blaise was so caught up worrying about you.”

  I cut him off. “You went looking for the Dagger while I was dead?”

  “No!” He winced. “After you woke up. While you were resting, I took it. Licia helped me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Of course he did.”

  “We left before Blaise realized it was gone.”

  “Why didn’t he tell anyone?”

  He gave me a look. “Come on, Winter. If you were immortal, would you tell anyone if one of the only two weapons that could kill you had been stolen?”

  “No,” I admitted.

  “He knows it was me. I don’t know how. He’s been looking for me since they arrived.”

  “Where is it?”

  “I’m not going to tell you.”

  I shook my head. “So you found the Sword. It explains why you asked where it was. However, I never did tell you.”

  “I looked everywhere but eventually found it. I made friends, friends who knew where things would be hidden.”

  I shook my head, scoffing a laugh. “The servants, and yet you berated me for saying how being their friend would be useful. Hypocrite.”

  “They are actually friends, but I also did use them.” He placed his hand over his heart. “I hate doing all of this. It’s not who I am, but as I said before, I had no choice.”

  “I’m assuming you’re not going to tell me where the Sword is either?”

  He paused. “Winter, I do care about you. Truly. I was only meant to be your friend and to get you away from Kiros. Everything else, fighting with you and more, that was all for you.”

  My heart ached. “Let me unite them first. Let me break the curse on them.”

  Sadness crept through his gaze and into mine. “The mer king will never give them back to you once you hand them over. Nor will he give up the Crown of Discieti. My family comes first. I could have left as soon as I had the Sword,” he said. “I stayed because you asked. I saw how much you’ve changed and how much you were struggling here. Despite what you did behind my back—”

  I scoffed. “Don’t mind if I don’t feel guilty kissing him, considering you lied to me too.”

  “I’m just a man trying to keep his family safe.”

  A lump formed in my throat. “The feelings were real?”

  “Yes.” He reached out and grabbed my hand. “Unexpected,” he said with a smirk, “but very real. I had none of this planned when I met you. Not even when we first kissed. I still helped you without knowing who you were. It was only when we were taken by Xenos this plan formed into shape. It’s why I was never with my family, supposedly trading. I was trying to find them, the Objects of Kai.”

  I swallowed hard. “Cedric, you have to let me break those curses. You have to trust I’ll find a way to get them away from the mer king.”

  He
moved his hand from mine. “I can’t risk my family for you to save Blaise from a curse. Besides, without them cursed, it will be easier for mortals to use them against us. They’ll still have their original properties. The Dagger and Sword will still be able to kill us, the Crown can be used to compel, and the Amulet would give them unmatched strength, agility, and speed. Imagine all of that with the Ring offering immortality. In the wrong hands, we could have a war.”

  I rubbed my fingers against my temples. “I won’t allow the mer king to hold them. I’ll have him hand over the Crown instead. I’ll force his hand, I don’t care.” I swallowed thickly. “I can’t do nothing, Cedric. The mer king will kill my people. Sink our ships.”

  “I know.” He looked at his feet, his voice weak. “Now that you know, what are you going to do?”

  My stomach dipped. “I don’t know. Blaise only knows you stole the Dagger, but not why.”

  “Or for certain it was me.”

  “Licia must have told the truth. How else? Faeries can’t lie.”

  “Nope, which is why you have no choice but to believe me. When I told you how I felt, every kiss, every time I told you I cared… I couldn’t have been lying.”

  I cast my eyes down at the stone floor. “I know, and that’s what’s going to make this so much harder.”

  He flinched forward. “I know you. I wouldn’t have told you any of this if I thought you’d betray me back. You’re a good person. You care for me too. Blaise was a bad influence, holding you back from being who you truly are. I know you won’t hurt me.”

  A tear crept down my cheek. “I think you’re the only person who’s ever overestimated me. I’m sorry.”

  “Winter,” he warned.

  “Guards!”

  “Don’t.” He grabbed my hand. “I told you the truth.”

  “I have to put my kingdom first.” I squeezed my eyes shut as they stormed through the opened door, and I pointed at Cedric. “Arrest him.” I paused, swallowing thickly. “For treason.”

  FIFTEEN

  Bleary-eyed, I stared across the office. Blaise had been right. It was mine. I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought of taking it before. I stared down the chair where my father had sat for his many years as king. Behind the creased, brown leather chair, a matte-black fireplace held only a few forgotten charcoaled logs. Above it hung a wide mirror with ornate designs, knotted into a frame of silver.