Page 29 of Haunted Crowns
Silence stretched between them. Then his lips parted, his voice flat with disbelief, like he couldn’t quite fathom she meant what she had said.
“You’re serious.”
Her stomach twisted. He wasn’t asking; he thought she’d lost her mind. And that hurt more than anything.
Stephan stepped back, shaking his head. “No, Eris. They’re using you.” His voice tightened, like the words barely fit. “They saw an opportunity and fed you a story. And you…you’re actually falling for it!”
Eris’s nails dug into her palms. She stepped closer, frustration rising like heat beneath her skin.
“This is not about belief, Stephan. You think I want this?” Her voice wavered, then found its edge. “This is about truth.”
His eyes darkened, not just with anger but something sharper. Jealousy.
“Truth? You think I don’t see it?” Eris stiffened. His gaze locked onto hers, seething. “Kareon.”
Her breath hitched. “What?”
“The mighty Lycan Alpha.” Stephan’s voice curled with disdain. “I have seen how he looks at you. He doesn’t need to lay a finger to pull people apart. He just waits and watches. And takes. What did he tell you? That you are special? That he understands you?”
Her pulse spiked. “This is not about Kareon,” she said, her voice shaking.
“Isn’t it?” His voice dropped. “Or are you just blind to it?”
Her temper snapped. “Stephan, that is not—”
"Oh, let me guess. He sees you, and suddenly you are the one thing he’s been searching for?”
The words hit like a slap. Eris stepped back, stung.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Stephan exhaled sharply. He hadn’t meant to say it like that, not with that bitterness, that edge. Not when he could already feel her slipping away. Regret flashed in his eyes, but he said nothing.
Eris looked at him and saw the distance in his silence, the door he had closed without a word. Pain coiled deep in her chest, butshe wouldn’t let it break her. He had to understand. She inhaled, steadying herself.
“I saw your future.” Stephan froze. “The spirits showed me a broken king, ruling over a kingdom drowned in blood.” His breath hitched. Her voice trembled. “I have no choice, Stephan. I won’t let that happen to you!”
Something inside him snapped. He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly.
“This is all nonsense!”
Eris tore herself free, vision blurring. Tears burned behind her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. He didn’t believe her. He never would. The weight of that truth pressed so hard into her chest, she thought it might break her.
“When the kings find out, you will have no choice but to drop this.”
She stilled, drew a slow breath. “The kings will only know if you tell them.”
Stephan went rigid. A muscle feathered in his jaw. Eris stepped closer. Her voice was quiet but cutting. “And we both know nothing reaches their ears unless you decide it should.”
She saw the words land, watched realization crash into him like a tide. The commander of the Dragov Legions, the final barrier between her fate and the throne.
His silence said everything.
Something inside her shattered. She had thought love would be enough, but clearly, it wasn’t. Not this time.
She turned, though her feet felt heavy, as if some part of her still waited for him to call her back.
He didn’t.
