The Reborn Duke's Hated Bride

i

t-soaked sheets. His hands clawed at his chest, at the phantom flames that licke

moke, still taste the ash on his tongue. He could still hear his mother's

l see the Sun

s of waking in terror, of feeling the shadow pulse and t

lick with sweat, his black hair plastered to his forehead. The scars on his chest, the

e saw stars. The pressure helped. The pain he

Sun King had pressed his palm to a child's chest and poured darkness into his soul. It had been there through the y

when he finally ki

took the man's crown and

here until th

n the cold stone floor. He crossed to the window and threw op

eria, the kingdom he had built from the ashes of his enemies. He had conquered the Sun King's lands

was hollow. The victo

s and a face carved from stone. He was tall and broad-shouldered, built like a warrior, his body a ma

ss clawing at the edges of his mind. He had been battling it for

one of the

s. Black tunic, black breeches, black boots polished to a mirror shine. He strapped a dag

The guards bowed as he passed, their eyes carefully averted. They knew bet

e stone was cold beneath him, a welcome contrast to the heat that stil

on the table beside him. He waved it away. He had no

ic, approached with a scroll in hi

s narrowed.

found. The Sun King's daughter. She was discovered in a co

nds tightened on the arms of t

voice was cold, flat

ived last night. She is being held in a cell

e had been waiting for this moment for fifteen years. He had drea

daughter was alive. And she w

is footsteps echoing in the silence. A

ing else," Aldric called out

nd turned, his e

e did not cry. She walked into the castle with her head held

ghtened. "She w

almost... curious. As if she

s. He had expected begging. He had expected the Sun Ki

he ha

into his cast

fied his e

han anything, ma

he smell of mold and decay. Lucien descended the stairs, his boots echoing on the

A small window, barred with iron, looked out onto the ri

the corner with her knees drawn

with pale skin and a cloud of dark curls. Her grey eyes were lum

n King's daughter to be ugly, to reflect the evil of her father. Bu

im angrier than

as small, barely large enough for the two of them. He tow

ce cold and flat. "I have been wait

despite the chains that bound her wrists. S

"You are Lucien Wingknight. The Duke of

ipping with contempt. "Your father was a monster. He slaugh

body, to the lattice of b

ued, his voice rising. "He took everything f

simply looked at him with those luminous

d. "You are his daughter. You share his

ng. I am nothing like him. And I think,

lawing at his mind. He stepped forward, his hand shooting out to grab h

o me. And I will make you pay for every scar on my body. For ever

"Kill me. End it. But don't pretend this is justice. This is the cr

shadow in his chest roiled, and he felt a su

he had burned him. His hand was trembling. He could

guards. "Leave her there. Let her watch the wate

l. She did not resist. She did not struggle. She simply l

he piti

on made him w

g. She was nothing like her father. She was everything

broken man bene

than anything

not sleep

ence. The guards bowed as he passed. The servants pressed themselves ag

He told himself he was only checking on his prisoner. She was valuable. He needed

esce

with a single barred window that looked out on the

ket someone had thrown her. Her face was still bruised. Her lip was still split. The c

ed vulnerable. She looked

chest. The shadow there, which ha

ead against the bars

calm the darkness that had haunted him for fifteen year

ot have

had qu

estions to

ed from the darkness. "There

m, her face pale and frightened. She was

it?" he

ispered. "It was delivered tonight. I th

th a flick of his thumb. The words swam befo

d death once. You will not escape it again. The river will c

blood r

meone who knew she had been reb

leeping princess,

t just his

ance to understand

f he let anyone else des