KODA'S POV
The wine burned down my throat, but it did nothing to calm the storm in my chest. I poured another cup and slumped back in my chair, staring at the empty fireplace in my chambers. The servant should have returned by now.
"You're going to drink yourself stupid before tomorrow's challenge," Marcus said from the chair across from me. He hadn't touched his own wine. Smart. One of us needed to stay clear-headed.
"Maybe that's the point," I muttered, taking another drink.
Marcus had been my closest friend since childhood. His family served mine, but he'd never treated me like a prince when we were alone. I needed that honesty now more than ever.
A soft knock interrupted my brooding. The servant I'd sent earlier slipped into the room, bowing low.
"Your Highness," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "The message has been delivered to Luna Ayasha of Whitewater."
My heart jumped. "How did she look?"
The servant kept his eyes down. "I... I do not notice such things, Your Highness."
I waved him away, frustrated. "You can go."
He bowed again and disappeared, closing the door behind him with barely a sound.
Marcus leaned forward, his dark eyes serious. "Do you not think people will find it strange?"
"What?" I asked, though I knew exactly what he meant.
"Your sudden interest in helping the Lunas." He set down his untouched wine cup. "That particular one if I am being frank. Nothing will evade His Majesty. He will eventually find out about your fascination with the Luna of Whitewater. Where do you think that puts her?"
The wine turned sour in my mouth. Marcus was right. My father noticed everything. If he suspected I was showing favoritism to Ayasha, he'd make her suffer for it. He'd probably make her death slow and public, just to teach me a lesson about defiance.
"Your sister and I are promised," I said, changing the subject. It was an old arrangement between our families. Marcus's younger sister Dena was supposed to marry me when she came of age. A political alliance that would strengthen both our houses.
Marcus didn't look convinced. "That doesn't answer my question."
I stood and walked to the window, needing space from his probing stare. "Ayasha and the rest of them are fated to die because this competition is a farce. My father is just having fun. I cannot reveal the truth without sounding like a cruel bastard, but I can try to protect them."
"Yet, you are only protecting one," Marcus pointed out. His voice was calm, but I could hear the edge beneath it. "That is not goodness, Koda. You are doing it for a reason. She is the only one you really want to save. Why?"
I gripped the stone windowsill, my knuckles white. From my tower window, I could see across the courtyard to the guest quarters where the surviving Lunas were housed. Even in the dead of night, even though I couldn't see her face, the mate bond pulsed between us like a living thing. It was getting stronger by the hour.
"Is there something I should know?" Marcus pressed. "Do you like her in a way you wouldn't with my sister?"
I couldn't tell him the truth. Marcus was loyal to his family above all else, and they would never pass up the chance to be related to royal blood. If he knew Ayasha was my mate, he'd see her as a threat to his sister's future. He might even tell his father, who would tell mine.
The inevitable that would come out of that was that… Ayasha was going to perish.
"I don't know," I lied, still staring out at the darkness.
"You are lying." Marcus's chair creaked as he stood. "I admire the attempt, but I know why you called me here tonight."
I turned to face him. "Do you?"
"If our family is chosen as a judge for tomorrow's challenge, I will not be voting for Ayasha of Whitewater." His jaw was set, his expression stubborn. "To protect my sister."
Something cold settled in my stomach. Marcus's family had influence among the minor nobles. If they turned against Ayasha, others might follow. She'd be isolated, marked for elimination.
"You should protect yourself first," I said quietly.
I walked to my desk and picked up a leather-bound ledger I'd hidden there earlier. Without a word, I tossed it to Marcus. He caught it against his chest, frowning.
"What is this?"
"Open it."
Marcus flipped through the pages, his frown deepening. Then his face went pale. "How did you get this?"
"When my father found the bandits who had been raiding our supply routes, they had this with them." I kept my voice level, conversational. "It seems even brutes and rogues keep accounts now."
The ledger contained detailed records of loans made to various bandit groups. Marcus's family name appeared multiple times, along with dates and amounts. They'd been funding raiders in exchange for a cut of the profits from stolen goods.
"I hid it to protect you," I continued. "But if you are going to fight against me, I have no choice but to be this way."
Marcus's hands shook as he held the damning evidence. "Koda, I—"
"You do remember it is treason to loan money to bandits," I said, cutting him off. "The punishment is death. For you and your entire family."
The silence stretched between us. Outside, wind rattled the shutters. The fire in the hearth had died to glowing embers, casting long shadows across the room.
"Do not be against me," I said finally. "Vote for her tomorrow."
Marcus closed the ledger with a snap. His face had gone from pale to red, anger replacing shock. "You would threaten me? After everything our families have shared?"
"I would protect what matters to me," I replied. "The same way you would protect your sister."
"This is different and you know it." He stood, the ledger clutched in his white-knuckled grip. "My sister is innocent. She's done nothing wrong. But you're asking me to betray her future for some woman you barely know."
The mate bond flared, and I had to bite back a growl. Marcus didn't understand. He couldn't. To him, Ayasha was just another Luna in my father's twisted game. He had no idea she was the other half of my soul.
"Your sister will find another husband," I said. "But Ayasha won't survive another night if she doesn't have allies."
"Why do you care so much?" Marcus's voice rose. "Tell me the truth, Koda. What is she to you?"
I wanted to tell him everything. About the mate bond, about how her scent had driven my wolf wild with need, about how I'd watched over her sleep in the forest and felt more peace than I'd known in years. But I couldn't risk it.
"She showed mercy," I said instead. "In that bloodbath last night, when everyone else was killing to survive, she knocked her opponent unconscious instead of slitting her throat. That kind of strength is rare."
Marcus stared at me for a long moment. Then he laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You're falling for her."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"You are." He shook his head. "I can see it in your face. You've met her once, saved her from a fight, and now you're ready to destroy our lives to protect her. This isn't about mercy or strength. This is about want."
The word hit me like a physical blow. Want. Yes, I wanted her. I wanted to hold her, to take away the pain I'd seen in her eyes, to hear her say my name without hatred in her voice. The mate bond made it impossible to think of anything else.
But it was more than want. It was need. It was the absolute certainty that losing her would break something inside me that could never be repaired.
"Vote for her," I said again. "Or I give this ledger to my father."
Marcus's grip tightened on the leather binding. "And if I do vote for her? What then? You'll still be bound to marry my sister. The contracts are already signed."
"Contracts can be broken."
"Not these ones. Not without war between our houses." Marcus tucked the ledger inside his coat. "You're playing with fire, Koda. And you're going to burn us all."
He headed for the door, but I called after him. "Marcus."
He paused, his hand on the latch.
"I'm sorry it has to be this way."
He looked back at me, and for a moment I saw the boy I'd grown up with instead of the man torn between loyalty and fear.
"So am I," he said quietly. "But you've made your choice. Now I have to make mine."
After he left, I returned to the window. The guest quarters were dark and silent, but I knew Ayasha was somewhere behind those stone walls. Was she sleeping? Thinking about tomorrow's challenge? Did she understand what my message had meant?
I'd tried to warn her about the beauty contest without being too obvious. The brutality wasn't in how they'd judge her appearance. It was in what would happen to the women who weren't beautiful enough. My father had plans for the losers. Plans that would make last night's slaughter look merciful.
The mate bond pulsed again, stronger now. She was awake. I could feel her restlessness, her fear, her anger at me for lying about who I was. Part of me wanted to go to her, to explain everything, to beg her forgiveness.
But that would only make things worse for both of us.
I finished the wine and went to bed, but sleep wouldn't come. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face in the forest. The way she'd looked at me when she realized I was her mate. The trust in her eyes before she learned I was the son of her enemy.
Tomorrow she would compete in my father's first challenge. She would stand before a panel of judges and be evaluated like livestock at market. And I would have to sit there and watch, pretending I didn't care if she lived or died.
The mate bond wouldn't let me forget what I was putting her through. Every beat of my heart reminded me that I was betraying the woman fate had chosen for me.
But I had no choice. Not yet.
I could only hope that when the time came to choose between my father's crown and my destined mate, I would have the courage to make the right decision.