Disappointment seared through every fiber of my being—a betrayal more complete than any blade could deliver.
I gave in.
My knees cracked against the unforgiving marble. I lifted my chin—then drove my forehead down in a bow so violent I tasted copper flooding my mouth.
"I'm sorry. I was wrong. I'm sorry, I'm sorry—"
Blood mingled with tears, blurring the world into watercolors of crimson and gold.
I raised my head with a smile that felt like broken glass cutting my own face.
"Is that enough, Colino? Did your precious comare receive sufficient tribute?"
He froze. Something flickered behind his eyes—a crack in the ice, a ghost of the boy who'd once held my hand in his mother's garden. His pupils contracted as though he finally saw me. Saw the ruin he'd made of us both.
He took half a step forward.
But Piper's fingers dug into his arm, her voice quivering with manufactured terror.
"Colino, I'm frightened... look at her eyes. She's lost her mind..."
He hesitated. The crack sealed over, smooth as fresh ice on a winter pond.
He stepped back. Drew her closer against his chest.