Endure - Sara B. Larson Page 0,3

fine, even if we both knew it was a lie. He had just bent toward me, his lips inches from mine, when there was a knock at the door. He was motionless for a long moment, and then finally straightened and called out, “Enter.”

I stepped back and turned to the door.

Deron entered the library and smiled at Damian. “Sire, I bring good news. Eljin is awake and asking for you.”

Eljin was propped up in bed, shirtless, with a huge bandage wrapped tightly around his ribs. Tanoori sat on the other side of his bed, holding an open book in her lap. She smiled when we entered. I couldn’t stop staring at Eljin. Seeing him alive and awake made my legs weak with relief. Though Lisbet had assured us he would live, I hadn’t quite believed her. Not after the amount of blood he’d lost. Because of me.

Though he was sitting up, he was still obviously unwell — not completely healed yet. But to even see him like this was a miracle, after what had happened last night. He was pale, and his mask was missing, exposing the scars on his face. I’d never thought about covering my own scars the way he did, until that very moment, when it struck me how similar we were after my battle with Iker. Subconsciously, I reached up to touch my own striated skin, but quickly dropped my hand when I noticed him watching me.

“I can’t tell you how good it is to see you awake,” Damian said as he strode across the room to clasp Eljin’s hand.

“And I, you,” he responded, a small smile quirking his thin lips. I’d only seen him with his mask off once before, when I’d ripped it from his face with my sword while sparring at his father’s castle in Blevon. It struck me that I’d never seen him smile before. For some reason, that realization made my heart feel strangely heavy.

“My life was never in danger. She needed a living king to make her a queen,” Damian said, disgust in his voice.

“She got to us all in the end.” Eljin looked up at Damian with understanding in his eyes. “There is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Except for Alexa,” Tanoori pointed out.

Guilt twisted in my gut as I realized I still hadn’t told Damian — or anyone else — that although Vera hadn’t succeeded in putting me under her control or killing me, the same was not true of her brother. I’d bargained with Rafe, offered to let him give me one order in exchange for Jax’s life. A huge risk that had ended with me being forced to protect him from any and all threats, a command that still burned through my mind, making me unable to harm him in any way. At least Vera was gone — killed by Damian, who had somehow managed to fight through her command to murder me — and her control had perished with her. But Rafe still lived. And so did his power over me. “Damian, you broke through her control. I didn’t think that was even possible.” I forced away the thoughts of Rafe and the secret I still harbored.

He glanced back and gave me a small half smile. “The whole time I was under her control, I kept getting horrible headaches. When she commanded me to kill you, somehow, deep down I knew I shouldn’t do it, but my head felt like it was going to split in two when I tried to resist.”

“Maybe it was your mind trying to fight back.” Tanoori mused.

We were all silent, until I said, “Well, regardless of how you did it, I’m just glad you did.”

“So am I.” Damian’s eyes met mine across the room, and I had to suppress a shiver of fear. If he hadn’t found the strength or the power or whatever it was that broke Vera’s control over his mind, I wouldn’t be standing here right now.

There was a knock at the door, and then a messenger poked his head in.

“Your Majesty, the general asked me to find out if you’re ready to assemble the meeting yet?”

The hint of a smile on Damian’s face slid away. “Yes, of course. Tell him to meet us in the throne room in ten minutes.”

The messenger boy nodded, bowed, and exited.

Damian reached over and squeezed Eljin’s shoulder. Something passed between them, a look I couldn’t decipher, and then the man I loved stood up, replaced by the king I served. A curtain