“Father,” Casteel called as the door closed behind us with a soft thud.

The King of Atlantia rose slowly, cautiously, and then turned, his hand drifting to his side where his sword would’ve been sheathed. The man had been hard to read at the Chambers of Nyktos, but now he didn’t have nearly as much control over his emotions as his gaze shifted from his son to me.

He jerked back a step, his legs bumping into the bench behind him. “You didn’t…” He trailed off as a blast of icy shock chilled my skin. His eyes were wide, pupils dilating so fast that only a thin strip of gold was visible as he stared at me, his lips parting.

My mouth dried as I fought the urge to close down my senses. I kept them open as he took a step forward. Kieran’s head snapped in his direction, and a low growl rumbled through the chamber, but Casteel’s father appeared beyond hearing as he said hoarsely, “You were dying.”

I shivered at the reminder. “I was.”

Strands of light hair fell against the rough growth of hair along his jaw and cheeks. “You were beyond saving,” he rasped as Kieran appeared to relax, inching back even though Casteel’s father took another tentative step toward us. “I saw you. I saw your wound and how much you bled. You were beyond saving unless—”

“I took what was left of her blood and gave her mine,” Casteel said. “That is how she stands here. I Ascended her.”

“But…” The King appeared at a loss for words.

I drew in a shallow breath and found my voice. “I can walk in the sun—we actually rode all day through it. I don’t feel cold to the touch, and I have emotions,” I told him. “And I don’t feel the need to tear out anyone’s throat.”

Casteel’s gaze slid to mine as a faint thrill of amusement reached me.

“What?” I whispered. “I feel that’s necessary to point out.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

I narrowed my eyes at him and then returned my attention to his father. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m not a vampry.”

King Valyn’s chest rose with a deep inhale, and with that breath, I felt his shock retreat with each passing second, becoming fainter. But I didn’t believe that he’d overcome his surprise that quickly. He was tucking his emotions away, hiding them where I couldn’t easily reach them—doing the same thing his son did when he didn’t want me to know his emotions. A part of me, in the center of my chest, hummed with energy and wanted to dig into those walls he’d built, find the fragile seams, and peel them apart, exposing—

No.

I didn’t want that.

I didn’t want that for a multitude of reasons, namely for the fact that it would be a massive violation. If someone shut me out, that was their right. That was the only reason that mattered, but I wasn’t even sure I could do something like that.

His father cleared his throat, snapping my attention back to him. “I can’t believe you did it, Casteel.” He backed up and then sat on the bench, stretching out one leg. I didn’t attempt to read him. “You knew what could’ve happened.”

“I knew exactly what could’ve happened,” Casteel returned. “I knew the risks, and I’d do it all over again even if she had Ascended.”

My heart gave a happy little wiggle, but Casteel’s father looked less than impressed. “You know what that act did to our kingdom—to our people—and you were willing to risk that again?”

“If you think that what I did was a shock, then you need to understand that I will do anything and everything for my wife.” Casteel’s gaze latched on to his father’s. “No risk is too great, nor is anything too sacred. Because she is my everything. There is nothing greater than her, and I do mean nothing.”

My lips parted on a breathy inhale as I stared at Casteel. A messy, little ball of emotions climbed its way up my throat.

“I do not doubt that, son. I was there when you came to and realized that she was gone. I saw you, and I have never seen you like that. I will never forget it,” his father said, and my head snapped in his direction. That was twice now that someone had said that. “And I can even understand your need to protect her. Gods, do I understand that.” He dragged a hand over his face, stopping to scratch at the beard. “But as the King, I cannot approve of what you did.”

Casteel’s hand slipped from mine as several of the wolven looked at the King. A cold, utterly frightening sort of anger brewed inside the Prince—the kind of rage I knew had been one of the reasons he had come to be known as the Dark One. “I wasn’t aware that I asked for your approval.”