His hand glides out of his pocket and captures my arm, reeling me in. “Yes, you are,” he breathes. He brushes a lock of hair from my face. “Hello, Serenity.”

“Let me go.” I give his hold the barest of tugs, aware of the eyes on us.

“I’m glad to have you back.” He smiles at me, and it’s almost too much. “I missed you and your anger.”

I narrow my eyes on him. “I never left.”

“You did, and now you’re back, and I want a kiss.”

I look at him like he’s mad—he is mad. I’m still trying to get over the fact that I have to kiss him at all, and now he wants me to freely give him affection amongst an audience?

Up until now, I’ve been careful dolling out my affection. That won’t change today.

He must see that I’m not going to give in because before I have a chance to respond, his lips descend on mine and he takes matters into his own hands.

THIS IS SOMETHING else that the king does—he seizes what’s not freely given. You could say it’s a strength of his.

And now it’s a kiss.

None of my memories could’ve prepared me for the sensation of being enveloped by the king. I taste him and breathe him in through my nose. How I’d forgotten his scent. It’s unnamable, but I enjoy it nearly as much as the glide of his lips. Lips that took something that wasn’t his.

I bite his lower lip. That only serves to ratchet up his hunger. His hands secure me closer to him, and he unleashes more passion, his tongue sliding over mine.

Montes’s hands knead into my skin, coaxing me to give in further. If he had it his way, he’d probably strip me bare, ravish me here in the gardens, and then order everyone who saw us killed.

Like I said, he’s good at instilling fear.

Someone whistles, and then I hear clapping. I break away from him at the sound, and he flashes me a triumphant grin.

The crowd continues to cheer, praising the king for what? His vigor? The ease with which he commands everyone, even his wife? That he’s human enough to enjoy a kiss?

My money’s on that last one.

Montes tucks me under his arm, and with a parting wave to the crowd, leads me back inside his palace.

We’re still not alone here, but I’ve burned up the last of my patience. There’s appearing weak to the outside world and then there’s appearing weak to yourself.

I push his arm off of me and stride away. I’ve only taken a few steps when I realize this is yet another palace of his that I don’t recognize. I know that I still have some memories left to remember, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never been here before, regardless.

“Where, exactly, are you planning on going?” Montes asks. I can hear the smirk in his voice.

“It doesn’t matter so long as it’s away from you.” I can’t do this with Montes right now. Not with all those memories so fresh. Even now they crowd my mind. The dead want vindication, and I can’t deliver it.

“You have to kill him, Serenity.” It’s just an echo of a memory, but the voice and the vehemence of the words has me placing a shaky hand on a side table.

“You work for the king; you can’t say things like that anymore,” I whispered.

“No one man should have that much power,” Will said.

“And what happens once he’s dead, huh?” I asked. “They’ll kill me too.”

I finally remember Will, General Kline’s son. We’d been friends, but something happened … something I still haven’t recalled. Now having had a taste of my memories, I dread that one.

The last remnant of memory echoes through me.

Perhaps I will be the WUN’s Trojan horse. Perhaps I will kill the king.

I rotate to face Montes. I’d planned on killing him. Me, the dying girl, thought she could execute the immortal king.

“I wanted to see you die,” I murmur. I don’t know why I say it.

Montes flicks a glance at the people that linger in this area of the palace. “Leave us.”

The servants and an aging couple vacate the room. The guards hesitate.

“Unless you’d like to be relieved of your duties,” the king says, “I’d suggest you do as I say—and tell the men we are not to be disturbed under any circumstances.”

Reluctantly, the guards leave. I see them eye me as they do so.

Once the room’s emptied out, the king returns his attention to me. “You were saying?”

Not for the first time, I’m taken aback by this man. If his goal was to unsettle me, he’s accomplished that.

“You’ve already forgotten? And here I thought I was the one with the memory loss.”

“You wanted to watch me die,” he says.

“Yes.” Admitting this is high treason. Should he feel so inclined, the king could have me killed. It doesn’t stop me from continuing on. “I wanted to be the one who killed you.”

“And would you?”

My skin’s crawling. I remember the horror of my situation as though it befell me yesterday. “Yes.”

Montes strides forward much faster than I back up. I hate it that I can’t help but flee this man. Maybe once all my memories return, I will wear them like armor so that he cannot get under my skin. But right now my emotions are raw, and I feel everything—my intense hatred for him, my budding feelings.

He corners me against the wall, and then there’s no escaping him.

“You can’t kill me,” he says, and in this moment he looks every bit as unnatural as he claims to be.