Chapter 7 Words That Scar Deeper Than Blades

• The sound of her laugh cracked something in him.
• It wasn’t loud. Wasn’t forced. Just a small, unbothered chuckle over her goblet at dinner, aimed at something some old lord said. Her shoulders shook, and her lips parted around a smile that didn’t include him at all.
• It was maddening.
• She hadn’t looked at him in two days. Not once. Not when he passed her in the hall. Not when he stood behind her in court. Not when Kimberlee curled into his side at dinner like she was trying to fuse their bones together.
• Espen didn’t flinch.
• Didn’t bite back.
• Didn’t care.
• He couldn’t stand it.
• He told himself he was just tired. Frustrated. That it had nothing to do with her and everything to do with the weeks of noise in his head he couldn’t silence. The itch under his skin that wouldn’t fade.
• But when he heard that soft, careless laugh—like she wasn’t his problem—he broke.
• He stood.
• Kimberlee reached for his arm, but he didn’t stop.
• Espen had just finished her drink when he reached her chair.
• She blinked up at him, calm and poised. “Something I can do for you, husband?”
• His fingers clenched.
• His voice came low and cold. “Come.”
• She arched a brow. “Excuse me?”
• He didn’t repeat himself.
• Just turned and walked toward the doors.
• He heard the rustle of her skirts behind him.
• No hesitation.
• No fear.
• She followed.
• 🔥
• They didn’t speak as they moved through the hall, side by side but worlds apart. Guards stepped back. Servants vanished. The castle felt too still.
• He led her into a side chamber—one used for war planning, now empty, cold.
• The doors shut behind them.
• He didn’t turn around.
• “I’m growing tired of your act,” he said.
• She stepped further into the room. “You’ll have to be more specific. I have several.”
• Mikko turned.
• His face wasn’t cold anymore.
• It was furious.
• “You walk around like you’re wanted here. Like you belong in this palace. Like your name means something.”
• Espen tilted her head. “I wasn’t aware my existence offended you this deeply.”
• “You’re nothing,” he snapped.
• She blinked once.
• He took a step closer.
• “You’re a dressed-up lie wearing a crown that was meant for someone else. You were never supposed to be here.”
• Espen’s expression didn’t shift.
• So he pushed harder.
• “Kimberlee should’ve been the one. Everyone knows it. She’s loved me longer, stood beside me before any of this started. She's real. You're… decoration.”
• Still, she didn’t flinch.
• He hated it.
• “You’re not wanted,” he said, voice dropping. “Not by this court. Not by my father. And certainly not by me.”
• Her lips parted.
• But not in a gasp.
• In amusement.
• “That’s cute,” she said. “Is that what you tell yourself when you fuck her? That I’m not in your head?”
• He stepped forward, jaw clenched. “You are nothing to me.”
• “You wish.”
• “Don’t flatter yourself.”
• “Don’t lie to yourself.”
• “I could have anyone.”
• “Then why haven’t you touched me?”
• That stopped him.
• Espen stepped closer, soft and dangerous.
• “You think I don’t see it?” she whispered. “The way you watch. The way you hate that I don’t beg.”
• She leaned in.
• “I’m the only thing you can’t conquer. And that’s why you can’t stay away.”
• His hands trembled at his sides.
• She reached up slowly, fingers brushing his chest.
• “I scare you.”
• “No,” he growled.
• “I undo you.”
• He gripped her wrist, hard.
• “I hate you.”
• She smiled.
• “I know.”
• Then she pulled back.
• Turned.
• And walked to the door.
• He didn’t stop her.
• Didn’t follow.
• Didn’t breathe until she was gone.
• And when he finally moved, it was to slam his fist into the nearest wall hard enough to crack the stone.
• 🔥
• Espen walked back to her chamber in silence, her pulse steady, her face composed.
• Inside, the dragon lifted its head.
• She sat on the edge of the bed, reached beneath the pillow, and pulled out the pouch.
• The mirror rune inside glowed faintly.
• She whispered to it.
• Not in words.
• Just in thought.
• He’s getting reckless.
• The rune pulsed once. A beat. A breath.
• Let him.
• She tucked it back away and closed her eyes.
• Behind her lids, the mirror replayed flashes of burning thrones and bone crowns.
• And somewhere below the palace, the shadows thickened.
• Not because they wanted her.
• But because they remembered her.
• 🔥
• Kimberlee found Mikko half an hour later, blood on his knuckles, pacing the war chamber like a beast with nowhere left to run.
• She didn’t ask what happened.
• She just slinked up to him, slid her hands around his waist, and whispered, “Let me fix it.”
• He didn’t stop her.
• Not because he wanted her.
• But because he didn’t want to think.
• He took her against the wall, fast and brutal, and let her scream loud enough for the whole east wing to hear.
• It didn’t help.
• When he came, the only name in his head wasn’t hers.
• It was Espen’s.