A shudder ran down his body but Dain still didn't move, held in place by his mother's command geas. Blood dripped from his jaws and off of the long fur of his belly. His eyes met mine, and despite the ferality in them, I could see the terror and pain.

My Beast had killed a city to end a war. He'd done it on his own, so that the guilt and the nightmares would be his alone, and not stain the souls of the people he'd been given to lead.

My prince had bent the knee and suffered torture to end a war. He'd done it for me, because he loved me with everything he was, and he wanted to make me proud.

My Dain stood before me, a war all around us, given a choice: sacrifice a nation for the woman he loved? Or watch her die, and end a third war?

I knew, looking into those despairing eyes, what he would choose. He knew me, and knew that I would never, ever want him to choose my life over the lives of all our people. Dain would let me die and save Stag Court, even though it would destroy him.

A fork in the road, with two paths to choose from. But the thing about paths is that they're only one part of the landscape. It's so much easier to walk down an existing path than to forge your own, but if you're in the woods, you can always step off the path and find your own way. Sometimes you'll get lost, and die—maybe often. But sometimes you end up at a lake in the backcountry, and meet the eyes of someone you would never have found otherwise. Sometimes the best thing to do – the only thing to do – is to make a third choice.

Dain was the crown prince, and I was his princess. He was fae, and I was mortal. He wore a crown of gold, and I wore one of iron.

"Dear girl," the Queen cooed to me. "Are you ready to learn if a Beast can truly love?"

"You don't need to do this to him," I said, my voice quiet and my heart like ice, readying myself. "There's more to life than vengeance. You can still stop this."

"Do you truly think your yapping will sway me, little terrier?" she asked, her voice dismissive. "Your kiss has no power here." The Queen pushed me forward, and stood.

I delayed for one desperate heartbeat, the edge of her blade cutting into my throat, getting as much distance between us as I could.

Then I shoved myself up with brutal force, my face twisting, and drove the gleaming spikes of my iron crown into the neck of the Stag Queen.