Derek stood completely frozen. His dark eyes were wide, staring at the older man in iron chains.
A few minutes ago, Derek had accepted that his life was over. He had accepted that he would sit on the golden throne of Eudora with a broken, empty heart. He had watched Marissa die in the snowy alleyway. He had felt her cold skin. He had seen the royal physician shake his head.
But now, Lord Colton had just offered him the impossible. She could be brought back to life.
Derek's logical mind screamed that this was a lie. The dead do not return. It was a rule of the world. But the desperate, grieving husband inside him grabbed onto those words like a drowning man grabbing a rope.
Derek took a slow step forward. His heavy black boots scraped against the dirty stone floor. He ignored the sharp, burning pain shooting through his bandaged back.
"What is the forbidden arts?" Derek asked. His voice was a low, rough whisper. It shook with a mixture of deep fear and sudden, terrifying hope.
