Katherine Pov

“A holmgang?” Castro raised his brows, laughing out loud for a moment.

“Is something amusing to you?” I glared daggers his way.

“I refuse,” he shrugged.

“You can’t, even the council knows that you cannot do that. If you do, the entire kingdom will by law be forced to turn against you and pick a new ruler by themselves. Your head will be cut off and as will mine but unlike you, both our deaths are a price I’m willing to pay,” I explained, knowing that the consequences were too brutal for him to reject.

His gaze changed from a playful smile to a death glare at me....