Chapter 1
Amryn
“It’sbecauseofempathslike Tiras that the rest of us are hunted. He is the reason everyone thinks we’re monsters. And if he’s the one who told the Rising about me . . . If he’s one of them . . . We’re all in grave danger.”
Silence filled the large bedroom, making Amryn all too aware of her thudding pulse. The words she’d just spoken hung in the stillness between her and Carver, the humid jungle air making every breath feel heavier.
Carver’s gaze was locked on her. Light and shadow played across his face, cast by the softly glowing lamps. Amryn held his stare, her palms dampening as she waited for him to say something.Anything. Because, contrary to all the stories told about empaths, she couldn’t read her husband’s mind.
She just felt everything he did.
The rising tide of his horror was edged with alarm, accompanied by a dread so cold it made her own blood chill. As powerful and distracting as those reactions were, they could not drown out the more subtle emotions that had arisen during their conversation. Surprise. Confusion.Hurt.
She could guess where that cut of pain had come from. She’d kept things from him. Lied about the existence of her brother, Tiras. Lied outright about her father’s death—though to be fair, she hadn’t seen Ferrin Lukis since she was a child, so there was every chance he was dead by now.
Carver’s hurt at her deceit stung, but her own vulnerability was far more agonizing at the moment. She was used to keeping secrets. It was how an empath survivedin a world that wanted all of them dead. Now, in the space of mere hours, she’d told Carver everything.
Well, nearly everything.
He knew she was an empath. Knew she had the even rarer ability to heal people. But she hadn’t told him that her father was the reason her mother was dead. That he’d betrayed his entire family to the Order of Knights.
Some things were too painful to speak.
“What is it that makes your brother so dangerous?”
Carver’s deep voice jerked Amryn from her thoughts, forcing her back into the present. Her husband’s blue eyes were burning, his emotions rioting.
Tension—both hers and his—pulled at every muscle in her body as she met his gaze. “Tiras is—”
A knock on the outer door of their suite made Amryn jump.
Carver was on his feet in an instant. He looked every inch the terrifying general as he ordered, “Stay here.”
But even with the two guards standing outside their suite, Amryn was able to make out the new and familiar presence in the hall. “It’s Felinus,” she said, naming the old, quiet cleric that worked in the temple’s library.
Carver’s eyebrows dragged down, irritation and wariness spiking. Then determination set in. “Stay here,” he repeated, more firmly than before.
Trepidation pricked her. “Why?”
“The man was a knight. He knows you’re an empath.”
The words alone made her stomach drop, so, clearly, she had to remind them both of a simple fact: “Felinus hasn’t done anything to hurt me. He’s only ever protected me. He’s an ally.”
“I’m going to make sure of that,” Carver said, the words sounding strangely like a threat. He strode out of the bedroom, and Amryn scrambled from the bed so she could follow.
She’d only made it halfway across the sitting room by the time Carver reached the door to their suite. He tugged it open with unnecessary force.
Felinus flinched when he caught sight of Carver. Nervousness blasted out of the older man. “Oh, I . . . I thought you might be occupied elsewhere, General Vincetti.”
Carver’s mood darkened along with his voice. “You were trying to catch my wife alone?”
Felinus’s eyes rounded. “No, I—I apologize if I’ve offended you.” He glanced at the guards stationed on either side of the door. He cleared his throat before focusing once more on Carver. “I only hoped for a quick word with Lady Vincetti before you all departed in the morning.”
Amryn slid to Carver’s side. She didn’t miss the way he stiffened, nor the wave of protectiveness that roared from him. He shifted slightly, keeping her partially behind him.
Her heart warmed, but she set a hand on his arm, which was corded with tensed muscles. “Please let him in,” she said softly.
Carver’s jaw worked, but he held open the door and stepped back.
